It was the penultimate Saturday in the National Hockey League, and the playoff races are almost complete. There are nine teams still alive in the Eastern Conference, as the Florida Panthers try to stay alive in the final eight days of the 2017-18. In the Western Conference, it’s a little more difficult to make the big dance. It’s possible someone with 94-97 points will not make the playoffs. While those teams are giving their all in their pursuit of a playoff spot, we’re not seeing a lot of tanking like that other league with a round orange ball. The Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres are working hard down the stretch and relishing their roles as spoilers. Let’s get started!
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Saturday’s Fantasy Five
Jack Eichel was in a helping mood in a surprising result in the Music City. The Buffalo Sabres crushed chalk eaters with a 7-4 victory, as the heavy underdogs came away with two points. Eichel did not score a goal but he was money on the man advantage. He finished with five assists, including four helpers on the power play, as Buffalo had it going on. They converted four of their nine power plays, and Eichel was front and center. It was surprising success for a team ranking 22nd in the NHL on the man advantage at just 18.3 percent. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft has managed three goals with eight points over the past three games as he finished up strong.
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Seth Jones opened the scoring with a power-play marker in Vancouver, and he added three assists with a plus-3 rating, two blocked shots and two hits in an all-around great game for anyone rolling the dice on him in DFS. One of his assists came on the power play, as Columbus hit on two of their three chances on the man advantage. Jones snapped a three-game scoreless skid with the offensive outburst. Despite the recent slide he capped off his most prolific scoring month with seven goals, seven assists and a plus-11 rating in 13 games in March. He is on an extended hot streak, too, picking up eight goals with 10 assists in 15 contests since Feb. 24. Jones is leading a lot of fantasy owners to championships, and he is helping keep his real team afloat for a postseason spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Detroit Red Wings have been eliminated from the postseason chase for a while, and that still sounds strange to say, by the way. But don’t tell Jimmy Howard that his team is done. He stopped all 31 shots he faced in a 2-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, another team who will be sitting on the couch watching someone raise Lord Stanley’s Cup. Howard was able to secure his first shutout of the season and the 24th of his career while picking up his 22nd win. His 2.81 goals-against average (GAA) has still been a disappointment, and is in danger of being a career worst, but this is easily the worst offensive support he has had, too. But Howard is still up to a respectable 22 wins with a .910 save percentage, and the latter is right in line with the rest of his career numbers.
Speaking of goaltenders on poor teams not giving up, Antti Raanta has been on fire lately. The Coyotes could easily have thrown in the towel, as they were one of the first teams eliminated from the playoff chase. However, they wrapped up the month of March with a contender-like 10-6-1 mark while totaling two shutouts. His 20 victories are a career best, and he has three shutouts with a .929 save percentage. The Finnish netminder appears to have found a home in the third stop of his five-year career. He is still just 28 years old and the future looks very bright for Raanta, so much so he has picked up amazing steam in long-term dynasty leagues with his hot March.
The good news for Phil Kessel is that he potted a power-play goal in the third period, his 31st marker of the season, and he also struck on the power play with an assist. He also had a blocked shot in the win, but he was forced to check out in the third period due to an undisclosed injury and he was unable to return to the bench. He’ll be re-evaluated on Sunday, and you can expect Kessel to do everything in his power to be there Sunday night against the Washington Capitals. If Kessel is forced to the shelf that would end the NHL’s third-longest active Ironman streak at 689 consecutive games played. He is also 10th all-time in consecutive games played, so this is big news.
Fantasy Game of the Night
The game between the Sabres and Predators featured 11 total goals, and a plethora of fantasy points. We touched on Eichel and his five apples above, but he was not the only fantasy star wearing blue and gold for the victors. Sam Reinhart struck twice on the power play and added another even-strength for his second-career hat trick and seventh three-point game. In addition, he matched his career high with 23 goals and 47 points with three games to play. Rasmus Ristolainen was also in a helpful move, picking up three assists with a blocked shot and a pick. He has a goal with 11 assists over the past 18 contests to serve as a solid fantasy option, especially in formats which do not use plus/minus rating. It was another strong day for Ryan O’Reilly, too, as he rolled up a goal with two assists, a plus-1 rating and a blocked shot. He has goals in consecutive games for the fourth time this season, sixth if you count his two-goal performances. O’Reilly has two power-play goals and an assist on the man advantage in the past two contests. Kyle Okposo also flicked the switch on the lamp for two goals.
The Nashville Predators were on the short end of Saturday’s game, but at least they’ll be a part of the playoffs in a couple of weeks. Flying catfish? Yeah, buddy. Austin Watson was the man in this one, posting a goal with an assist and a plus-1 rating. He was especially helpful to fantasy owners and DFS players with his 14 penalty minutes with a blocked shot and a hit. Nick Bonino also checked in with a goal, an assist and a plus-1 rating while blocking a shot and dishing out a crushing hit. Scott Hartnell was held off the scoresheet, but he was able to roll up three hits with two penalties for 15 minutes. Kyle Turris and P.K. Subban hooked up their fantasy owners a goal apiece, although a minus-3 rating for Subban certainly took some of the luster off of his performance. Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Kevin Fiala, Ryan Johansen, Roman Josi and Craig Smith each picked up one assist apiece in the three-goal loss.
Quick Hits: Jake DeBrusk was good for two goals with an assist and a plus-3 rating in his 16:19 of ice time. Louie’s son has racked up four goals with eight assists over the past nine outings to emerge as a must-start fantasy option for the impressive B’s. … David Krejci grabbed three assists with a plus-3 rating, two shots on goal and a blocked shot. It wasn’t all good, as he won just eight of his 22 faceoff chances. That paled in comparison to Sidney Crosby of the Penguins, as he won an amazing 22 of his 24 faceoffs. … Artemi Panarin went for four assists with an even rating in the 5-4 overtime loss against the Canucks. The left winger is on fire, posting three straight multi-point games, totaling a goal with seven assists and a plus-4 rating. He had an amazing March, posting eight goals with an amazing 25 points. His previous month highs were five goals and 18 points back in December. … Jussi Jokinen popped in a goal with two assists and a plus-3 rating, while Bo Horvat was also good for a plus-3. … Connor Hellebuyck cooled off the Maple Leafs, allowing just one goal with 28 saves in a 3-1 win in Hogtown. … Taylor Hall continued his amazing career season, posting two goals with a plus-1 rating and six shots on goal. He is working on an impressive seven-game point streak, picking up five goals with 12 points. That’s now 36 goals with 88 points, both easily career bests, as is his plus-11 rating. He has gone bonkers on the power play this season, too, posting 12 goals with 22 assists on the man advantage. … John Klingberg, who leads all rearguards in points, added to his totals with a goal, an assist and a plus-3 rating. Five of his six months this season have resulted in 10 or more points. … Oliver Ekman-Larsson was good for a goal, an assist, a plus-3 rating, four blocked shots and three hits. OEL finished March with a season-high 12 points, scoring six goals with six assists and a plus-7 rating, his first month in the positive in plus/minus rating since March and April of 2016. … Max Domi and Dylan Strome picked up three assists each in Saturday’s 6-0 embarrassment of the Blues. … Marc-Edouard Vlasic went for a goal with six blocked shots, two hits and 20 PIM. … William Karlsson‘s magical season continues, as he had a shorthanded goal to help the Golden Knights to a Pacific Division title. … Ryan Suter suffered a lower-body injury in Saturday’s 4-1 loss in Dallas and he is a question mark heading into Monday.
