Brady Tkachuk can taste the post-season.
It’s something that’s eluded the Ottawa Senators forward in his seven seasons, but the Sens have now won six straight games and are firmly in control of the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. That’s in large part because of Tkachuk, who’s been virtually unstoppable of late. Tkachuk extended his point streak to nine games Saturday in a victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, which includes seven goals over that span to go along with 24 hits.
This doesn’t even include his shots on goal, where he’s now on pace for close to 350 on the season. Add in well over 100 penalty minutes, and it’s hard to argue that Tkachuk isn’t the most high-end, versatile player in fantasy hockey.
What’s great about this Senators push to the playoffs if you’re someone rostering Tkachuk is that, as I always say, a motivated player is a good one in fantasy hockey. Ottawa hasn’t really been close to a playoff spot in Tkachuk’s career, and now every game from here on out is going to have high stakes. Tkachuk has proven he can raise his game in big moments, and his numbers of late would back that up. If the Sens are going to punch their ticket to the post-season, Tkachuk will be the one that carries them there with big performances night in and night out.
One thing that I think is also going to really help Tkachuk down the stretch is the addition of Dylan Cozens. The new Senator has fit in seamlessly, scoring a point in every game but one with Ottawa so far, including a game-winning goal. Where I think Tkachuk can benefit specifically is that Cozens takes some of the pressure off the forward group as a whole and makes the unit more flexible. Cozens allows Giroux to move to wing, giving Tkachuk both Tim Stutzle and Giroux, two great offensive players, on his line to work with and help him generate offence.
Cozens also gives the power play a boost, and anytime you add a dynamic player into your top six it only eases the weight on everyone’s shoulders. Teams won’t be able to gameplan defensively as easily to try and take away one player, like Tkachuk, for example.
Tkachuk may not end up setting career highs in goals, assists or shots this season, but there’s a chance the stars may align in these final 16 games for him to have one of the more impactful stretches in his fantasy hockey career.
1. So far so good for Spencer Knight in Chicago. The new Blackhawks goaltender has won two of four starts in the Windy City, sporting a .928 save percentage over that stretch. Again, there will be growing pains for Knight, given the lack of talent on Chicago’s roster, but he should have great long-term value there.
2. Artyom Levshunov made his NHL debut for the Blackhawks this week. As the second overall pick in the 2024 draft, there’s going to be a tendency to invest in Levshunov for future fantasy hockey dividends. Keep an eye on his progress, though, as I do think, given his size and skillset, there’s a chance he will develop into one of those players that has more NHL value than fantasy value.
3. Last week, Tanner Pearson had back-to-back multi-point games after a promotion to the top line with Jack Eichel and Mark Stone. Victor Olofsson is back in that spot, though, likely making Pearson now a drop. Whoever is in that role next to Eichel and Stone is going to be really valuable, but it’s been a constant rotation all season.
4. Very quietly, Tomas Hertl is having an excellent season for the Vegas Golden Knights. He has a chance to set a new career-high in goals and hits, as Hertl is starting to look more like the player who was such a fantasy hockey asset in San Jose. Given we only saw him in a limited capacity last season for Vegas due to injury, Hertl was somewhat forgotten about in drafts this year, and those who snagged him later than normal have benefitted.
5. Dawson Mercer has had multiple opportunities in the past where he was promoted up the lineup and didn’t do much with them, but could this time be different? The New Jersey Devils forward got bumped up to the second line when Jack Hughes went down and had goals in back-to-back games. When Cody Glass arrived, Mercer was dropped back down but put him on your watch list if he gets shifted back up with Jesper Bratt.
6. With Dougie Hamilton officially out for at least the remainder of the fantasy hockey calendar, that leaves Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec unimpeded for power play time. Hughes is the guy to roster, as he’s consistently been up over 20 minutes a night lately.
7. If your fantasy team is looking for a boost down the stretch, Mason McTavish has you covered. McTavish has 11 points in his past 11 games and is scoring at a 25-goal pace this season. At only 23 per cent rostered, McTavish could be a key add for the remainder of the campaign, as the Anaheim Ducks play on a lot of off nights, and he can also chip in for faceoff wins, too.
8. It’s still probably going to be a couple of years before he has significant fantasy value, but Cutter Gauthier is starting to find his footing. The Ducks forward has 10 points in his past 11 games, and he has really been clicking with the aforementioned McTavish. Consider Gauthier as a streamer down the stretch.
9. Seth Jones’ stock just went up. With the news that Aaron Ekblad is set to miss the rest of the regular season due to a suspension, Jones now finds himself quarterbacking the Florida Panthers’ top power-play unit and with likely even more ice time going forward. Jones still hasn’t produced much offensively since arriving in Florida, but the upside is definitely there now with Ekblad’s absence.
