Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, a major injury for the Oilers, a renaissance in Pittsburgh, a big trade acquisition is paying off for Seattle, Columbus’ driving force, and so much more!
#1 The Edmonton Oilers have lost star centre Leon Draisaitl for the rest of the regular season due to a lower-body injury. This causes a lot of dominos to fall in response when it comes to the Oilers lineup. They have moved Ryan Nugent-Hopkins into the second-line centre role, between Zach Hyman and Jack Roslovic, with Vasily Podkolzin moving to left wing on the first line with Connor McDavid. In his past 10 games, Nugent-Hopkins has four goals and zero assists with 20 shots on goal, which starts to lean him towards the fantasy roster bubble in basic leagues. Podkolzin is intriguing for deeper leagues as he has been picking up his pace. Since the beginning of February, he has eight points (4 G, 4 A) with 30 shots on goal in 14 games.
#2 As a 35-year-old future Hall of Famer, Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Erik Karlsson has had ups and downs over the course of a long career, but when he is on, his greatness still shines through and, right now, he’s on. Coming out of the Olympic break, with the Penguins missing Sidney Crosby (and, for five games, Evgeni Malkin) Karlsson has been killing it. In 12 games, averaging more than 24 minutes of ice time per game, Karlsson has put up 17 points (5 G, 12 A) with 36 shots on goal. It’s elite, superstar-level production once again and over the entire season the Penguins have outscored opponents 60 to 41 with Karlsson on the ice at five-on-five.
#3 The Seattle Kraken are still in the playoff hunt and made a savvy move to acquire Bobby McMann from the Toronto Maple Leafs before the trade deadline. He has joined Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle on the Kraken’s top line and in his first four games for the Kraken, McMann has six points (4 G, 2 A) with 12 shots on goal. What is especially interesting is that he is also getting nearly three minutes more of ice time per game.
#4 Every time a team makes a head coaching change, they dream of getting the kind of results that the Blue Jackets have received since replacing Dean Evason with Rick Bowness. The Blue Jackets have a 17-2-4 record under Bowness and there is one player who has really reaped the rewards from this change. Zach Werenski, Adam Fantilli, and Kirill Marchenko have all put up at least a point per game but the leading scorer on the team over that time is Charlie Coyle, who has 29 points (10 G, 19 A) and 57 shots on goal in those 23 games. He is up to 55 points in 68 games for the season, now within five points of his career high of 60 points, set in 2023-2024.
#5 Coming out of the Olympic break, Boston Bruins centre Pavel Zacha has turned into a much-needed productive scoring forward. In 12 games, he has recorded 14 points (8 G, 6 A) and 22 shots on goal. That shot rate isn’t ideal, but he has found a good line with veterans Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson on the wings. Zacha has a career-high 23 goals and, with 51 points, he is within range of his career high of 59 points, set in 2023-2024.
#6 With Sidney Crosby returning to the Penguins lineup, after recovering from the knee injury that he suffered during the Olympics, that has allowed Rickard Rakell to move back to left wing on the top line. Rakell had filled in at centre on the Penguins’ top line and he’s now riding a seven-game point streak, during which he has nine points (2 G, 7 A). He has taken 147 faceoffs this season, his most in a season since 2017-2018.
#7 With the end of his brilliant career on the horizon, Los Angeles Kings centre Anze Kopitar is still pushing for a playoff spot and he’s playing between high-octane scoring wingers Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe on the top line. Kopitar is 38 years old and, in the month of March, he has nine points (5 G, 4 A) and 24 shots on goal in nine games. Definitely worth adding for the stretch run in fantasy leagues just based on his linemates alone.
#8 The season has obviously gone in the wrong direction for the Vancouver Canucks, but that does offer a chance to find undervalued players. Veteran winger Brock Boeser has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) and 19 shots on goal in his past nine games, finding a good connection with former Minnesota Wild forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren as his linemates. Even with this recent surge in production, Boeser has just 36 points in 61 games. His previous career low was 45 points, which he scored in just 57 games during the 2019-2020 season.
#9 The Minnesota Wild have been having such a strong season that it has allowed secondary players to become viable fantasy contributors. Vladimir Tarasenko has six points (3 G, 3 A) and 14 shots on goal in the past six games, and while he does get top unit power play time, he is playing with Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman on a solid veteran second line. He’s not the top line scorer that he was during his peak years, but Tarasenko is one goal away from the ninth 20-goal season of his career.
#10 Carolina Hurricanes sophomore right winger Jackson Blake continues to improve. Since the Olympic break, he has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) with 29 shots on goal in 11 games. He has been cooking on a line with Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall, and Blake’s ability to generate chances totally fits with the Hurricanes’ ethos. His 1.02 expected goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play ranks third on the team, behind Seth Jarvis and Eric Robinson.
