Skating out of the penalty box, Brandt Clarke scored the overtime winner (his first NHL goal) for the Kings over Boston. Clarke now has points in back-to-back games as well as seven shots over that span. Clarke and Jordan Spence have basically been alternating out of the lineup, but it seems like Clarke has earned the upper hand for now.

The Kings play again today (Sunday), so it's possible that someone is rested to bring Spence back into the lineup. If new coach Jim Hiller wants to be bold, he could remove Andreas Englund, who offers little offense and hasn't been that strong defensively either. In fact, Englund's assist on Saturday was his first point in 32 games. Clarke and Spence are both right-shot d-men and Englund is a left shot, which might explain things. Age might also be a factor, since coaches like their veterans on the blueline. Englund is 28 while Spence is 22 and Clarke is 21. 

Pierre-Luc Dubois recorded two assists on Saturday, giving him four points over his last four games. He was fairly involved in the game, contributing four shots and five hits while winning nine faceoffs. New coaches can have a positive impact on struggling players, so this could be a point in time where Dubois's season turns around. Hiller has juggled the lines a bit and placed Dubois with Quinton Byfield.

With the Kings' recent struggles, Anze Kopitar had been held to just one goal over an 18-game stretch. Since then, Kopitar has goals in back-to-back games.

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With a goal and an assist on Saturday, Mason Marchment has extended his point streak to nine games. Over that time, Marchment has accrued 13 points. The Stars' top line of Joe Pavelski, Roope Hintz, and Jason Robertson receives more attention, but the unit of Marchment, Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin are piling up the points as well. Duchene is red hot as well with nine points over his last four games.

Calvin Pickard is definitely the backup in Edmonton and doesn't start too often, but when he does, he's been fairly effective. Pickard now has six consecutive wins dating back to December 21. Over those six games he has a 2.16 GAA and .916 SV%. Jack Campbell has been up and down in the AHL, so Pickard's spot in the Oilers lineup appears safe for now. He's definitely a streaming option in net if you need one.

After a bit of a rough patch (2 PTS in 8 GP), Evan Bouchard is rolling again (6 PTS in last 3 GP). Bouchard scored a pair of goals on Saturday, including the overtime winner. Over his past four games, Bouchard has taken 18 shots, reaching 5 shots in three of those four games.

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Oh look, I see some hot Chicago scorers! With two assists on Saturday, Philipp Kurashev has a five-game point streak with seven points over that span. Nick Foligno also has a five-game point streak with exactly five points over that span, including a goal on Saturday. Right on time for the return of Connor Bedard, who joins Kurashev and Foligno to form the new top line for the Blackhawks. Bedard has three points in two games since returning from a broken jaw, including a goal and an assist with five shots on Saturday. The Hawks still aren't that good, but maybe they'll be a little less bad going forward.

Bedard should be activated in every league by now. Kurashev and Foligno are, dare I say, possible streaming options for next week. The Hawks play four times next week, including on three light days.

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Saturday featured a pair of 9-2 games. The Maple Leafs had no difficulty disposing of the Ducks (like our Game Picks writer Flip predicted) even with Alex Killorn returning to the Anaheim lineup, while the Panthers sent a strong message to their cross-state rivals in Tampa Bay.

No John Tavares was no issue for the Leafs, who benefitted from Auston Matthews's second consecutive hat trick and sixth hat trick of season. Matthews is only two goals shy of 50, and he has plenty of time to surpass his career high of 60 goals. The Leafs as a team have recorded hat tricks in three consecutive games, with Bobby McMann recording one on Tuesday against St. Louis.

McMann, William Nylander, and Timothy Liljegren each ended up with three points on Saturday, so McMann now has two 3-point games this week. Liljegren is clearly benefitting from the Morgan Rielly suspension, as two of his three points were on the power play. Liljegren now has five points (all assists) over his last two games. Rielly has two games left on his suspension, and Liljegren is widely available (3% Yahoo/22% Fantrax). Liljegren is a possible plug-and-play for games against St. Louis on Monday and Arizona on Wednesday, with his value compromised once Rielly returns.

As for the Panthers, Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk led them with two goals and two assists each. Tkachuk's 13 points in his last five games is remarkable, but did you know that he's also the league's leading scorer since January 1? Tkachuk has 37 points in 19 games in 2024. That's nearly two points per game. His early-season struggles are now in the rearview mirror.

