The New York Rangers have officially been eliminated from the playoffs, but they still provided a number of storylines to discuss today thanks to a 6-1 win over Chicago on Friday.

J.T. Miller has failed to deliver for fantasy teams this season (Yahoo ADP 45), but he at least provided something in an important fantasy playoff week. Miller filled the statsheet with a goal, two assists, a plus-2, a power-play point, five shots, three hits, one blocked shot, and 11-for-15 in faceoffs. Miller has provided just 45 points in 59 games, while his 0.76 PTS/GP is the lowest of his career since 2018-19, which was his only full season in Tampa Bay. His minus-27 is also the worst of his career. Next season will be telling as to whether Miller can bounce back or whether his banger style of play has caught up to him. At least he has been heating up recently with six points over his last four games.

On a side note, I was discussing with a friend recently how the Miller trade last season has turned out to be a lose-lose for both the Canucks and Rangers. Miller has four more seasons left with a cap hit of $8 million, so there's a strong probability that the remainder of his contract won't age well for the potentially rebuilding Rangers. As for the Canucks, they received Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, Marcus Pettersson, and Drew O'Connor in the trade (the last two from Pittsburgh by flipping the first-round pick they received from the Rangers for Miller). Not a lot to get excited about from a Canucks perspective.

The Rangers also provided a glimpse into the future with the win. Dylan Garand stopped 27 of 28 shots to earn his first career NHL win in his second career NHL start. The 23-year-old Garand is very unlikely to take over as the Rangers' starter from Igor Shesterkin anytime soon, but there could be an opening at backup next season with the 40-year-old Jonathan Quick on the final year of his contract. Garand has a 2.83 GAA and .896 SV% in 36 AHL games this season, which isn't a superb stat line, but the Hartford Wolf Pack team in front of him hasn't been particularly strong. For the here and now, Garand might be worth a streaming start or two down the stretch.

Adam Sykora scored his first NHL goal in his second NHL game. Sykora has also taken three shots in each of his two games. The Rangers haven't been shy about using him in those two games either, as he has logged over 13 minutes per game while on a line with Vincent Trocheck and Will Cuylle. Sykora's AHL point total (28 PTS in 60 GP) is relatively modest, but the 21-year-old could carve out an NHL role soon because of his two-way ability.

In his first NHL game, Drew Fortescue recorded his first NHL point (an assist). Fortescue logged 17 minutes while on a defensive pairing with Braden Schneider. He recently jumped from the NCAA, where he recorded 13 points in 35 games with Boston College. His offensive upside isn't extremely high, but he could be in the NHL on a full-time basis next season.

Jaroslav Chmelar recorded his first NHL assist in his 19^th game (he also has two goals). The 22-year-old right wing also filled peripheral stats with four shots, two hits, and two blocked shots. Chmelar has averaged only eight minutes per game over those 19 games, while his AHL numbers (25 PTS in 46 GP) aren't much better than Sykora's. Chmelar has an even lower upside than Sykora, though he could land some bangers league value one day if he can secure a bottom-6 NHL role.

Jonny Brodzinski scored a pair of goals for the Rangers in the win. The 32-year-old forward had not scored a goal since December 29. He has taken three shots in back-to-back games.

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The other Friday game had more important playoff implications than the Rangers/Blackhawks matchup. Thanks to three first-period goals, the Red Wings were able to take down the Sabres by a score of 5-2. The Wings moved closer to the second wild-card spot in the East, while the previously hot Sabres have now lost three games in a row.

Alex DeBrincat scored a power-play goal and added two assists while also taking four shots on goal. DeBrincat is now riding an eight-game point streak where he has amassed 14 points. Since March 16 (a date in which many fantasy playoffs began), DeBrincat has fired 25 shots in just five games. Only Darren Raddysh and Jason Robertson have taken more shots over that period, and both have played six games. Start DeBrincat with confidence right now.

Patrick Kane scored a goal and added an assist, giving him six points over his last five games.  

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Let's get you set up for what could be your most important weekend of the fantasy season.

Teams with games both Saturday and Sunday: Boston, Carolina, Columbus, Dallas, Florida, Montreal, New Jersey, Nashville, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay

Every team plays at least one game this weekend.

Here are some players that I have added or have considered adding recently based on recent schedule. In trying to win a fantasy playoff week, I'm not necessarily searching for the shiny new toy, but rather reliable options that seem like a safe bet to reach certain targets. 

Viktor Arvidsson – I wondered if injuries had finally caught up to the 32-year-old Arvidsson after a dismal 27-point season in Edmonton last season. However, Arvidsson has had a modest bounce-back in Boston, reaching 20 goals and 40 points in just 60 games. Most recently, Arvidsson filled the statsheet on Wednesday with a goal, three shots, and three hits against Buffalo. His production hasn't been reliant on David Pastrnak either, but rather he has mainly been lining up with the red-hot Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt. Zacha is probably the better play here, but he is already rostered in nearly half of Yahoo leagues, whereas Arvidsson is rostered in only about 20 percent of leagues.

Mavrik Bourque – Although Bourque has just one point in his last six games, he is currently the recipient of prime opportunity. Because of the Stars' injuries, Bourque has been on a scoring line with Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston recently. Keep in mind that Mikko Rantanen is set to return soon, which means Bourque could be replaced on that line. However, further injuries to Stars forwards could mean that Bourque doesn't necessarily fall out of a scoring role. Keep him on your watch list and get ready to pounce if better results start to appear.

Ivan Provorov – The veteran Columbus blueliner isn't a high scorer or a huge category filler, but he provides coverage in many different categories. Provorov is on the second power play, has decent shot totals for a defenseman, and blocks plenty of shots. However, he does not provide a lot of hits. He is also an asset in plus/minus, which has been boosted by the Blue Jackets' recent run.

J.J. Moser – Victor Hedman has been out of the lineup for the past four games due to illness/leave of absence. As a result, Moser has logged over 20 minutes in each of the past five games, adding three assists in the process. Moser is not a huge category filler and does not log much (if any) power-play time, and perhaps he is even a better real-life defenseman than fantasy defenseman. However, his recent spike in icetime could boost his counting stats, whether they be scoring or peripherals. His plus-minus (+44) is also one of the best in the league. 

Frederik Andersen – Forgotten for much of the season due to injury history and the emergence of Brandon Bussi, Andersen has re-emerged as a timeshare option as Bussi has regressed later in the season. Although he was tagged with a really bad start on Tuesday against Montreal (4 goals on 18 shots), Andersen entered the game with a five-game win streak. Keep in mind that Hurricanes goaltending hasn't been overly strong recently, as Andersen has an .872 SV% after the Olympic break and Bussi has a .844 SV% over that same span. As a result, the Canes tandem might provide more of an empty-calorie win total.

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