The Week Ahead: Down the Stretch They Go

It's getting awfully close to the end of the season as there will only be 11 days left after this week.

If you are in the semifinals in your head-to-head league, it's a tough week to have New Jersey, Rangers, Philadelphia and Toronto players, as they only play twice.

All statistics are through Saturday night, unless otherwise noted.

WEEK OF MARCH 31-APRIL 6

4 Games – Boston, Calgary, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Florida, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, Ottawa, Vegas, Washington

3 Games – Anaheim, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Detroit, Edmonton, Los Angeles, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Utah, Vancouver, Winnipeg

2 Games – New Jersey, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Toronto

Montreal and Vancouver play all four games on the road.

Anaheim, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Winnipeg play three games at home.

Florida plays all four games on the road.

Ottawa plays all four games at home.

Colorado, Edmonton, Minnesota, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Washington and Winnipeg play three games on the road.

Montreal, New York Islanders, St. Louis, Utah and Vancouver play three games at home.

ANAHEIM

Games this week: vs. San Jose, @ Calgary, @ Vancouver

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: Leo Carlsson had his best night as a pro Friday, scoring once and adding three assists in a 5-4 overtime win over the Rangers. Carlsson has 10 goals and 10 assists in 18 games since the NHL returned from its 4 Nations Face-Off break...Look to take him next season in the middle rounds of re-draft leagues...Jackson LaCombe has two goals and six points in his last four games, giving him five goals and 21 points in his last 24 contests.

BOSTON

Games this week: vs. Washington, @ Montreal, vs. Carolina, @ Buffalo

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Carolina (Saturday)

Notes: The Bruins play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week...Jeremy Swayman should get at least two starts, and possibly three, with Joonas Korpisalo starting the remainder...It's been a tough year for Swayman, who was considered a top-five goaltender last season. He was behind the eight-ball right off the start as he missed training camp holding out for a new contract and never recovered. Swayman is 20-25-6 with a 3.12 GAA and an .892 save percentage, by far the worst stats in his five-year NHL career.

BUFFALO

Games this week: @ Ottawa, vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Boston

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Sabres signed their second-round pick from 2022 to an entry-level contract. Topias Leinonen played for Mora in Sweden's HockeyAllsvenskan league, going 13-10-0 with a 2.31 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 25 appearances this season...Rasmus Dahlin is poised to have his second-best offensive season in his NHL career as he has 13 goals and 44 helpers in 63 games, 16 points in arrears of his 2022-23 breakout season.

CALGARY

Games this week: @ Colorado, @ Utah, vs, Anaheim vs. Vegas

Tired: @ Utah (Tuesday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Flames play four games this week, including three games in four nights...Dustin Wolf should get three starts with Dan Vladar playing once...Connor Zary is day-to-day after injuring his knee Thursday versus Dallas...MacKenzie Weegar has seven goals and 34 assists in 71 games this season, including four goals and 19 points with the man advantage...Joel Farabee has only three goals and five points in 21 games since his trade from Philadelphia.

CAROLINA

Games this week: vs. Washington, vs. Detroit, @ Boston

Tired: @ Boston (Saturday)

Rested: vs. Washington (Wednesday)

Notes: The Hurricanes play three games in four nights...They have been alternating games between Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov, so look for Kochetkov to play twice with Andersen getting the call once...Jackson Blake has a goal and five assists in his last six games. He is playing on the top line with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis...Taylor Hall got off to a slow start with the Hurricanes after his trade from Chicago, but he has been heating up of late with seven tallies and three helpers in his last eight contests.

CHICAGO  

Games this week: vs. Colorado, @ Washington, vs. Pittsburgh

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: Connor Bedard had a better rookie campaign with 22 goals and 39 assists in 68 games. He has 20 goals and 57 points over 73 contests this season. Bedard has been better with the man advantage in his sophomore season, as he has nine goals and 26 points compared to four markers and 21 points last season. He is a combined minus-81 over 141 career games. Bedard should be better next season but he definitely needs more help around him...Chicago signed defenseman Sam Rinzel and forward Oliver Moore to entry-level contracts Saturday.

