NHL Usage Trends for the Fantasy Hockey Playoff Push

Welcome to Fantrax’s NHL usage trends for April 9th — a tactical breakdown of deployment trends that matter. We’re spotlighting key ice-time changes, power-play promotions, and line shakeups that could swing matchups and unlock hidden value. Whether you’re grinding in deep leagues or scanning for streaming upside, these shifts offer actionable insight for fantasy managers looking to stay ahead of the curve.

More Fantasy Hockey Analysis: | Goalie Streamers | NHL Usage Trends | Buy-Low, Sell-High | NHL Schedule Preview | Fantasy Hockey Cold List | Prospect Report | NHL Injury Report | Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire

NHL Usage Trends

Connor Brown, New Jersey Devils

I discussed Brown as a streaming option in Tuesday’s article. But his usage over the past 15 games is a long enough duration that we should flag Brown as a potential late-round sleeper going into next season. When someone rides shotgun to Jack Hughes for a month, you need to take notice.

Brown is a worker-bee who has previously demonstrated the ability to play with high-skilled players.  This goes back to junior when he played with Connor McDavid. He’s a role player with offensive ability. Everyone will forget about Brown next year. This is year one of a four-year contract. With a cap hit of $3 million, I’ll be locking him in as a late-round sleeper in my cap pool.

Porter Martone, Philadelphia Flyers

Martone is off to a flying start to his pro career. He has one goal and three assists in his first five NHL games.

A couple of things stand out early: He’s averaging 4.4 shots per game. Those are monster numbers. Obviously inflated with the small sample size, but it’s a real indication he’ll be a volume shooter moving forward. There’s no hiding Martone; the Flyers are playing him an average of 16:40 per night. They’ve thrown him right into a heated playoff race, and he hasn’t missed a beat.

52.5% of faceoffs are in the offensive zone when he’s on the ice, so they aren’t sheltering him much at all. With a Corsi For of 56%, the Flyers are also controlling the play when he’s out there.

72.5% of his five-on-five ice-time has been spent with Christian Dvorak and Travis Konecny. He’s settling into a top-six role right away.

Ryan Ufko, Nashville Predators

I’ve kept a close eye on Ufko’s development over the past couple of years. He was cruising as a point-per-game defenceman in the AHL until the Predators called. him up in early March. He played 15:35 in the last game, a modest career high. With limited ice time (12:58 per game), Ufko has still produced, with two goals and five assists through his first 14 games.

With Roman Josi now 35, the Predators will need someone to take over the power play. The main competition in the minors is Justin Barron and Tanner Molendyk; neither is an offensive juggernaut. Right now, Ufklo has a leg up.

Gabe Perreault, New York Rangers

After a modest start to his rookie season, Perreault has taken off, producing 14 points in his last 18 games. He’s spent the majority of his five-on-five ice time alongside Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere, or J.T. Miller.

Fresh off a hat trick on the weekend, everything about Perreault is trending up. As the season winds down, Perreault is staking his claim to a top-six role on the Rangers club for next season already.