RotoRob

Fortunately, the Stars held on for a 5-4 home win in a critical match against Minnesota on Thursday to give themselves a four-point cushion over the Wild with three games to go. The first round series between these rivals is going to be fantastic!

Since managing just 66 wins in 2022, the Detroit Tigers have slowly been building into a legitimate contender. They upped that total to 78 the following year and then in 2024 finally enjoyed a winning campaign – their first since 2016 – with 86 wins. Last season, they added another win to that total and have now made the playoffs in back-to-back years, ending a nine-year drought in the process.

Just two years ago, the Toronto Raptors managed just 25 wins and things looked pretty bleak for a team that had won the championship just a few years earlier. However, Toronto bumped that total to 30 last season, and despite some recent struggles is now closing in on 45 wins this season with five games remaining.

The Utah Jazz has dropped seven straight games (and 19 of 22) and now sit just one game ahead of Sacramento for last place in the Western Conference. Still, Utah has already won four more games than it did all of last season when it suffered through the worst campaign in franchise history, so there are some positives to see if you squint hard enough.

Could San Francisco continue to tinker in free agency? Absolutely!

No, that season wasn’t nearly as good as his 2022 campaign, which was arguably one of, if not the best of his career, a year in which he hit for the cycle – something no Cardinal has done since.

This season, he’s already shattered his personal best in wins (25) and tied his career high in shutouts. Wedgewood ranks 10th in the NHL in goals saved above expected, and really, since shedding his label as a career backup, he’s exceeded expectations. Consider him a top six Fantasy option down the stretch.

Okay, so Philly wasn’t able to come close to duplicating its 14-win, Super Bowl championship effort from 2024, but that wasn’t a huge shock. And yes, losing in the Wild Card round had to sting after that magical season, but still, a fifth straight playoff appearance is an impressive feat.

Edmonton’s offense is vastly better this season (from 11th to second in goals for), but the defense has plummeted from 14th to 29th. That will desperately need to tighten up if the Oilers have any hope of reaching the Finals again this season, never mind finally winning it all.

The Colorado Rockies made a bit of progress in 2024 (if you can call losing “just” 101 games progress), but last season the bottom really fell out. Colorado barely avoided becoming just the third team since 1900 to lose 120 games. Yikes.