COLORADO

Games this week: vs. Calgary, @ Chicago, @ Columbus, @ St. Louis

Tired: @ Columbus (Thursday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Avalanche play four games this week, including three games in four nights...Mackenzie Blackwood is slated to start at least twice and likely three times with Scott Wedgewood playing once...Brock Nelson has three goals and eight points in 11 games since joining the Avs. He is seeing second-line action with Martin Necas and Artturi Lehkonen...Valeri Nichushkin has seven goals and four assists in his last 11 games and is on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin.

COLUMBUS

Games this week: vs. Nashville, vs. Colorado, @ Toronto, @ Ottawa

Tired: None

Rested: vs, Nashville (Tuesday), vs. Colorado (Thursday)

Notes: The Blue Jackets play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week...Elvis Merzlikins will likely play three games while Daniil Tarasov plays once...Sean Monahan returned to action this past week after missing 28 games with a wrist injury. He's playing on the top line between Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko and has three assists in three games this week.

DALLAS

Games this week: @ Seattle, vs. Nashville, vs. Pittsburgh @ Minnesota  

Tired: @ Minnesota (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Stars play four games during the week, including three games in four nights...Jake Ottinger should get a trio of starts with Casey DeSmith playing once...Jason Robertson has four goals and three assists in his last three games...Wyatt Johnson has goals in four straight games...Jamie Benn hasn't scored in his last 10 games, though he does have five assists.

DETROIT

Games this week: @ St. Louis, @ Carolina, vs. Florida   

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Florida (Sunday)

Notes: Patrick Kane has tallied five times and added 12 assists in 14 games during the month of March...Alex DeBrincat has four goals and nine points in his last nine appearances...The Red Wings have been alternating their three goaltenders, Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon and Petr Mrazek, though Mrazek is currently out of action with a head injury...Simon Edvinsson has four assists in his last five games, giving him seven goals and 29 points in 69 contests.

EDMONTON

Games this week: @ Vegas, @ San Jose, @ Los Angeles

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Oilers were without Connor McDavid (lower body) this past week but hope to get him back for their upcoming four-game road trip...Leon Draisaitl returned to action Saturday and scored twice including his 50th and 51st goals of the season...Stuart Skinner is out of action with a head injury, leaving the netminding chores to Calvin Pickard...Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has four goals and five assists in his last seven games, including a trio of three-point nights.

FLORIDA

Games this week: @ Montreal, @ Toronto, @ Ottawa, @ Detroit

Tired: @ Toronto (Wednesday) @ Detroit (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes: Florida plays a pair of back-to-back games this week so look for Sergei Bobrovsky and Vitek Vanecek to split the goaltending duties...Bobrovsky has been hot of late with three straight wins. He has allowed four goals on 66 shots in the victories...Seth Jones has only one goal and two assists in 11 games with the Panthers. Both assists have come on the power play where he has taken over quarterbacking the top unit ahead of the suspended Aaron Ekblad.

LOS ANGELES

Games this week: vs. Winnipeg, @ Utah, vs. Edmonton

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Kings have been getting great goaltending from Darcy Kuemper who is 7-1-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .954 save percentage entering Saturday's outing versus Toronto...Quinton Byfield has eight goals and 13 assists in 23 games since the beginning of February...Adrian Kempe has 29 goals and 58 points in 72 appearances this season.

MINNESOTA

Games this week: @ New Jersey, @ New York Rangers, @ New York Islanders, vs. Dallas  

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Dallas (Sunday)

Notes: The Wild are in the greater New York area for three games this week before returning home to play Dallas on Sunday...Minnesota plays every other night so expect to see Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury share the net...Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) has missed 24 straight games, but he skated before practice Thursday and could return as early as Sunday versus Dallas.

