After I mentioned the recent lack of trades yesterday, three separate deals were made on Saturday. The biggest one for fantasy purposes and probably in real life too saw Chicago trade Seth Jones and a fourth-round pick to Florida for Spencer Knight and a first-round pick. For more on the trade, check out the Fantasy Take.

In the Fantasy Take, I pointed out Alex Vlasic as a player who could benefit from Jones' departure. Sure enough, Vlasic was on the top power play on Saturday, and he registered a power-play assist while logging 23:53 overall in the Hawks' 6-3 win over Anaheim. He might be worth looking up, as he is just 4 percent rostered in Yahoo and 31 percent rostered in Fantrax.

If certain Hawks' players will lose out from Jones leaving, they certainly didn't show it. Ryan Donato scored two goals and added an assist, while Teuvo Teravainen scored a goal along with two assists. Donato has a career-high 21 goals and 43 points in 58 games this season. His reward might be a ticket out of Chicago to a contending team by the trade deadline, but he might also get pushed down the lineup on a better team.

For the Ducks, Leo Carlsson scored a pair of goals, giving him seven points over his last six games. At 7 percent rostered in Yahoo, sophomore Carlsson might be the Ducks off-night streamer that you should target.   

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The Predators scratched Gustav Nyquist just before their matinee game on Saturday, trading him to the Wild for a second-round pick shortly after the game started. I also wrote the Fantasy Take for this one.

This has been Nashville's season in a nutshell.

A GOALIE GOAL FROM ILYA SOROKIN!!! pic.twitter.com/5wbmT0XOAn

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) March 1, 2025

Congratulations to Ilya Sorokin on being credited with a goalie goal. Hopefully you somehow receive credit if Sorokin is in your league. If you're of a certain age, you may remember that fellow Islander Billy Smith was credited with a goalie goal in a similar scenario years ago.

It's too bad this goal didn't count for Steven Stamkos, because he really needs one right now. Stamkos is now 12 games without a point of any kind with a minus-15 over that span. Tell me which team won free agency again? Stamkos went the entire month of February without a point. Nothing has really changed as far as line deployment goes, so the law of probability says he should break the slump eventually. However, Stamkos is droppable for shallow leaguers who can't wait for him to find his way. Now age 35, Stamkos may be feeling the effect of the age curve. That comes at the worst possible time for Nashville, who believed in him enough to sign him for four years.

The Preds did receive some strong performances in spite of the 7-4 loss. Colton Sissons scored a goal and added two assists, while Cole Smith scored a pair of goals. Neither performance should help a lot of fantasy teams, though.

For the Islanders, Brock Nelson bumped up his potential trade value with two goals and an assist. Dating back before the 4 Nations, Nelson has a five-game point streak with eight points and over four shots per game over that span.

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The Rangers and Avalanche made a multiplayer trade on Saturday. The Rangers sent Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey to the Avalanche for Juuso Parssinen, Calvin de Haan, and conditional second- and fourth-round picks in the 2025 draft. The Rangers also retain 50 percent of Lindgren's cap hit.

To be perfectly honest, this isn't a big impact trade fantasy-wise. The main piece seems to be Lindgren, who has been Adam Fox's regular defense partner. Fox is on IR right now, so we'll have to wait and see what kind of impact this has on Fox defensively. Lindgren may play fewer minutes with the Avalanche, as he appears to be projected to play in a third-pair role there. Both Lindgren and Vesey are set to become UFAs after the season, so this could be nothing more than a rental for the Avalanche.

Parssinen will play for his third team this season, having started the season with Nashville. He was a healthy scratch over Colorado's last three games, but a best-case scenario would see him play his way into a third-line role in New York. Parssinen is only 24 and going into an RFA season, so the Rangers could be patient with him.

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With his 31^st goal of the season, Alex Ovechkin is now 11 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's goal record. Ovie has shown zero signs of slowing down with nine goals and 14 points over his past 10 games. He could really break the record this season. Even though he missed 16 games with a broken leg, Ovechkin is currently tied for fifth in goals. Only current goal leader Leon Draisaitl has more goals per game than Ovechkin (0.70 G/GP).

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Brad Marchand had to be helped off the ice after being hit by Pierre-Olivier Joseph in the first period. Marchand did not return to the game, and the seriousness of the injury is unknown. With the Bruins currently on the wrong side of the playoff bar and Marchand currently on the final year of his contract, Marchand has been the subject of trade rumors leading up to Friday's deadline. An injury might throw cold water on any urge the Bruins have on trading Marchand, although the injury is reportedly not long-term.

With a goal and an assist, David Pastrnak has extended his point streak to 17 games, the longest point streak of any player this season. Pastrnak has piled up 15 goals and 33 points over that streak, making him the highest-scoring player since January 11, the day the streak began.

Mason Lohrei scored a power-play goal on Saturday. That gives him three power-play points and five total points over his past four games. That's when he took over on the Bruins' top power play following Charlie McAvoy's injury at the 4 Nations.

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Sergei Bobrovsky turned away 23 shots in picking up his third shutout of the season, a 3-0 win over Calgary. That gives him three wins and three quality starts over his last four games. Bobrovsky continues to be one of the league's heavy-workload goalies, as he also reached 40 games and 25 wins on Saturday. That workload could increase even further now that Spencer Knight has been traded to Chicago. 

Dan Vladar deserved better, making 39 saves in the 3-0 loss for the Flames. Vladar doesn't start often due to the emergence of Dustin Wolf, but he has quality starts in each of his last three games.

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The biggest number from the Red Wings/Blue Jackets outdoor game was the attendance: 94,751, which is the second-largest in NHL history. Columbus is a lowkey strong hockey market. They've just never been treated to a team that could be considered a strong contender. What seemed like another lost season following the sudden death of Johnny Gaudreau has turned into what might be the NHL's best storyline.