#11 As the Ottawa Senators make a furious push for a playoff spot, centre Shane Pinto is delivering solid secondary scoring, with eight points (3 G, 5 A) and 20 shots on goal in his past eight games. He has 37 points (18 G, 19 A) in 58 games this season, tying last season’s 37 points in 70 games for his career high. At even strength, he’s playing with Nick Cousins and Michael Amadio, so it’s not like Pinto’s production is getting propped up by strong linemates, but he does do most of his damage at evens, recording 32 of his 37 points at even strength.
#12 One of the players that has been covered the most in these 20 Fantasy Points articles this season is Penguins winger Anthony Mantha, who is having the best season of his career while coming off a torn ACL suffered while playing for the Calgary Flames last season. He has eight points (5 G, 3 A) and 16 shots on goal during a six-game point streak and is up to 26 goals and 53 points for the season, both of which are career highs. He is skating on a line with rookie Ben Kindel and fellow towering winger Justin Brazeau.
#13 While the San Jose Sharks have other young players that command more of the spotlight – and justifiably so – winger Collin Graf has shown that he can be a valuable contributor in the NHL. Graf joined the Sharks after putting up 49 points in 34 games for Quinnipiac in 2023-2024 and split last season between the AHL and NHL. This season, his most common linemates have been Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, which is obviously a great situation for him. Right now, Tyler Toffoli is on the right side with Graf and Celebrini and Graf has nine points (4 G, 5 A) and 23 shots on goal in 10 games this month.
#14 He is not the player that he was during his peak years, but 37-year-old Detroit Red Wings right winger Patrick Kane can still deliver the goods offensively. With Dylan Larkin out of the lineup, Andrew Copp has stepped into the No. 1 centre spot for the Red Wings, between Kane and Alex DeBrincat, and Kane has eight points (3 G, 5 A) with 21 shots on goal in his past seven games. His ice time is up over 19 minutes per game in that span, suggesting that the Red Wings are leaning on him more as they fight for their playoff lives.
#15 Tampa Bay Lightning left winger Gage Goncalves has shown flashes in his first two NHL campaigns, using his speed to create chances, and he is getting a prime opportunity right now, skating on a line with Brayden Point at centre and Jake Guentzel on right wing. In his past nine games, Goncalves has 10 points (5 G, 5 A) with 17 shots on goal, which is remarkable production for a player averaging 13:32 of ice time per game.
#16 The season has certainly not gone the way that the St. Louis Blues might have hoped, but down seasons for teams can provide pockets of fantasy value for specific players. Case in point: veteran defenceman Cam Fowler has contributed seven points (1 G, 6 A) in his past eight games even though young defencemen Philip Broberg and Logan Mailloux are ahead of Fowler on the power play depth chart.
#18 The Washington Capitals are fading from playoff contention, and their big guns are firing blanks at an inopportune time as they are 3-4-1 in their past eight games. Alex Ovechkin, who is 40 years old, has two points (1 G, 1 A) and 21 shots on goal in his past seven games. It’s not going any better for playmaking centre Dylan Strome, who has two assists and 10 shots on goal in the past seven games. Defenceman Jakob Chychrun, who leads NHL defencemen with 23 goals, has three points (1 G, 2 A) with 12 shots on goal in his past eight games. Maybe the Capitals can turn their attention to Cole Hutson, the 19-year-old defenceman who was a second-round pick in 2024. Hutson, the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens star Lane Hutson, signed with the Capitals after scoring 32 points (10 G, 22 A) in 35 games during his sophomore season at Boston University. Hutson made his mark with a goal and three shots on goal while playing 16:24 against Ottawa in his NHL debut
#19 While there is some uncertainty about the Montreal Canadiens’ goaltending, with Samuel Montembeault, Jakub Dobes, and rookie Jacob Fowler all options, Dobes is doing his part to claim the crease. Since the trade deadline, Dobes has a .917 save percentage in five starts and his 7.86 Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) ranks first among goaltenders in that time, ahead of Jeremy Swayman (7.67), Logan Thompson (7.43), Sergei Bobrovsky (6.28), and Joel Hofer (5.98).
#20 At the other end of the goaltending spectrum, since the trade deadline, Colorado’s Mackenzie Blackwood has struggled, with a .791 save percentage in four starts and his -6.92 GSAx is worst in the league, below even Brandon Bussi (-5.05), Connor Hellebuyck (-4.76), Tristan Jarry (-4.74), and Jacob Markstrom (-4.68). It is a very difficult situation for fantasy managers to deal with a slumping goaltender at any time, but especially when it’s a goaltender for a very strong team, who can usually be relied upon to contribute wins, but when those slumps hit, the goaltending numbers can go south quickly and with fantasy playoffs coming soon, it’s tough to pin all of your season’s hopes on one guy. For this reason, having multiple options is always the best approach. If you can get away with not starting Blackwood or Bussi while they are in the midst of a slump, then it could improve potential outcomes.
*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick