Alexander Nikishin scored the overtime winner in the Hurricanes’ 4-3 win in Toronto on Friday.
Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis each picked up two assists for the Canes. Aho is on a nice run with 12 points over his last nine games.
K’Andre Miller scored a shorthanded goal, giving him goals in back-to-back games and eight points over his last nine games. I’ve turned down multiple trade offers for Miller in the past year because I’m not sold on his offensive upside. However, Miller is scoring at over a 40-point pace in his first season with Carolina (32 PTS in 61 GP). Miller has better value in leagues that count hits and blocked shots, as he has reached at least 100 in both categories in each of the previous three seasons.
The win was Brandon Bussi‘s first in four games. Since the Olympic break, Bussi has really cooled off with a 3.87 GAA and .844 SV%. Prior to that, Bussi was a must-start with a 2.12 GAA and .907 SV%. Heading into the playoffs, the Hurricanes may not be as secure in net as they thought. The same goes for fantasy teams in the fantasy playoffs rostering Bussi.
Only one Leafs player is on the Frozen Tools hot list, and it’s not one of the usual suspects. It’s relative unknown (until now) Bo Groulx, who has five points over his last five games. He’s on a line with Dakota Joshua and Matias Maccelli, so I’m not exactly rushing out to add the 26-year-old Groulx. But if you’re a Leafs fan, maybe you have a different idea. I just don’t think his 30% shooting percentage is sustainable. Groulx has 20 hits in just six games, so he at least has some bangers value.
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Ryan Leonard and Aliaksei Protas each scored in the Capitals’ 2-1 win over New Jersey. Leonard now has five goals in his last eight games.
Playing in his second NHL game, Cole Hutson was held without a point in 17 minutes of icetime. Unlike his first game, he was on the second unit power-play with Jakob Chychrun back on the first unit. Hutson posted some big numbers at Boston University (80 PTS in 74 GP), although don’t be surprised if he needs a bit of time to adjust to the NHL. The playoffs might be out of reach for the Capitals at this point, so Hutson is in an ideal spot to receive a solid test run.
Jesper Bratt scored for the Devils, giving him goals in three consecutive games. Bratt has 13 points over his last 10 games after a first half-plus that was well below his recent production (13 G and 43 PTS in 59 GP). You may not be satisfied with his entire body of work this season, but don’t let that discourage you from starting him every game given his recent production.
Jack Hughes registered an assist, giving him 10 points over his last five games. That gold-medal-winning puck belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s about showing respect for the game and sharing the moment with hockey fans.
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Dustin Wolf stopped 24 of 25 shots he faced in the Flames’ 4-1 win over Florida. Wolf is the third goalie to reach 50 games this season, but he has only 20 wins to show for it. His fantasy value will be compromised by the rebuilding state of the Flames, so his abilities might translate better in the real-life aspect of the game. Prior to Friday, Wolf had allowed four goals in five of his past six games, so he isn’t easy to trust right now.
Matt Coronato, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, and Victor Olofsson each scored for the Flames. Olofsson led Calgary with six shots on goal and has 11 shots over his last two games.
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Martin Necas and Nathan MacKinnon did their thing again on Friday. In Colorado’s 4-1 win over Chicago, Necas scored a goal and added two assists, while MacKinnon added three assists. Necas has now matched his career high of 84 points (set last season) and has 22 points in his last 13 games. His fantasy value took a leap forward with the trade to Colorado and linking up with MacKinnon. As for Nate Dogg, he has 10 points in his last five games, and he is locked into a three-horse scoring race with Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov. MacKinnon is tied with Kucherov with 114 points, both just one point back of McDavid.
With the win, the Avalanche also became the first team to clinch a playoff spot. Yes, the Stanley Cup playoffs are coming soon. And with that, Dobber’s 2026 Interactive Playoff Draft List is ready for order.
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In a 4-1 win over Utah, Alex Killorn led the Ducks with a goal, two assists, and four shots. Points-wise, this was Killorn’s best game of the season, moving him up to 26 points in 69 games. Given the relatively low season output, Killorn is a possible buyout candidate for the Ducks this offseason with one more year left on his contract at a $6.25 million cap hit.
Ryan Poehling, Cutter Gauthier, and Mikael Granlund also scored for the Ducks. Gauthier is up to a team-leading 36 goals for the Ducks, which is significant because no other Anaheim player has more than 24 goals.
Dylan Guenther scored for the Mammoth, which was his team-leading 34th goal of the season. That is also significant because no other Utah player has more than 24 goals.
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If you’re in an important fantasy playoff matchup, let’s get you set up for the weekend.
Teams with games both Saturday and Sunday: Buffalo, Columbus, Dallas, Los Angeles, Nashville, NY Islanders, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Vegas, Winnipeg
We’re at the point of the season where anyone is an option. I mean that because if a category like blocked shots could go either way in your matchup, you add a player that specializes in blocked shots. Pretty simple concept.
If Anthony Cirelli happens to be available (33% Yahoo), go get him. Sure, he can only be slotted in at the center position, but Cirelli has posted back-to-back three-point games and 11 points in his last seven games. Tampa has scored six goals in each of their last two games and rolls into Alberta this weekend with stops in Edmonton on Saturday and Calgary on Sunday. Cirelli has also been centering a line with Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel, two players who will help you mightily during fantasy playoff week.
If Cirelli is unavailable, Gage Goncalves (12% Yahoo/17% Fantrax) is another option from the Lightning. Over his past nine games, Goncalves has five goals and 10 points and has been on Tampa’s other scoring line with Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel.
Teams with games neither Saturday nor Sunday: Florida, New Jersey
At this time for the last three seasons, the Panthers have been preparing to go on long Stanley Cup runs. This season, they’re already shutting it down. It doesn’t make sense for them to activate Aleksander Barkov, even if he’s truly ready. Brad Marchand may have already played his last game of the season, so you can cut the cord there if you haven’t done so already. If your league has only IR and not IR+ or another flexible method of stashing injured non-IR players, then you might have to make the tough choice of dropping Sam Reinhart if you’re in a single-season league.
As far as healthy players go, Sergei Bobrovsky has the worst save percentage (.878) among the 21 goalies that have appears in at least 40 games this season. If it’s do-or-die time and decent goalies aren’t that hard to find on your waiver wire, he might be droppable. (I typed this just before Bobrovsky earned a shutout in Edmonton on Thursday, but use your judgment anyway.) As well, Aaron Ekblad is in a slump with no points in his last seven games, so he is replaceable if you need immediate help this weekend.
For the Devils, a player like Dawson Mercer seems droppable. Mercer is without a point in his last six games and tends to run hot and cold during the season. Mercer started the season like he was on the verge of a breakout with 14 points in his first 13 games. However, he has just 18 points in his last 56 games.
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