The Jackets added to that story on Saturday, taking a 5-3 decision from the Wings. Justin Danforth led the way with a goal and an assist, while Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski each chipped in two assists. Columbus captain Jenner has added to the good vibes since returning from shoulder surgery, picking up seven points (all assists) in four games. Between the higher-than-expected scoring and ability to provide hits and shots, Jenner is a solid waiver-wire pickup (25% Yahoo/47% Fantrax).

Patrick Kane was in on all three Detroit goals, scoring one and assisting on the other two while taking five shots. Alex DeBrincat scored the other two goals while taking six shots. DeBrincat has been on a roll recently with eight goals and 14 points over his last nine games.

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I like watching outdoor games, but they need to be scheduled at a date and time when they can stand out more. A matchup between the teams holding the last two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference seemed intriguing along with the stadium setting, and there's the Gaudreau storyline on top of that. But for some reason, I was more interested in Edmonton/Carolina at about the same time. You have an Oilers team that has hit the skids with a five-game losing streak and has not won in regulation in 11 games. You also have a Hurricanes team that has a major decision on its hands with Mikko Rantanen, who seems reluctant to discuss a new contract before the trade deadline.

Carolina's power play struggled in the first period in going 0-for-3, but they broke through in the third period. Rantanen assisted on a Sebastian Aho power-play goal to close the Oilers' lead to 2-1. That was as close as they came, as the Oils took a 3-1 decision and snapped their losing streak.

With Darnell Nurse injured, Brett Kulak led the Oilers with 25:45 in icetime. Kulak also picked up an assist with a plus-2, giving him points in back-to-back games. He took five shots and blocked eight more on Thursday, so he could be a sneaky good source of peripherals while Nurse is out of the lineup. Even though his 21 points this season is tied for his career best, Kulak won't score a ton.

Calvin Pickard was stellar in net, stopping 35 of 36 shots in the win.

According to Elliotte Friedman, the Oilers are exploring the trade market for Evander Kane. Fitting Kane into the lineup if he is ready to play will put the Oilers into a much tougher salary cap situation.

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Brady Tkachuk returned to the Senators' lineup on Saturday, contributing his usual bangers league goodie bag (1 PPG, 4 PIM, 6 SOG, 3 HITS). Tkachuk is on pace for his fourth consecutive season with 30 goals and 300 hits. You rarely have to ask yourself where Tkachuk is during a game.

Vitek Vanecek and Brady Tkachuk were mixing it up so Linus Ullmark skated to centre ice 👀 pic.twitter.com/zQaFrZ1Y7Z

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 2, 2025

Shane Pinto also returned to the Sens' lineup, scoring a goal with a plus-2.

With a goal and an assist, Tim Stutzle extended his point streak to 11 games. Stutzle has 16 points over that span.

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If there's any debate about Matvei Michkov's talent…

Matvei Michkov shootout masterclass 🤩#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/GdnJvCSVvi

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 2, 2025

By stopping 29 of 30 shots, Ivan Fedotov picked up his first win since November. He has just five wins in 18 games this season.

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In the Blues' 4-1 win over Los Angeles, Dylan Holloway scored a goal and added an assist with a plus-2 and five shots. Holloway is hot again with three goals and five points over his last four games. The Blues appear to have made a great call by signing Holloway to an offer sheet this offseason, as he has broken out with a 60-point pace. His icetime is up five minutes per game from last season, which makes me think that he wouldn't have had this kind of success had he stayed with the Oilers and likely been buried down the lineup.  

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No points and no shots on Saturday for Elias Pettersson on Saturday, which is now 14 games without a goal. I feel like I've beaten this topic to death. What else is there to say? I think there's some kind of minor ailment that he's battling through. The ice bag on the knee at the 4 Nations could be telling. More than anything, this is a player who has lost his confidence. Call it the "yips" or whatever you want, like that star pitcher that can't throw a strike anymore. The issues seem to be mainly between the ears. He will need to find a way to get out of his own head, because the Canucks aren't going anywhere if this is what $11.6 million per season gets them.

11.6 sheets a year 😓 pic.twitter.com/D3zfvLzIIh

— Nick Alberga (@thegoldenmuzzy) March 2, 2025

At this very moment, I yelled at my TV "Shoot the ******* puck!" Five shots in EP40’s last nine games. Not per game – total. In single-season leagues, you don't have to wait around at this point (similar to Stamkos above) if you need to move on. In keeper leagues, all you can do is cross your fingers and hope the offseason is beneficial or that a miraculous turnaround can happen sooner.

With Pettersson slumping and J.T. Miller traded, it doesn't seem like anyone can pass Brock Boeser the puck anymore. Boeser is without a goal in his last five games and was also without a shot on Saturday. I doubt playoff revenue driven Canucks ownership would sign off on a Boeser trade with the Canucks still (barely) holding down a playoff spot. Yet it seems like a coin toss as to whether the Canucks sign UFA-to-be Boeser. It sounds like the issue is term, with Boeser looking for the max 7-8 years while the Canucks offering a 5-year deal.

Quinn Hughes didn't play in the last 9:05 of the game when the Canucks were down by two goals. Hughes hasn't quite looked right since his return from an oblique injury, as he is a combined minus-6 over the past two games. The Canucks don't play again until Wednesday against Anaheim, but keep an eye on Hughes' status leading up to that game.  

In Seattle's win over Vancouver, Eeli Tolvanen scored two goals on four shots along with five hits.

With two assists, Shane Wright has 14 points over his last 12 games. I've taken a flier on him in one single-season league. Wright has an extremely high 22.0 SH% and 11.8 5-on-5 SH%, so the scoring could dry up at some point given the lack of superstar scoring options on the Kraken.

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