Anaheim signed prospect Roger McQueen to a professional tryout so he can go finish the season in the AHL. The expectation is that he'll sign his entry-level deal soon and the details are just being sorted out, but the 10^th overall pick from last year's draft is leaving college hockey to turn pro.

*

In perhaps the most surprising regular season game of the season, the Vancouver Canucks went into Colorado and beat the Avalanche 8-6 – not a typo. Brock Boeser did a lot of the damage with a hat trick on four shots while adding an assist, Teddy Blueger scored twice, and defenceman Marcus Pettersson totaled a goal and two assists. The three goals from Boeser give him 21 in 67 games this season, which is just under a 24-goal pace in 75 games, in line with his 25 goals/75 games from a year ago.

Kevin Lankinen was in net for the win, but gave up six goals on 30 shots.

Doing a radio hit on Wednesday morning, Colorado coach Jared Bednar stated that defenceman Cale Makar did not suffer any sort of serious injury on Monday night, but that he will miss a few games, per the website Hockey Mountain High. It is more about making sure that Makar is fully healthy for what the Avalanche are hoping is a deep playoff run rather than having him play through an injury at the end of the regular season.

With Makar out of the lineup, Sam Malinski was running the top PP unit for the Avs, though Devon Toews did take the team's final power play at the end of the second period. Malinski put up two goals on two shots, adding an assist and a block in 20:52 of ice time.

Gabriel Landeskog had a very good multi-cat night with a goa, a block, four PIMs, and a hit. Parker Kelly also scored, which was his 19^th of the season, or more than he had in his previous three years combined (17 goals in 215 games).

Nathan MacKinnon scored once on seven shots, his 50^th goal of the season. It is the second time in three seasons that he has reached the 50-goal plateau.

MacKenzie Blackwood started for Colorado and gave up six goals on 19 shots before being pulled.

*

Los Angeles earned a huge 2-1 win over St. Louis on Wednesday night thanks to an overtime goal from Trevor Moore. That was Moore's fourth goal in his last 10 games, a span that includes 36 shots and 12 hits. Adrian Kempe scored the other Kings goal, totaling five shots, a block, and a hit. Kempe is two goals shy of reaching 30 for the fourth time in five years.

Robert Thomas had the goal for the Blues, which pushed him to the 50-point plateau (in 56 games).

Kings goalie Anton Forsberg stopped 23 of 24 shots for his 12^th win in his 26^th start.

*

Speaking of big wins, Alex Wennberg fired home a pass from Macklin Celebrini with 30 seconds left in San Jose's home game against Anaheim and lifted the Sharks to a 4-3 win. Celebrini had assisted a Will Smith power play goal earlier in the game, and scored twice himself, including a tying goal with 1:39 left in the third period, for his fifth four-point game of the season. That also gives Celebrini 40 goals and 65 assists on the season. Per Hockey Reference, it is just the second time in NHL history a player has recorded at least 40 goals and 60 assists as a teenager. The other was Wayne Gretzky in 1979-80. Sidney Crosby fell one goal shy as an 18-year-old and four goals shy as a 19-year-old.

In addition to the PP goal, Will Smith had a pair of assists, and he now has four multi-point games in his last five outings, totaling 3 goals and 6 assists in that span.

Yaroslav Askarov was in net again for the Sharks and stopped 28 of 31 shots in the win.

Sam Dickinson skated 20:36 and had an assist on the game-winning goal, plus three blocks. He has now reached the 20-minute mark in three of his last four games.  

Troy Terry had a goal on six shots for the Ducks. He maintains his point-per-game pace with 54 points in 54 outings.

Lukas Dostal took the loss in net, giving up four goals on 21 shots.

Igor Chernyshov was not in the lineup due to an illness. Collin Graf was moved to the top line in his absence.

*

There are two weeks left in the NHL regular season and some of you are still pushing for that league title. So, for the last time this regular season, let's look around the league to find some low-owned fantasy options to target over these final two weeks.

These players will be separated into two categories:

1. Head-to-Head targets. My assumption is that most H2H leagues will wrap up next Sunday (April 12^th), so the final four days of the season don't matter.
2. Roto/Points targets. My assumption is that roto/points leagues will run right to the last day of the season, so the final four days of the season do matter.

Let's start with the H2H targets.

Connor McMichael (C/LW – Washington Capitals)

Yahoo Roster: 10%

FanTrax Roster: 45%

ESPN Roster: 5%

Aliaksei Protas missed Washington's game on Tuesday, and he won't return to the lineup on Thursday. There is no firm timeline, but it does open some big minutes on the wing for the Capitals. In Tuesday's game, McMichael was skating with Dylan Strome and Alex Ovechkin both at even strength and on the power play, totaling over 18 minutes of ice time. Across his last five games, he has five assists (2 PPPs), four hits, and 12 face-off wins.

The bigger role and Protas injury are important for McMichael, but so is Washington's upcoming schedule. In the next 11 days, they are the only team in the league with at least three games on 'light' nights. Considering that today, Saturday, and next Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday are nights with anywhere from 11-15 games on the board, finding teams and players on those lighter nights will be more difficult. With those three light days and a bigger role, McMichael figures to be a key fantasy option over the short-term.

Connor Brown (RW – New Jersey Devils)

Yahoo Roster: 5%

FanTrax Roster: 13%

ESPN Roster: 4%

Brown could be moved off Jack Hughes' line at any point, but he's been there consistently since the Olympic break, including top power play time. Over his last 15 games, Brown has 16 points (5 PPPs) and 30 shots. There isn't much here for hits/blocks/PIMs, but for raw production and shot volume, Brown has been more than serviceable. He has also averaged 19:11 per game in his last 10 games, so there is a lot of ice time to go with that big role.

Over the next 11 days, New Jersey is 1 of 3 teams (along with Montreal and Ottawa) to play at least 7 games with 2 of those games on lighter days. Brown is fixed at right wing on Yahoo, so there isn't much roster flexibility, but with this kind of ice time and his roles, he is very good depth to be used at least a couple of times through the end of the H2H season.

Igor Chernyshov (LW/RW – San Jose Sharks)

Yahoo Roster: 3%

FanTrax Roster: 38%

ESPN Roster: 3%

What really holds Chernyshov back is a lack of top power-play time, something that both McMichael and Brown possess. However, he has shown excellent chemistry with Macklin Celebrini as the Sharks have a +11 shot differential with that duo on the ice at 5-on-5. Considering that Celebrini has a -50 shot differential without Chernyshov on the ice, the rookie has been a difference-maker. In four games since returning to the lineup, Chernyshov has 2 goals, 1 assist, 7 shots, 2 hits, and 1 block while averaging 15:43 per game in TOI.

San Jose is 1 of 8 teams to play at least six games over the next 11 days and have at least two of those games on light days (Monday/Wednesday next week). It is also a great schedule overall: home games vs. Toronto, Nashville, Chicago, Edmonton, and Vancouver with a road game in Anaheim. He might not be useful this week (Thursday/Saturday games) but he should be on fantasy rosters for his Monday/Wednesday games next week.

Jordan Spence (D – Ottawa Senators)

Yahoo Roster: 5%

FanTrax Roster: 29%

ESPN Roster: 2%

Once Jake Sanderson returns, Spence's ice time will go down, but in the five games without Sanderson and since Thomas Chabot was injured, Spence is skating 25:32 per game and has 2 goals, 2 assists, 1 PPP, 10 shots, 10 hits, and 5 blocks. Even with Sanderson back in the lineup (he has been practicing in a non-contact jersey lately), Spence should exceed the 20-minute mark though the power-play time may disappear, depending on what the team does with Carter Yakemchuk.

As mentioned earlier, Ottawa is 1 of 3 teams that has at least seven games over the next 11 days, and two of those games coming on light days. That includes back-to-backs with Minnesota/Carolina and then the New York Islanders/New Jersey. They have a tough upcoming schedule, but Spence should hold onto an expanded role, and having a pair of light-day games is important.

I will also briefly mention Cole Hutson, who is getting power-play time for Washington and has those three light-day games coming up, but the minimal overall ice time (6 of 7 games under 18 minutes and 13:41 per game over his last three outings) is a big problem.

Jacob Fowler (G – Montreal Canadiens)

Yahoo Roster: 14%

FanTrax Roster: 48%

ESPN Roster: 5%

Montreal is the last of the three teams with seven games over the next two weeks, and they have a back-to-back situation each of the next two weekends. The first is a home-and-home matchup with the New Jersey Devils (Jake Allen can also be used as a streamer, then), and next weekend it's at home against Columbus before a road game against the Islanders. As far as back-to-back situations go, it's not the worst imaginable for Montreal, and Fowler should get two of those games. There aren't many backup goalies who are near-guaranteed at least two starts over the next 11 days, but Fowler is one of them.

