Hutch's Hockey: Addressing Significant Injuries in the Playoffs

It's a fantasy manager's worst nightmare: your first-round pick suffers an injury right before the playoffs. That nightmare has come to life for anyone who invested in Connor McDavid (lower body) or Leon Draisaitl (undisclosed). Both players popped up on the NHL Injury Report last week. While both have offered their usual excellent production this season, they're also both hurt at the same time, likely set for a week-long absence each. The Oilers feel no pressure in the NHL's playoff race, so they won't risk rushing back either superstar. That's little consolation for fantasy managers stuck in between -- the absence is too short to justify an injured reserve placement at this time of the year, but it could make the difference for many managers who rode their superstars to the playoffs. 

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: How to Address Significant Playoff Injuries

So, what do you do now? First and foremost, if you have an IR+/non-IR-injury slot to use, absolutely use it. That gives you a little bit of wiggle room to overcome the absence while fielding a full roster. When McDavid and Draisaitl are ready to return, be quick to make your move -- they won't be out long enough to lose momentum. If this option isn't available to you, it's time to start churning your bench players. You won't make up for either player's absence with one move alone. You have to take a volume approach to replace their production, and even that's unlikely to be enough. It's a tough position to be in, but this is the price of doing business in fantasy sports. Some injuries have seismic impacts and you're stuck riding the waves. 

In this particular case, I'm not a strong advocate for picking up the players directly replacing McDavid and Draisaitl in the lineup. Adam Henrique, Jeff Skinner and Corey Perry are fine role players, but they're all past their prime. The one benefit these players typically have when moving up the lineup -- playing with superstars -- is not an option right now, so the boost they'll get from the extra ice time doesn't really exist. The Oilers are unique as a top-heavy NHL team, and while the depth players will get the chance to prove themselves, it's too much of a risk to take at this time of year. 

Instead, try your hand on the waiver-wire for players less impacted by their team's injuries. Jonathan Huberdeau has made a good case lately to be on fantasy rosters, earning five goals and four assists over his last six games, making him one of the top NHL Trending Players recently. Much of his success this year has come alongside Nazem Kadri, but the two were split up during the Flames' road trip last week, and both were productive on separate lines. Huberdeau's a source of points and plays in all situations, and he can also help in shots on goal and plus-minus. The Flames' offense isn't strong, but the top players have still put together decent seasons, Huberdeau included as he tracks toward his best year of three with Calgary. 

One of my top toughness targets this week is Mathieu Olivier. The Blue Jackets are poised to get some players back this week, namely Sean Monahan (wrist) and Erik Gudbranson (shoulder). Olivier may get shuffled to the fourth line, but I'm not worried. He's put up five goals, two assists, 25 shots and 37 hits over 10 games in March, and he's likely to retain a decent share of ice time anyway. The offense has been a new feature for the winger this year, but he is among the league's elite for hits and PIM. He'll be on rosters in most banger leagues, but he can help in any league that counts at least one of hits or PIM, especially while his offense is up. 

Ross Colton has had an interesting year as one of the Avalanche's depth forwards. He was excellent early on when injuries opened up more playing time, but an absence of his own left him behind for the middle of the season. He's still deeper in the lineup than most fantasy-relevant forwards would be, but it hasn't mattered as much lately, as he's earned two goals and 10 assists over his last 12 games. He also has 36 hits, 22 shots and a plus-7 rating in that span. Colton's big contribution comes from his hit totals, but he has the capability to be an all-around performer that can bolster a fantasy team's depth. 

Mason McTavish has had exactly the kind of second half of the season he needed to prove his doubters wrong. A surge in late January (eight points in seven games) got things going, and he's continued with 16 points over 16 contests since the 4 Nations Face-Off break. He's been on my radar a lot lately, especially after he and Cutter Gauthier started clicking, though they've since been shuffled to separate lines at even strength. Overlook the Ducks at your own risk -- this team is rolling three scoring lines most of the time, and McTavish's success at center has been a big part of that evolution as Anaheim looks poised to step out of its rebuild next year. 

I don't exactly know what to make of Dylan Samberg's March yet. He has five points, 27 blocked shots, 21 shots on net and a plus-7 rating over 10 contests this month. Samberg's been in a top-four role all year, mainly filling a shutdown role that has led to plenty of blocks. He missed about six weeks with a foot injury, but he's arguably been better since his return. It's not completely odd for a 26-year-old defenseman to have a breakout, but it's a little later on the development curve. What I do know: Samberg is productive across categories right now, and that's enough to make him an option in most fantasy formats, at least while Neal Pionk (lower body) remains out. 