MONTREAL

Games this week: vs. Florida, vs. Boston, vs. Philadelphia, @ Nashville

Tired: @ Nashville (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Canadiens play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week...Sam Montembeault should get three starts with Jakub Dobes getting one start...Arber Xhekaj has been seeing time at forward as the Canadiens are playing 11 forwards and seven defensemen, He is worth using in pools that reward penalty minutes and hits as he has 75 PIM and 100 hits in his last 40 games. The problem is that he has only one assist.  

NASHVILLE

Games this week: @ Philadelphia, @ Columbus, @ Dallas, vs. Montreal

Tired: @ Columbus (Tuesday)

Rested: vs. Montreal (Sunday)

Notes: The Predators play three games in four nights this week as part of their four-game schedule...Juuse Saros should get at least two starts with Justus Annunen starting the remainder of the contests...Luke Evangelista has moved up to the top line with Ryan O'Reilly and Filip Forsberg and has three goals and six points in his last five games...Fedor Svechkov scored his first goal in 24 games Thursday against St. Louis.

NEW JERSEY

Games this week: vs. Minnesota, vs. New York Rangers

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

Jacob Markstrom has provided the Devils with good, but not great, goaltending this season, his first in New Jersey. Markstrom is 24-14-6 with three shutouts, a 2.50 GAA and a .900 save percentage across 44 contests this season...Nico Hischier has seven goals and 13 points in his last 10 games...Jesper Bratt has set career highs in assists with 66 and points with 86 in 75 games.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Games this week: vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Minnesota, vs. Washington  

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Islanders play all three games at home this week as they fight for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Islanders are 17-14-5 at home and need a big week against three teams entering the playoffs...It's been a tough campaign for Noah Dobson, who has only eight goals and 26 assists in 61 games after picking up 70 points last season.

NEW YORK RANGERS

Games this week: vs. Minnesota, @ New Jersey

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Rangers are sitting in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference thanks to a 6-1 win over Seattle on Saturday...Adam Fox came up big with a pair of goals, giving him four goals and seven points in his last five contests...Artemi Panarin also had two goals in the win...Panarin has 33 goals and 79 points in 72 games, a great season for most but 41 points less than he had last season.

OTTAWA 

Games this week: vs. Buffalo, vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Florida, vs. Columbus  

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Senators play four times this week, including three games in four nights...Linus Ullmark is slated to start twice with Anton Forsberg playing once...Shane Pinto had a pair of assists Saturday to snap a six-game pointless streak. Pinto has 16 goals and 30 points in 60 outings...Claude Giroux has been pretty quiet this season but still has 14 goals and 46 points in 72 games.

PHILADELPHIA

Games this week: vs. Nashville, @ Montreal

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Flyers fired John Tortorella this past week and you have to wonder if some of the players will find the work atmosphere a lot easier to handle. Matvei Michkov has had a pair of goals in each of the two games since Tortorella's dismissal as well as one assist, giving him 24 goals and 56 points in 73 games...Keep an eye on Jamie Drysdale next season. He has been injury-prone through most of his young career, but the defenseman is still only 22.

PITTSBURGH

Games this week: @ St. Louis, @ Dallas, @ Chicago

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Penguins play three games in four nights...Tristan Jarry is slated to start twice with Alex Nedeljkovic playing once...The Penguins recalled some of their future this week when Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty were added to the roster from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton...Sidney Crosby broke Wayne Gretzky's record this week as he has had 20 seasons averaging at least a point a game.

SAN JOSE

Games this week: @ Anaheim, vs. Edmonton, vs. Seattle

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: William Eklund is showing why he was selected seventh overall on 2021 as he has three goals and five points in his last four games, giving him 17 goals and 54 points in 66 games. He has lowered his plus/minus rating from a minus-45 last season to a creditable minus-1 heading into action Saturday...This could be the swan song for Alexandar Georgiev with the Sharks as Yaroslav Askarov is slated to be the No. 1 goaltender next season.

SEATTLE

Games this week: vs. Dallas, @ Vancouver, @ San Jose

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Kraken are not going to make the playoffs once again as they have already been eliminated...Matty Beniers has two goals and five points in his last six games. The Kraken need him to take his game to the next step as he has had two mediocre seasons after picking up 57 points in his rookie campaign...Vince Dunn has four assists in his last six games, and has 11 goals and 35 points in 54 games this season.

