Dose: Picking up the pieces

Ouch.

I think that’s the most immediate reaction to the news that Patrick Kane is out 12 weeks, making him a fairly painful-but-obvious drop if your league even allows it (Can’t Cut Lists and all).

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As far as the Chicago Blackhawks go, it’s an interesting situation, as they have time to gather their senses - maybe wipe away a few tears - and assess if they want to grab a rental or two. Curtis Glencross’ name has been bandied about quite a bit, which is a personal excitement in particular because it would give the cheesy Glengarry Glen Cross nickname greater prominence.

If the matter is addressed purely by players already on the team, it’s probably best not to weigh what happened during that fateful Florida Panthers game too heavily.

Kris Versteeg was bumped up to a line in Kane's spot with Brad Richards and Patrick Sharp, which would be a solid fantasy line, but there are enough variables at hand that I wouldn't make any "purchasing decisions" just yet.

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The most interesting wild card is probably Teuvo Teravainen.

He didn't really set the world on fire in his first go-around with Chicago, but he didn't really get a great chance to prove himself, either. It behooves the Blackhawks to see what they have in the rookie at this point - not in terms of the greater future, but just this season - as he loomed as the kind of guy who could give them a spark in the playoffs, anyway.

Again, the overarching theme is "wait and see." About the only decisive move I'd recommend is dropping Kane if allowed, as his timeframe indicates that he probably wouldn't return unless Chicago makes it to the third round.

That's certainly possible considering the makeup of this team and the talent remaining on this roster, but that doesn't really do single-season fantasy managers a whole lot of good.

PENGUINS 4, CAPITALS 3

-- Washington won all three previous games in this season series (and in regulation to boot). Before this contest, Braden Holtby had only allowed a single goal in three games against the Penguins. Impressive stuff, but maybe there was a "something has to give" factor, too.

-- Evgeni Malkin got into quite a scuffle, yet he didn't receive any PIM. Still, it's a reminder that the star player has the kind of temper that can occasionally net some serious time in the box. With three assists, it's obvious that he was best served staying out of trouble, as one would expect.

-- Marc-Andre Fleury edged Braden Holtby tonight. At this moment, I'd make that the matchup in the "Who will lose the Vezina voting handily to Carey Price and Pekka Rinne?" sweepstakes.

-- Tom Wilson had a beastly peripheral night, despite zero points: six PIM, one SOG and six hits.

-- John Carlson matched last season's career-high of 10 goals and already set a new best mark with 43 points, six more than he's ever achieved before. He's been assertive on offense and continues to trade off with Mike Green as Washington's most dangerous offensive weapon on the blueline, sometimes rotating that prize from game to game.

-- With a goal in last night’s game, Sidney Crosby now has 51 points (18 goals, 33 assists) in 33 career contests against the Capitals. Yeah, he probably gets up for these games a little more than most.

SENATORS 3, DUCKS 0

-- Andrew Hammond has now won his first three starts, grabbing his first career shutout by stopping all 25 shots last night.

I didn't really see much in his AHL/etc. numbers to think that he's the kind of guy who can sustain a long run, but for those looking for a short-term fix, Ottawa's been a lot friskier since they shook, shook Paul MacLean off. It's a low-risk move that probably tops out as a medium reward, yet it may not hurt to try it.

-- Mika Zibanejad hasn't taken off to the level that some hoped when he really exploded for a brief period around the time MacLean was canned, but he's still progressing nicely in the grand scheme of things. He has 15 goals and 31 points, both close to the marks he established last season.

-- March looks like it could be a foreboding stretch for the Ducks, with 10 of 15 games on the road. Friday's home game against the Kings stands as a solid gauge for where they are, as they seemingly snapped out of their stupor with a three-game winning streak before this loss.

-- Jiri Sekac managed to play in this game, getting a -1, two PIM and one SOG in 14:35 TOI.

-- Kyle Turris is on quite the role, with a goal in three consecutive games (three goals, two assists). He has 11 points in 10 games in February, which already constitutes his best month of the season.

FLAMES 3, DEVILS 1

-- If you don't have a horse in the Western Conference wild card race, why not root for the Flames? They have that underdog factor, but more than anything else, Johnny Gaudreau does about three magical things every game. Sean Monahan (one goal, one assist) had the better output last night, but the fact is that their line with Jiri Hudler is legit.

-- The Jordin Tootoo excitement seems a little much, but Mike Cammalleri's goal was a nifty little thing.

-- Karri Ramo improved to 10-6-1 by making 26 out of 27 saves. He has a backup-acceptable .911 save percentage in 2014-15.

-- You don't see Travis Zajac's name pop up on many bad contract lists because he's truly irrelevant on many scales, but he's the kind of guy New Jersey would need to scrape out some points. Instead he only has two points in his past 11 games and 18 in 53 contests overall. His $5.75 million cap hit tops all Devils skaters.

-- Mark Giordano set a new career-high with 48 points, also going slightly ahead of Kris Letang for the overall defensemen lead. T.J. Brodie is now the third Calgary blueliner to hit 10+ goals, as his empty-netter put him in double digits. That doesn't seem very sustainable, but it's still an impressive feat for this Flames defense.

(Dennis Wideman has 12 goals and Giordano has 11.)

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