As long as Joel Eriksson Ek (lower body) stays on injured reserve, it's worth keeping an eye on Ryan Hartman. At worst, he'll give you a boost in PIM and shots in a middle-six role. The best-case scenario is when he adds steady offense and hits to the mix. Over nine games since he returned from a suspension, he's split the middle pretty well with six points, 23 shots, eight hits and seven PIM. Not everyone likes Hartman's playing style, and the risk of another suspension is always present, but he's a viable depth forward in fantasy when he stays out of trouble. 

It looks like all Justin Faulk needed to get back on track this year was an opportunity. For much of the season, the standout on the Blues' defense was Colton Parayko, who is currently out with a knee injury. Faulk has 10 points over nine contests since Parayko exited the lineup. Overall, it's still a down year across the board for Faulk, except for in power-play production, where his 12 power-play points are his most in any season since 2017-18. He still chips in decent offense, hits and blocks while featuring in a steady top-four role.

Matthew Coronato has four goals over his last three games, and that's enough to at least open the discussion on his play. The winger has played in a top-six role for much of the campaign for the Flames. It hasn't exactly been a breakout year -- he has 20 goals and 17 assists over 64 contests, which is fine production for a second-year winger, but it's not a ticket to fantasy stardom. The good news is that he's looking dialed in and isn't losing ice time as the Flames hang around the playoff race. In fact, he's at 18:35 per game since the start of February, compared to 17:22 per game overall. That's good news for his development, and he can be a helpful player right now for those in need of points and shots. 

While Jordan Eberle heads into the week scoreless over two outings, he's had a strong March, earning two goals and eight assists over his last 11 contests. The winger came back from missing nearly half a season due to a pelvic surgery. Eberle is a points-only option -- he's added just 16 shots on net this month, so he's not producing via volume. He's in a top-six role again for the Kraken, and offense is valuable, but he may be more of a streaming option in fantasy despite his recent success. 

He doesn't have a multi-point effort in March, but David Perron has still turned his season around this month. He has five goals, three assists, 11 shots on net, 27 hits and a plus-7 rating over his last 11 games. I highlighted Dylan Cozens' performance in last week's column, and it's Perron's turn to get some recognition for his role in the instant success of the Senators' new second line. Perron and Cozens are playing with Drake Batherson, and all three forwards offer steady scoring, ample physicality and a chance to generate power-play points. Perron's season has largely been a wash due to a couple of lengthy absences, but he's found a groove at the best time for savvy fantasy managers to take advantage. 

It's not much to go off, but Jake Allen has carved out a 50-50 split in goal for the Devils, sharing the crease with Jacob Markstrom. This has stemmed from Markstrom's shaky play following a knee injury, while Allen has stepped up to win three of his last four starts (1.77 GAA, .943 save percentage. The Devils play four times this week, so that would likely mean two starts for Allen if the workload distribution goes unchanged. He struggled toward the end of Markstrom's absence, but a little rest earlier in the month has gotten Allen back on track. 

Joel Hofer is also working his way into a split of playing time with a more established starter. Jordan Binnington has been fine lately, but Hofer has helped his own cause by winning his last three starts, allowing just one goal in each game. The Blues are one of the teams on the playoff bubble in the Western Conference, but they haven't taken the typical approach of riding the hot hand -- likely because both goalies are playing well. Hofer's an option this week, as he should start two times if the 50-50 split continues, though the Blues may shield him from facing the Avalanche on Saturday. Either way, he's likely to face one of the Canadiens or the Predators, which shouldn't be any trouble for him the way he's been playing lately. 

The fact of the matter with injuries is that you can't predict them. You can mitigate risk by taking players who don't get hurt frequently, but past results are not an indication of the future. The fact that two of the top four players in the league are out for the first round of the fantasy playoffs is just bad timing. With any luck, managers rostering McDavid and Draisaitl have supported them with enough talent to overcome a brief absence, and if they can do it, they'll be in a great position for the rest of the playoffs. In any case, this is the toughest part of the year. Winning your league is great, but don't be too worried if you come up short, because there's a large amount of luck involved when dealing with samples as small as three or four games. Make your tune-ups for this week count, and I'll check back in next week with more.