Arturs Silovs (G – Pittsburgh Penguins)

Yahoo Roster: 16%

FanTrax Roster: 47%

ESPN Roster: 8%

Pittsburgh only has six games over the next 11 days, but four of those games are involved in back-to-back situations. This weekend, it's a pair of home games against a decimated Florida roster, and then next weekend it's a home-and-home with the Washington Capitals. Silovs has been very shaky lately with 27 goals against in his last seven starts, but along with Fowler, he's one of the few backup goalies guaranteed a pair of starts over the next 11 days. At this point of the season, that is all fantasy managers can ask for. I would only add Silovs if I absolutely needed the starts because a bad start like he's had recently against Vegas and Colorado can blow up a week's worth of ratios.

And now move on to targets for roto/points leagues.

Bobby McMann (LW – Seattle Kraken)

Yahoo Roster: 28%

FanTrax Roster: 47%

ESPN Roster: 31%

Over the next two weeks, Seattle is tied with San Jose for the most games remaining (9) and is tied with a bunch of teams for the second-most games remaining on light days (3). The Kraken play tonight and Saturday, so once this week is over, three of their seven remaining games are on light days. The schedule is tough, but they play the final two days of the regular season against Vegas and Colorado. There is a decent chance those teams are resting players for those final games.

McMann has 7 goals, 11 points, 27 shots, and 18 hits in 9 games with Seattle. He has shot 25.9%, but even if he were shooting his three-year average with Toronto (around 13%), he'd have 3-4 goals, and that's still pretty good production in a nine-game span. With a lot of games and a few light days starting next week, McMann (and others like Matty Beniers and Jared McCann) is a name to circle.  

Jake Neighbours (LW/RW – St. Louis Blues)

Yahoo Roster: 9%

FanTrax Roster: 47%

ESPN Roster: 13%

The Blues are 1 of 4 teams with at least eight total games and three light-day games over the next two weeks. That is crucial in the short-term as the Blues are 1 of 2 teams to play tomorrow (Friday) and Sunday this week (Philadelphia is the other). Those light days are key for maximizing games played with the heavy schedules on Thursday/Saturday, so despite Neighbours' modest ice time (14-16 minutes a game each of the last four games), he's a winger with dual eligibility and that makes him a waiver target.

Alex Killorn (C/LW/RW – Anaheim Ducks)

Yahoo Roster: 3%

FanTrax Roster: 10%

ESPN Roster: 1%

Killorn having triple eligibility is definitely a feature of him showing up here. What is important is that Anaheim is 1 of 8 teams with at least three light-day games remaining this season. The matchups for those three games are against St. Louis, Vancouver, and Nashville. The Blues and Predators could be tough matchups, but it's not like they're running into Colorado and Minnesota. Killorn has averaged over 18 minutes a game across the last five games and while he doesn't shoot much, he has two points, six hits, and two blocks in those games. As a deep roster option, triple eligibility with three light-day games and over 18 minutes a night with decent hit/block rates isn't bad.

John Klingberg (D – San Jose Sharks)

Yahoo Roster: 5%

FanTrax Roster: 39%

ESPN Roster: 10%

Klingberg hasn't played in over a week, but he has been practicing with the team so his return seems imminent. He was removed from the top power-play unit before the injury but was still earning about 33% of the overall PPTOI skating the second unit. Once he returns, he should get that role back.

Over the next two weeks, San Jose and Seattle are the two teams with the most games remaining (9). What separates them is that San Jose's opponent points percentage in that span is .497, the second-easiest schedule in the league. The Sharks play Thursday/Saturday this week, so Klingberg probably wouldn't be in fantasy lineups even if he's healthy, but once this week is over, four of the Sharks' final seven games are on 'light' days. It is a very good schedule with a lot of light days coming up for San Jose.

Philipp Grubauer (G – Seattle Kraken)

Yahoo Roster: 11%

FanTrax Roster: 24%

ESPN Roster: 7%

Philipp Grubauer has started three straight games for Seattle. The team lost all three, but he's only given up seven goals in those games (.924 save percentage). Even if Grubauer doesn't get the bulk of the starts from here on out, he isn't a true backup, and the Kraken do have a pair of back-to-back situations remaining. Three of those four games in the B2B situations are on 'light' days as well, so Grubauer seems like he'll figure in fantasy playoff teams over the next two weeks.