10. Don’t look now, but Joel Kiviranta has goals in four of his past five games. He’s up to 15 on the season, though he remains in the Colorado Avalanche’s bottom six with no power-play time, so this is likely more of an anomaly than anything else. It’s a nice hot streak, but treat Kiviranta as a streamer and nothing more.
11. There have been some encouraging signs from Elias Pettersson lately. He’s posted at least three shots in three of his past six games and has four goals and six points over that stretch. Pettersson is also filling the blocks, hits and faceoff wins categories. We’ll need to see Pettersson maintain this level of play for a while longer before you can fully remove your hand from the panic button. Still, you’ll gladly take it if you’re rostering him compared to what he was delivering a couple of weeks ago.
12. Do you dare give Tristan Jarry a look? The Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender is 4-0-0 with a .930 save percentage since returning from a stint in the AHL, where he went to work on his game. Given that the Pens figure to continue to struggle the rest of the way with inconsistent play, it would still be tough to really rely on Jarry, but sometimes fantasy leagues are won thanks to taking a big risk. Jarry would be just that and I still don’t think I’d trust him unless I were in a really desperate situation with my goaltending.
13. It’s once again going to be tough to forecast Tage Thompson’s value next year in drafts. Given that the Buffalo Sabres are in the middle of another brutal season and Thompson appears to have been battling through an injury, it’s quite impressive that he’s still scoring at a 47-goal pace, which is what he finished with two years ago. That’s a really encouraging sign based on the regression we saw last year from Thompson. I don’t think you can quite vault him back up to the level he played at during the 2022-23 campaign when forecasting where to draft him, but I think he’ll be targeted much higher next fall compared to where he went this season.
14. Patrick Kane has now notched 35 points in his past 32 games and looks like his old self. A five-point night this week against the Sabres couldn’t have come at a better time if you’re trying to make the playoffs in your league, as Kane has had several matchup-swinging performances this season. He’ll surely regress at some point, but right now, Kane isn’t showing many signs of slowing down at age 36.
15. One of the better stories in hockey this year has been Jonathan Huberdeau’s resurgence. He’s nothing like the 100-plus point player he once was, but he’s scored 25 times and has an outside shot at a new career high in goals. Huberdeau has at least worked his way back into fantasy relevance, and there’s no debate he’s been worth rostering all season. If he can settle into being around a 30-goal and 60-point player, Huberdeau will have decent value moving forward.
16. Give credit to Casey Mittelstadt for taking advantage of a fresh start. Things didn’t go well for Mittelstadt this season in Colorado, but he’s tallied three points in four games since getting dealt to the Boston Bruins. This is a good example of watching for players on teams falling out of the playoff race down the stretch that are getting an opportunity to prove themselves. Sometimes, they can be motivated, and you can catch lightning in a bottle. The Bruins play four times next week, including games against San Jose and Buffalo, so Mittelstadt could be an interesting streaming option.
17. Matt Boldy is now goalless in 10 games. The Minnesota Wild are banged up right now and not having Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek is clearly having a negative impact on Boldy. He still typically provides solid shot volume, so there’s no need to panic too much. It would be nice if the Wild could get healthy in time for the fantasy playoffs, though.
18. It’s been a very strong finish to the season for San Jose Sharks youngster Will Smith. He just had a five-game point streak, and looking further back, Smith is now up to 20 points in his past 20 games. That said, the challenge with adding Smith right now is the Sharks play only twice next week, which isn’t ideal if you’re heading into the fantasy playoffs. Maybe Smith is someone to look at if you have a first-round bye.
19. Speaking of next week’s schedule, the aforementioned Sharks and Red Wings play twice, while everyone else has either three or four games. One of those squads playing four games is the Nashville Predators, and Nick Blankenburg might be worth a look. He’s taken over PP1 with Roman Josi out and recently had points on the man advantage in back-to-back games. Blankenburg is also steady for hits and blocks coverage, too.
The Los Angeles Kings also have a good schedule, and Trevor Moore is back on my radar despite having a bit of a down season. He has points in three of his past four outings, and the Kings have Monday and Sunday games next week where Moore could be a difference-maker on a quiet night.
When it comes to drops, the Detroit crease is crowded again, which means it’s probably time to drop Alex Lyon. Petr Mrazek is now in the rotation, and Lyon hasn’t started in over a week. With the Wings only playing twice, Lyon may not see any action next week.
20. I still think there are some Utah players that are very under-rostered. One is Nick Schmaltz, who has goals in five of his past seven games. Utah is making a push for the playoffs and a number of their skaters, as well as Karel Vejmelka, could have significant value for the rest of the season and beyond.
