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There are a couple teams making surprising runs to get back into the playoff race.  The most surprising to me, by far, is the Flyers.  In a huge showdown with Detroit on Saturday, the Flyers stomped them early and held on for the win.  Owen Tippett stole the show with a hat trick and an assist with seven shots.  He had two shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Stars, putting Philly two points out of the playoffs, albeit losing the tiebreaker to every team in front of them.  Philly has a bunch of games this week against their direct competition, so expect Tocchet to lean on their studs.  There are only two games on Friday, so Tippett has a real case to be held.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
The Anaheim Ducks have taken a big step forward this season.  Lucky for them, they're geographically located in the right place.  In the Eastern Conference, they'd be on the outside looking in for the playoffs.  In the West, specifically the Pacific Division, they're close to a lock.  The Ducks won their fourth straight game on Thursday, with Mikael Granlund scoring all three goals in a 3-2 OT win.  Granlund now has seven goals in his last four games and continues to get big minutes.  We've reached the point of the season where most of the fringe are streamers because we need to make a push in the fantasy playoffs, but with Anaheim having four games next week, Granlund is making a real case to be held while he's on fire.  Let's take a look at what else happened on Thursday night:
It's no surprise that Nazem Kadri is the big winner of the trade deadline.  The surprise is how big of a winner that he is.  Kadri has played on the wing with MacKinnon and Necas instead of centering his own line, and it doesn't get better than that.  Kadri had a goalon two shots on Thursday in the win over the Kraken.  His 19:26 in a blowout win is the lowest TOI he's played so far.  There's a real chance that Kadri will be a top 50 player for the rest of the season if he stays in this spot, despite being available in 15% of leagues.  I assume your league's trade deadline has passed, but if it hasn't and you're making a push, Kadri is a top target.  
I started the opening paragraph before the Blues game ended and got punished for it.  I was already writing about Dylan Holloway, but his night got a lot better late improving his stat line.  Holloway was playing his first game since January 18th, and only his second since December 12th, and he delivered the best game of his career.  Holloway had a hat trick and an assist with five shots in the 5-1 win over the Kraken.  Holloway broke out last season with 26-37 in his first year with the Blues, but this season has been a huge disappointment both for him and the team.  The Blues are out of the playoff picture, so it's hard to say who will be traded and who will stay.  Holloway is one of the few players that I'd be surprised if they moved.  The 24 year old has the upside of a bottom end hold in 12'ers, as he showed last season.  The Blues play a bunch of poor defenses in the short term, so for now, Holloway is an elite stremer.  Let's take a look at what else happened in the first two nights back from the Olympic break:
First off, I just wanted to apologize to everyone for not having the usual Monday morning post this week, but after traveling this weekend, I wasn't able to carve out the time to do a proper summary of things around the NHL.  The good news is I'm here now, and it's time to heap some more praise on the #1 goalie in fantasy right now, Logan Thompson.  Thompson recorded his 100th win on Sunday, getting a 39 save shutout in the 2-0 win over Columbus.  Thompson is sitting with an outrageous 1.96/.925 on the season, proving last season wasn't a fluke.  There's just no way Hockey Canada keeps him off the Olympic team now, right?  No matter how much politicking kept him off the Four Nations team because McPhee was butthurt about Thompson being mad he had to backup for Hill, he's clearly one of the three best Canadian goalies.  Do I think he'll finish as the #1 overall goalie?  Probably not, but I'd be stunned if he's not in the top 5.  He's in elite form and the team in front of him is playing very well.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last couple of nights:
Today, I'm going to take a look at what has changed for some power plays around the league after the first two weeks of the season.  I am going to focus on personnel changes that involve two players being swapped, not ones caused by injuries, unless the injury is long term.  I'll talk about how it changes the value for each player and whether I expect this to hold going forward, or whether I think it's a matter of time until it changes back.  Let's get to it!
Atlantic Division Preview here Metropolitan Division Preview here Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! It’s your new/old hockey writing friend, MarmosDad, back with another divisional preview as we start knocking games off of the NHL calendar. Last week, I gave you the final Eastern Conference preview with the Metropolitan Division (you can click it to check it out!). This week, we head West with a peek at the Central division, and boy, am I excited to get rolling on this one!  I nearly jumped the gun and went straight to the Central when I started writing these up, just because I’m kind of obsessed with a certain Winnipeg Jets prospect who opened some eyes in training camp. That should be enough of a teaser to get us through this preview, especially because the Jets round out our teams at the bottom of our profiles today. So let’s close our eyes, take a deep breath, and try to find our Central, er, center, as we head out to visit the place with the least creative division name of all…
We wrap up my forward rankings by going through the Top 100 today.  As a reminder, there will be a separate post once my rankings are done for my favorite late round targets in 10-12 team leagues, but this post should get us comfortably through round 15 or so when you factor in goalies and defensemen.  If you haven't seen the Top 60, you can check that out here.  Let's get to it!
The new Robert Thomas gets things done before 3 a.m.  The Blues won their seventh straight game on Tuesday, destroying the Canadiens 6-1.  Their best player led the way with a goal and three assists, giving him 2+11 in his last eight games.  The Blues are getting closer and closer to a lock for the playoffs, which is a big triumph for Montgomery and the organization.  It's not a knock on Kyrou or their other wingers, but I'd love to see what Thomas could do with a superstar winger on his side.  In terms of a pure playmaker, Thomas would be in my top ten in the league, and probably top five.  He's still only 25 years old and his game should age incredibly well, so now that his shot rate is to a below average level instead of a huge drain, Thomas is a great dynasty asset.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
The Blues are making a real push for the playoffs, and one of their summer offer sheets is making a big push.  Dylan Holloway dished three assists on Tuesday, adding three shots in the 4-1 win over the Predators.  All of a sudden, Holloway is up to 55 points on the season, with seven points in his last four games and twelve in his last ten.  The Oilers could sure use a guy like Holloway right now.  Well, maybe not Tuesday night, but the point stands.  Worst case, Holloway is an elite streamer, but while he's this hot with some great matchups on the horizon, I would hold him.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:

Things are shaking out differently than I expected in Detroit.  I thought Petr Mrazek was brought in to be the backup to Talbot, but he’s started three consecutive games.  After losing to his former team, the Hurricanes, on Friday 4-2 (saved 28/31 shots), he came back with an 18 save shutout victory in the 3-0 win over the Golden Knights.  Please, blog, may I have some more?

"I really like Logan Thompson.  There’s no way to bet on this, but I favor Thompson to be the #1 by the end of the season, and probably by midseason.   I’m a big believer in his talent.  It (drafting him) is a gamble I’d like to take."  And that's me quoting me from my preseason rankings!  Well, we've reached that point and then some.  Thompson posted his second consecutive shutout on Thursday, beating the Sens 1-0 in OT on a Ovechkin game winner.  Thompson's numbers are ludicrous.  He's started 25 games and has 20 wins.  His GAA is pushing towards 2.20 and his save percentage is above .920.  And just like that, he's the #2 overall goalie on the season.  I didn't get Thompson on every team like I hoped, but he is carrying my teams where I do since he was my third goalie drafted.  The Capitals look like a powerhouse and I see no reason to expect him to fall off a cliff.  Would I bet him as a top five goalie the rest of the way?  Probably not.  As a #1 in 12'ers?  Absolutely.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights: