NHL Barometer: Pushing For the Playoffs

This week's article includes Cooley getting hot in Utah, Svechnikov rolling in Carolina, Hofer's brilliance in net for the Blues, Hintz sidelined, Stankoven slumping and Skinner scuffling.

Discover who's been filling up the scoresheet with RotoWire's NHL Trending Players page.

First Liners (Risers)

Adam Fantilli, C, CLM: Columbus has propelled itself back into playoff contention by going 6-1-3 in its last 10 games. A big component of that run is Fantilli, who has cracked the scoresheet in five of his last seven outings. Over that stretch, the 21-year-old playmaker has nine points (five goals, four assists), 18 shots on goal, 18 hits and five blocked shots. On the season, Fantilli, the third overall pick in the 2023 draft, is up to 18 tallies, 26 helpers and 103 hits in 63 contests, giving the center a strong chance at exceeding the career-high 54 points he posted last season.

Logan Cooley, C, UTAH: Cooley missed three-plus months and 28 games with a lower-body injury, returning to action after the Olympics. He has cracked the scoresheet in four of Utah's seven games since that break, tallying five points (three goals, two helpers), a plus-3 rating, 12 shots, six hits and five blocked shots in that span. Before the injury, Cooley was on pace to possibly exceed the 65 points he posted last season, and he now has 17 tallies and 11 helpers in 36 games as he tries to keep the Mammoth in a playoff spot.

Cutter Gauthier, LW, ANA: Gauthier has taken his game to the next level, building off and exceeding the success he had as a rookie. After potting 20 goals and adding 24 assists last season, Gauthier is already sitting at 32 tallies and 25 helpers in 63 contests this season. Gauthier has six goals and an assist over five contests in March and is on track to possibly hit 40 goals and 80 points. One key to his production is his willing to shoot the puck, as Gauthier already has 236 shots on net and should hit 300 before the end of the season. His scoring will be needed by Anaheim to maintain first place in the Pacific Division. 

Andrei Svechnikov, LW, CAR: Rumors of Svechnikov's demise have been proven to be premature. After posting 69 points in 2021-22 and looking like a future superstar, Svechnikov's production fell off each of the next four seasons, going to 55, 52, and then 48 points. Injuries played a part in that drop, but he played 72 contests last season. Svechnikov has benefitted from a slight rise in his shooting percentage, but that is a small part in his increased output, as he sits with 23 goals and 32 assists in 63 appearances with 22 points coming on the man advantage.

Brandt Clarke, D, LA: Clarke saw his modest three-game point streak end Monday but that doesn't diminish his improvement this season. He still has a goal and four assists over his last four games, giving the 23-year-old blueliner eight tallies and 26 helpers, with the 34 points a new career-high. Clarke is seeing additional ice time, skating at least 22 minutes if five of his last seven appearances, evidencing that he's earned the trust of interim head coach D.J. Smith, which is good news for the defenseman's rest-of-season production. 

Charlie McAvoy, D, BOS: McAvoy, despite missing nearly a month and 11 games after taking a puck to the face in mid-November, still has an outside shot at setting a new career high in points. This should tell you just how good of a campaign he's had. His nine-game point streak was snapped by the Penguins last Tuesday, but he dented the scoreboard in each of his next three contests. McAvoy has six goals and 39 assists in just 51 games played with 19 of those points notched on the power play, where he receives 3:12 of the 24:17 he plays nightly. 

Joel Hofer, G, STL: St. Louis sold at the deadline, moving Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk and almost dealing Colton Parayko. The decision to look at the future has benefitted Hofer, who has started four of the Blues' six games since the Olympics break. Hofer is locked in between the pipes, winning all four of those starts, allowing just four goals on 105 shots in those contests. He capped this hot stretch with a 22-save shutout Sunday. He's now 16-11-3 with a 2.69 goals-against average (GAA) and a .903 save percentage across 34 appearances, relegating Jordan Binnington to backup duty. 

Jakub Dobes, G, MTL: Dobes looks to have taken over as the Canadiens' starter in net, getting the nod in two of the last three contests. He will be back between the popes Tuesday, meaning Sam Montembeault will be the backup. Dobes has secured five victories in his last seven outings keeping Montreal in a Wild Card spot. Overall, Dobes is 20-6-4 this season in just 30 appearances, but with a so-so 3.03 GAA and .891 save percentage. With Montembeault scuffling, Dobes should see most of the starts moving forward.

Others include Tage Thompson, Pavel Zacha, Charlie Coyle, Brayden Point, Adrian Kempe, Jamie Benn, Mitch Marner, Seth Jarvis, Teuvo Teravainen, Alex Tuch, K'Andre Miller, Darren Raddysh, Rasmus Dahlin, Logan Mailloux, Vladislav Gavrikov, Jet Greaves, Connor Hellebuyck. Filip Gustavsson and Scott Wedgewood. 

Buy Low

Mavrik Bourque, RW, DAL: Mikko Rantanen's injury in the Olympics and subsequent absence created a hole in the Dallas lineup. Ably plugging that gap has been Bourque, who has six points (two goals, four assists) during a four-game point streak and seven points in the six games since the Olympics' break ended.  This hot streak has given Bourque, the 30th overall pick in the 2020 draft, a new career-high mark in points with 29 in 63 regular-season contests after putting up 25 points in 73 regular-season appearances in 2024-25 

Training Room (Injuries) 

Roope Hintz, C, DAL: Hintz, injured Friday, will be sidelined for an extended period of time. Coach Glen Gulutzan is hopeful that Hintz could return before the start of the playoffs, but his absence leaves a hole in the middle for the Stars. Matt Duchene is now centering the Stars' second line, bolstering his fantasy value. The 29-year-old Hintz, who had played at least 73 contests each of the past four seasons, has 15 goals, 44 points, 126 shots on net and 59 hits across 53 appearances this season 

Others include Dylan Larkin (right leg, injured Friday, no timetable for return), Brad Marchand (lower body, expected to be out for weeks, might need surgery), Gabriel Landeskog (lower body, injured Friday, week-to-week), Jake Sanderson (upper body, injured Saturday, week-to-week) and Spencer Knight (illness, missed third straight game Monday).

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)

Logan Stankoven, C, CAR: Stankoven received a reprieve when Carlina was unable to acquire Vincent Trocheck at the trade deadline. If that deal had happened, Trocheck would have been the Canes' second line center with Stankoven sliding down a line. Instead, Stankoven keeps his current spot despite his average production. Brought in from Dallas last season as the primary return in the Mikko Rantanen trade, Stankoven has just one goal in the last 18 games stretching over nearly two months. For the season, Stankoven is at 11 tallies and 17 assists in 63 contests after posting 38 points in 78 contests as a rookie.

Simon Nemec, D, NJ: Nemec was prominently mentioned in trade deadline rumors with the Devils looking to acquire a top-six forward. New Jersey opted to keep the young blueliner rather dealing him elsewhere. As such, Nemec is still limited to a third pair role, though he does see second unit power play time. Nemec has just one assists his last 13 games and none goals with 13 helpers in 50 contests on the season while skating 19:43 an appearance. A deal might have boosted Nemec's fantasy value, but for now, it remains static in the Garden State.

Stuart Skinner, G, PIT: Last week, I profiled Tristan Jarry. This week, Skinner gets the same Fallers treatment. After winning eight of nine starts, Skinner has come to back earth, going 0-1-3 in his last four starts. Skinner has allowed 12 goals on juts 91 shots in that span for an 0.857 save percentage. Arturs Silovs, who has been the better of the two netminder in the black-and-gold, could get a little run as the starter with the Penguins fighting to hold onto their playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.   

Others include Mikael Backlund, Alexander Wennberg, Trevor Moore, Ryan Leonard, Alexander Nikishin, Morgan Rielly, Sam Montembeault, Anthony Stolarz and Brandon Bussi. 

Sell High

Emmitt Finnie, LW, DET: Finnie has been a pleasant, surprise for Detroit this season, but he has hit a little bit of speed bump. He went 22 games without lighting the lamp before scoring in back-to-back contests to kick off March. Unfortunately, he failed to score the next two appearances even with Dylan Larkin sidelined and Finnie moving up to the second line. The rookie winger has 11 goals, 23 points, 100 shots on net, 98 hits and a minus-7 rating through 64 appearances. His physical play provides Finnie some value even when he doesn't score.