Carter Verhaeghe added a pair of goals and added an assist on six shots. Verhaeghe now has two goals in back-to-back games. He has now reached 30 goals in back-to-back seasons.  

You've been waiting on Brandon Montour, and he delivered on Saturday. A goal, two assists (both on the power play), 10 penalty minutes, and five shots. Everything about Montour points toward a massive improvement, whether it be analytics (3.0 SH%, 5-on-5 SH%, 1.0 PTS/60), deployment (23 minutes/game, top power-play use), or other stats (2.6 SOG/GP). Yet Montour entered this game with just two points in his last eight games and just two goals in 38 games before Saturday. He should be off the cold list with Saturday's output – maybe for good.

Andrei Vasilevskiy was the victim of the Panthers' onslaught on Saturday, allowing six goals over two periods.

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James Reimer has played very infrequently this season, so when he records a shutout it's even more noteworthy. Reimer stopped all 38 shots he faced in the Red Wings' 5-0 win over Calgary. With Ville Husso back on the shelf again, Reimer should probably earn more than the odd start going forward, even though Derek Lalonde has leaned heavily toward Alex Lyon since mid-December. Lyon has posted really bad starts in back-to-back games and has allowed at least three goals in each of his past four games, which could open up some more work for Reimer.

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Juraj Slafkovsky registered an assist on Saturday, extending his point streak to eight games. During that span, Slafkovsky has registered 12 points. The Montreal sophomore is the main topic in this week's The Journey, with the discussion centered around whether it was fair to minimize his upside by citing analytics.

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Just when I mentioned yesterday that Gabriel Vilardi hadn't recorded a point in a month … he scores a pair of goals and added an assist. See, it never fails! Maybe I should just say these slumping guys are due and leave it at that. Vilardi was noticeable while back on the Jets' top line with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Winnipeg plays four games next week with three lights days, and Vilardi is 20% rostered in Yahoo, so you know what to do if he's become available again.

Not directly related to fantasy hockey, but Vilardi had a glaring giveaway that turned into a goal for the Canucks. When coaches move players off a line, they might cite reasons like that. So don't be surprised if Rick Bowness isn't totally happy with Vilardi's game. Kyle Connor, who was the intended recipient of the pass, completely bailed on the play defensively afterward, which is something for Bowness to also consider.

Scheifele, by the way, stood tall with a goal and three assists, giving him six points over his last four games. Saturday's output pushes him over the point-per-game mark for the season (47 PTS in 46 GP).

Sean Monahan scored his first goal and point as a Jet in his fifth game with the team. Monahan also led all Jets forwards with 22:15, won 14 faceoffs, and logged top-unit power-play minutes. Bowness will probably like that.

Regression seems to have finally hit Brock Boeser this season. He is without a point over his last six games and has no goals in seven games since a hat trick pushed him to the 30-goal mark. Boeser did put in the effort on Saturday, taking five shots and registering three hits.

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In the Stadium Series game at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, Nico Hischier scored a pair of goals and added an assist while taking five shots and winning 18 faceoffs in the Devils' 6-3 win over Philadelphia. Hischier has six points over his last four games.

Owen Tippett scored a pair of goals in the loss, finishing with an unusual statline that included nine shots on goal but a minus-4. Not a Draisaitl hat trick by definition but maybe in spirit.

Travis Konecny assisted on both of Tippett's goals, giving him 11 points over his last six games.

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I mentioned Chicago and Winnipeg as two teams that play four games with three light days next week. Other teams with schedules to target include Columbus with four games (all light days) and Buffalo with four games (three light days). For that reason, Boone Jenner might be a good player to start next week. Jenner’s game-winning goal with just 12 seconds left in regulation on Saturday was his fourth goal in his past three games, the time he has been back from a fractured jaw. Jenner has taken 17 shots over those three games with a minimum of four shots per game. As well, he has averaged four hits per game over that span.

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Jaromir Jagr is in Pittsburgh to have his jersey #68 retired. Looks like he might still be able to suit up for the Penguins.

Poor Alex Nedeljkovic: pic.twitter.com/D3XCpFzewf

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) February 17, 2024

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