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Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! When Viz and Grey asked if I’d come back for another year of NHL writing, I couldn't tell a lie. I was, and am, pretty stoked to get rolling on the preseason content! So, if any of you were hoping you’d seen the last of your dear old MarmosDad, I’ve got bad news for y’all. I’m back! I spoke a bit with Viz about the schedule, and, as he said in his first post of the year, I’ll be covering all of our NHL games from Tuesday nights throughout the season.
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!
With Draisaitl out for the regular season, somebody in the Oilers supporting cast had to step up.  There's been a few depth guys that have, but nobody more than Matt Savoie.  The former ninth overall pick from the Sabres has started to come into his own.  Savoie had a goal on five shots in the 3-1 win over the Blackhawks.  This was his fourth game out of five that Savoie scored a goal, but the most important things for projecting going forward were his role.  In this game, Savoie played with McDavid and registered over 19 minutes, including on the top power play unit.  The Oilers schedule is pretty spread out so I'm not going to say he's an automatic hold, but Savoie has a Tuesday/Wednesday back to back next week, which is a prime spot to stream him.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
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:
I've long been a fan of Bobby McMann, but the early returns for Seattle blew my expectations out of the water.  McMann scored two goals and an assist with four shots in his Kraken debut on Saturday against Vancouver, and followed it up with a goal and an assist with four shots against Florida on Sunday.  He played over 18 minutes in both games slotting right onto the first line and second power play unit.  With Seattle in the thick of a playoff race, I see no reason to expect McMann's workload to decrease.  That means a 20-25% boost in playing time compared to what he was getting in Toronto.  Over the last three seasons, McMann is in the top 50 in the league in even strength goals per 60 minutes.  Given that, I think he should be held in all formats for the time being.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
After missing the playoffs for fourteen straight seasons, I keep waiting for the Sabres to slump, but instead, they keep getting better.  On Friday, they had a big 3-2 regulation win in Florida.  If that wasn't enough, on the second of a back to back, they absolutely destroyed Tampa 6-2, including a 5-0 lead less than two minutes into the second period.  Only the Colorado Avalanche have more regulation wins this season than the Sabres.  What's been different this week is that Josh Norris has actually been in the lineup.  Norris had an assist with three shots against the Panthers, before scoring two goals against the Lightning.  As has been the case for Norris for four straight seasons, he's been hampered with injuries.  The good news is that he's dominated when he's played this season, sitting with 8+12 in 22 games.  The shot rate is poor so I wouldn't necessarily hold, but he's an elite streamer who probably belongs on the fringe.  Ride the production while you can.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
The first Winter Classic between the Sabres and Penguins in 2008 will always be the top outdoor game for me.  Everything about the game was perfection.  Sunday's Stadium Series game in Tampa moved to #2 on my list.  After Hagel scored 11 seconds into the game, Boston scored five in a row before Tampa mounted a huge comeback, winning 6-5 in a shootout.  There was even a goalie fight!  Boston's problem was that they couldn't stay out of the penalty box, and that's a death sentence against Tampa.  Unsurprisingly, it started with Nikita Kucherov, who had a goal and three assists with eight shots in the victory.  It might sound blasphemous, but Kucherov has a real chance to be the best European forward ever.  He'll certainly be in the discussion.  He's currently the #3 overall forward for fantasy behind MacKinnon and McDavid.  I had him ranked 4th going into the season in a tier with Draisaitl, who is currently 4th overall.  Very chalky season at the top besides the Celebrini big breakout.  Anyways, Kucherov is a top 5 player until further notice.  He's showing no signs of slowing down at 32.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
For almost two whole months now, the Sabres have been taking the league by storm, having the best record in that time frame.  On Thursday, the Sabres have their third five game win streak since December (if you count their ten game win streak as two five game streaks), beating the Kings 4-1.  Alex Tuch led the charge for the team, scoring a hat trick on seven shots.  Tuch moved back onto the top line with Thompson recently, and he's been delivering.  In his last ten games, Tuch has eight goals, and even without PP1 time, Tuch is a clear hold in all formats.  I'm fascinated to see what happens with Tuch come the trade deadline, and not just because I'm a Sabres fan.  I assume the team will keep him even if he doesn't have an extension signed, and there's no doubt that the Brinks Truck is getting backed up for Tuch one way or another.  I'd be hesitant to give him the eight figure salary he wants, assuming it's long term, but it's also hard for the Sabres to just walk away.  Either way, things continue to look up in Buffalo for the first time in a decade.  Let's take a look at what else happened on Thursday night: