Outlook Kent Johnson
Johnson carries scorching form into road matchup against Buffalo
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Outlook Michael McCarron
McCarron brings physical third-line role into home matchup against Lightning
Michael McCarron centers Minnesota’s third line between Blake Coleman and Bobby Brink tonight as the Central-leading Wild host the Tampa Bay Lightning at Grand Casino Arena. After finding the net in consecutive contests earlier this week, McCarron has provided reliable energy with three points, 14 shots, and 19 hits across his last six games while maintaining primary penalty-killing responsibilities. Facing a potent Tampa Bay squad in a projected higher-scoring environment, the Wild enter as slight home underdogs against Andrei Vasilevskiy (unconfirmed). McCarron’s two-way role is rock solid, though his lack of power-play deployment limits his overall offensive ceiling.
Our projection models target McCarron for a small goal chance, ~1–2 shots on goal, and around three hits, amounting to roughly 1.8 fantasy points tonight. Without any power-play time, his primary utility comes through physical categories and faceoff wins rather than consistent scoring output. Looking at the weekly picture, tonight represents Minnesota’s third and final game of the week, with our models expecting around 5.2 fantasy points across the three-game slate. While McCarron holds situational appeal in deep banger leagues needing hits, his restricted scoring upside leaves him best left out of standard lineups. Today’s action: Bench.