ST. LOUIS

Games this week: vs. Detroit, vs. Pittsburgh, vs. Colorado

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Blues are red-hot, having won nine straight games...Robert Thomas picked up assists on both goals Saturday in a 2-1 win over Colorado. Thomas has two goals and 12 points in his last five games and has 19 goals and 68 points in 63 outings...Dylan Holloway saw his nine-game point streak come to an end Saturday. Holloway has 26 goals and 62 points in 75 contests and the Oilers have to be kicking themselves for not matching the Blues' offer during the offseason.

TAMPA BAY

Games this week: @ New York Islanders, @ Ottawa, @ Buffalo

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Lightning are in a tight battle for the top spot in the Atlantic Division as they sit tied for second place with Florida at 91 points, one in arrears of the Maple Leafs...Nikita Kucherov has back-to-back four-point games and has 17 points in an eight-game point streak...Victor Hedman has been almost as good with five points in his last two outings, giving him 13 goals and 59 points in 70 appearances.

TORONTO

Games this week: vs. Florida, vs. Columbus

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Florida (Wednesday)

Notes: John Tavares has been red-hot in the month of March. He has 13 goals and 19 points across 14 games, giving him 35 goals and 69 points in 66 games. He has 12 goals and 19 points on the power play and is giving the Maple Leafs every reason to re-sign him to a multi-year contract despite being 34 years of age...Matthew Knies had four assists in two games before being held off the scoresheet Saturday. Knies has 25 goals and 49 points in 69 games in his sophomore season in the NHL.

UTAH

Games this week: vs. Calgary, vs. Los Angeles, vs. Winnipeg

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Calgary (Tuesday)

Notes: Utah is sitting 11 points out of a playoff spot so they are once again playing for next season...They do have one big line with Logan Cooley centering Clayton Keller and Dylan Guenther and that line could be a top-10 unit in the NHL as early as next season...Mikhail Sergachev has been terrific when he has been healthy and the Hockey Club finally has a No. 1 defenseman to lead the team.

VANCOUVER

Games this week: vs. Seattle, vs. Anaheim, vs. Vegas

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Canucks need to rely on Thatcher Demko down the stretch if they hope to make an appearance in the playoffs. The oft-injured goaltender returned to action Monday and picked up a pair of wins, defeating the Islanders and New Jersey on the road. The Canucks then dropped a 7-6 shootout decision to Columbus on Friday with Kevin Lankinen in net...Elias Pettersson missed all three games this week with an undisclosed injury.

VEGAS

Games this week: vs. Edmonton, vs. Winnipeg, @ Calgary, @ Vancouver

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Golden Knights have been blessed to have Jack Eichel this season. He is fourth in NHL scoring with 93 points in 72 games, 11 better than his previous career high set in the 2018-19 campaign with Buffalo...Shea Theodore returned to action Tuesday after missing 14 games with an arm injury suffered during the 4 Nations Face-Off. He is starting on the second power play, but should return to the first unit shortly.

WASHINGTON

Games this week: @ Boston, @ Carolina, vs. Chicago, @ New York Islanders

Tired: @ Carolina (Wednesday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Capitals play four games this week, including three games in four nights...Look for Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren to share the net...What a great season Pierre-Luc Dubois is having. The Capitals gave up Darcy Kuemper to Los Angeles (and make no doubt about it, Kuemper has also been a stud this season) for Dubois who had a terrible 2023-24 season with only 40 points. Dubois has 61 points in 72 games this season and is only two points away from equaling his career high.

WINNIPEG

Games this week: @ Los Angeles, @ Vegas, @ Utah

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Jets suffered a blow with an upper-body injury to Gabriel Vilardi who is out week-to-week...Alex Iafallo moved up to the top line alongside Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor and potted a pair of goals Friday in a 4-0 win over Minnesota...Brandon Tanev has a goal and three assists with 20 hits in 10 games with the Jets since his trade from Seattle.