Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It’s one final Wednesday write-up from your guy, MarmosDad, and things are starting to get interesting in the first round. Sens and Kings fans are ready to watch a lot more baseball, and a few other teams are headed in the same direction.
Today, there will be more updates on the leading scorers from each series, along with notes on some of the names I outlined in the 2026 Fantasy Hockey Playoff Pool Review.
That means updates for all the Must Have skaters and any of the Worth the Gamble or Under the Radar guys who need them.
Will we get a clearer picture of who we’ll be seeing in Round Two? Did the Bruins copy the Penguins by staving off elimination and forcing a Game 6?
Let’s have a look!
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
We’re blade deep in the first round of the NHL Playoffs, and hopefully your pool rosters and brackets are slotted neatly into the “so far so good” territory.
The timing of the start of Round One was a bit unfortunate, as some pairings weren’t finalized until after I wrote up our 2026 Fantasy Hockey Playoff Pool Review (try saying that one 5 times fast with a mouthful of ginger ale).
But guess what?! It’ll be a full report of the postseason dance partners today!
I’ll have each First Round matchup with updates and check-ins on our players I mentioned in the guide.
That means updates for all the Must Have skaters, and any of the Worth the Gamble or Under the Radar guys who need it.
Let’s go!
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
Are you ready for a Fantasy Hockey Playoff Pool preview? Do you need a primer for drafting your playoff pool roster?
Well, I have some good news for you!
Welcome to the first annual (maybe) MarmosDad NHL Playoff Preview!
I’ll go through some notes on how to strategize when making your picks for the playoff pool, then do a rundown of each playoff team, with names to look out for during your drafts.
Let’s get to it!
"Boldy is the type of player that I love to have on my team. Boldy’s extremely safe across the board with plenty of upside." And that's me quoting me from my preseason rankings copying what Grey does! Nothing like a career high in goals for Boldy before the Olympic break. Boldy was outstanding on Wednesday, scoring a hat trick in the first period against the Predators, later adding an assist in the victory. While the shots are slightly down, Boldy is still over three per game, and already has 32+30 in 54 games. That's a borderline top 10 forward. I had Boldy in my top 25 overall going into the season, slightly ahead of his ADP. Granted, when it's this early in drafts, slightly ahead put him on a bunch of my teams. He should only continue to get better going forward and has the chance to be reach superstardom during the Olympics. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It was an 8-game schedule, so a bit lighter than usual, to peek in on Tuesday night.
But that didn’t stop Wyatt Johnston (1 G [26], 3 SOG, his league-leading 16th PPG) and the rest of the Stars from feasting on a steady diet of bear paws on home ice.
Jeremy Swayman (19-12-1-1) faced 32 shots on goal…before the third period started. Oh boy. The B’s defense corps looked like they were late to the opening faceoff in this one, then spent the rest of the game spinning in circles trying to figure out which way was up.
The 6-2 Dallas win snapped a 3-game losing streak for the Stars and pushed Dallas’ record to 3-5-2 in its last 10 games.
There's not much that a slam dunk Hall of Famer can do to surprise you, but with how poorly the last two seasons have gone for Steven Stamkos, last night qualified. Stammer scored four goals by the end of the second period on Thursday, finishing with nine shots on goal in the 7-2 win over the Blues. Look, it couldn't be going worse in Smashville overall. That said, he's getting some trade buzz, and a game like yesterday is going to do wonders for the chances of someone taking on his contract. He did have six points (4+2) in the seven games before Thursday, so it didn't come completely out of the blue. For now, he's in elite streamer range while he's hot. Let's take a look at what else happened on Thursday night:
It was ridiculous enough that Tom Wilson set career high in both goals and assists in his 12th season in the NHL, especially after coming off a horrible 2023-24. So of course, Wilson is blowing last season out of the water so far in his age 32 season. Wilson had a goal and an assist with two shots on Friday against Toronto, before scoring two goals and an assist with three shots and two PIM against the Isles on Sunday. Wilson is somehow sitting with 15 goals already, adding 14 assists, in only 26 games. Add in 54 PIM and 69 hits already and Wilson is having a top five fantasy season for a forward as we enter December. Am I buying this? Definitely not. Guys just don't go from a 40-50 point player to 65 and then blow that 65 out of the water at age 32. However, I also wouldn't be looking to move him without getting an insane return. The PIM and hits are locks to be elite and he has turned into a good play driver. With where you drafted Wilson, you're already playing with house money, so let it ride! Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
So there's just one game on tonight?
And it's Dallas? As in Dallas, Texas? The leading oil-drilling state?
Versus Edmonton? Also known as the “Oil Capital of Canada”?
On Tuesday night, right before the holiday where everyone drops their freshly plucked birds in a giant vat of boiling…
WAIT, WHAT?!
Ok, so I guess it’s officially “Deep Fried Tuesday” on the NHL schedule. I would have said, “Welcome to the War of Oil Wranglin!”, but I was worried about copyright infringement.
Not since Bell and Barksdale were running the streets of Baltimore have we seen a group of B's dominate like the current top line for the Blackhawks. Bedard, Burakovsky, and Bertuzzi have recently been put together, and they have been destroying everyone in their path. In the Chicago 4-0 win over the Flames on Friday, Connor Bedard had a goal and three assists, Andre Burakovsky had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice. They followed that up with a 5-1 beatdown of the Red Wings, with Bedard having a goal and two assists, while the other two each had a goal and an assist. Bedard is leading the league in points now, so it's safe to say that sophomore slump is a thing of the past. Bertuzzi is doing enough to be held right now, having six goals in his last three games. Burakovsky is on the fringe while he's a hot schmotato. His shot rate is going to determine how much he can sustain this fantasy value. For the first time in years, things are looking up for the Blackhawks. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Sports Mount Rushmore's are always a hot topic for debate, but the more time goes on, the more I think Sidney Crosby has to be on it. Here we are one month into the season, and Crosby is carrying a horrible Penguins team to a 9-4-2 record while leading the league in goals. Crosby scored two more times on Thursday against the Capitals, putting six shots on net in over 22 minutes of ice time. He's been a top five forward to this point, and while I don't expect that to last, it's a good chance that Crosby finishes as a top 20 player again. Not bad for someone in his age 38 season. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two 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…
