Only a few more weeks until the Olympic break. When the players come back, we could see a lot of different looks on teams with guys who are battling injury right now but want the chance to play for their country. So, if you have a player in an organization that might not make the playoffs, now might be the time to get rid of him because they could shut it down for the season after they return from Milan.

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Evgeni Malkin returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins last week and picked up where he was pre-injury. This rumored last season has turned Malkin into 2010s Geno with 31 points in 29 games thus far. However, the line that was on fire to start the season (Malkin, Justin Brazeau, Anthony Mantha) has not been put back together. The Russian center has been paired with fellow countryman Egor Chinakhov and another rotating forward. While Malkin is probably not out there, Chinakhov is available in almost all Yahoo leagues and should be on your watch list. He has one goal in the last three games, but the entire Pens lineup was shutout in the last outing, his best game with three shots on goal. He was trying to create offense for Pittsburgh and find that first goal so as long as he keeps getting his skates wet and finding time with Geno, the pucks will eventually fall for the former first round pick.

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Another former first round pick that returned last week was Kasperi Kapanen. He is not as flashy as Evgeni Malkin, but we should be just as excited about this one because he instantly lined up with Leon Draisaitl and has four points in four games, along with eight shots and eight hits. The line also includes Vasily Podkolzin, and it sounds like such an annoying line to play against. You've got two gnats on the wings that like to bang bodies and a big boy down in the middle in Draisaitl. The line seems to have nice chemistry as Leon has seven points and Podkolzin has three points in the last four contests. Both wingers have less than 15% ownership in Yahoo leagues, so if you need some depth, the Oilers have four games remaining this week, with one on a light night.

One player that has had his stock fall because of this combo is Jack Roslovic. Before he got hurt, he was riding shotgun with Draisaitl and was one of our waiver wire darlings throughout the early part of the season. But since he has come back, he only has two goals and zero assists in his last 10 games and zero points in his previous five. If he finds a way back onto the big German center's wing, we'll sound the alarms and pick him up, but in the meantime, he is an easy drop.

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For this week's light day slate, we have five organizations that play two lightly scheduled games. Those teams are the Detroit Red Wings, LA Kings, Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

The first team we will look at are the Kings because they are the only group to play early in the week (Wednesday and Friday) and they have two divisional matchups. Los Angeles currently has a number of injuries so there are a lot of players available that have extended opportunities. 

The first player I am looking at is the ageless Corey Perry. Only 2% owned in Yahoo leagues, he has 10 points in 12 games this season against his former teams, and he plays the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. With a few injuries to three of their regular forwards, Perry has been skating on the Kings top power-play unit and on a line with Warren Foegele and Quinton Byfield. He scored a goal and had three shots on net in his last outing so look for him to keep that shot volume up while he is on this promotion in the lineup.

The next player on the Kings I would look at is Alex Laferriere. While Anze Kopitar has been out, he was given the keys to the number one center role and played over 20 minutes in two of the four games. In that same time frame, he has two goals, nine shots on goal, and eight hits. He also has four goals in two games against the Ducks this season so if he continues to get this much ice time, look for him to pot a couple more on Friday.

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Another team we'll focus on here is the Senators as they play tonight and tomorrow night. The Sens will have a few days off before playing another back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday, so they'll be a good option going into the weekend too. 

The team has been cold on offense lately, so the coaching staff is shaking up the lines.

Claude Giroux is moving into the top six and being put on a line with Brady Tkachuk and Dylan Cozens. Because of his age, the former Flyer captain is only owned in 23% of Yahoo league, but he is currently, as my daughter would say, cookin. He has five points in his last five played and will be looking to ignite Cozens and Tkachuk. Given his recent play and new opportunity, he is someone to snatch for the next two days.

If you have any comments or just want to talk shop, hit me up on X @LAM1926. Have a great week and go get that W!