Ondrej Palat's rookie season with the Tampa Bay Lightning has had its share of trials and tribulations.

But Palat hasn't been deterred by what has gone on around him. His season has been defined by results.

Riding a five-game point streak, Palat is the NHL's hottest point producer over the past 10 days (four goals, five assists). His 46 points in 68 games trail only Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (52 points in 68 games) in the rookie scoring race. Palat, 22, had his 13th multi-point game Monday against the Vancouver Canucks, pulling him ahead of MacKinnon (12) for the rookie lead.

Two top-tier fantasy forwards will be sidelined for an extended period of time. Back to the waiver wire we go, fantasy owners.

Ryan Kesler (C/RW in Yahoo leagues) leads NHL forwards in ice time per game (22:08) and will be missed by the Vancouver Canucks over the next few weeks as he recovers from a knee injury.

James Neal (LW/RW), who serves as Evgeni Malkin's sidekick at even strength and on the power play, is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Since being traded from the Carolina Hurricanes to the New Jersey Devils on March 5, Tuomo Ruutu hasn't looked back on what was a disappointing season through his first 57 games.

Jaromir Jagr is a big reason why Ruutu has turned the page so quickly. Plain and simple, Jagr has helped Ruutu go from fantasy irrelevance to being on the cusp of deep-league ownership in a matter of days.

Owned in three percent of Yahoo leagues, Ruutu has shown instant chemistry alongside Jagr and Travis Zajac with one goal, three assists, a plus-3 rating and nine shots on goal in his first three games with New Jersey. Considering the Devils are vying for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the timing of this development could not have been more ideal.

With standard Yahoo Fantasy league playoffs beginning on March 17, owners around the globe are hoping to put their best foot forward from this point on.

Unfortunately, those who own Colorado Avalanche forward PA Parenteau (63 percent) and/or Buffalo Sabres forward Chris Stewart (41 percent) will have to move on without their services.

Parenteau sustained a knee injury Monday and is likely to miss the remainder of the regular season. Stewart, who was traded from the St. Louis Blues to the Sabres on Feb. 28, only played two games for his new team before injuring his ankle in a collision on March 6. Sabres coach Ted Nolan has since said Stewart is likely done for 2013-14.

The NHL Trade Deadline had no shortage of marquee names changing area codes. Here's a quick roundup of the fantasy implications:

**Ryan Miller is 3-0-0 with five goals allowed since being traded to the St. Louis Blues and is facing significantly fewer shots per game, as predicted.

**Roberto Luongo has seen his value take a short-term hit after being dealt to the Florida Panthers, who are outside of the Stanley Cup Playoff picture.

The Tampa Bay Lightning will get one of the League's most prolific goal-scorers, Steven Stamkos, back in the lineup Thursday after he was sidelined for nearly four months due to a leg injury.

But with this promising fantasy update comes with some bad news in the form of Martin St. Louis' departure via trade. Stamkos will no longer have that familiar face beside him on the team's top line after St. Louis was dealt to the New York Rangers for Ryan Callahan and two draft picks.

The Rangers add a top-10 point producer to the fold. The Lightning, meanwhile, are bound to see a dip offensively. Callahan has a chance to step in and fill the void left by St. Louis, but that's a major downgrade from a playmaking standpoint. While Stamkos will remain a top-five fantasy asset entering next season, his production could take a hit down the stretch considering the lack of chemistry on his line and his ongoing recovery from injury.

What a way to kick off the 2014 NHL Trade Deadline. Two captains swap locations with Martin St. Louis going to the New York Rangers and Ryan Callahan headed to the Tampa Bay Lighting. Can the day's opening trade get any more dramatic than this one? Probably not.

What does this mean for St. Louis fantasy owners?

Prior to the trade St. Louis was the 20th ranked player in Yahoo fantasy leagues and I had him ranked 14th among my top 100 forwards. In 62 games, the former Lightning captain had 29 goals, 61 points, a plus-12 rating, six penalty minutes, 18 power play-points and 167 shots on goal.

Times have changed. Roberto Luongo is no longer with the Vancouver Canucks and Eddie Lack suddenly has the crease all to himself.

Luongo was traded to the Florida Panthers in a package that sent goalie prospect Jacob Markstrom to the Canucks. Markstrom could wind up competing for playing time, but he has dealt with injuries and been playing for San Antonio of the American Hockey League for much of this season.

Lack, a first-year NHL goalie, starts Tuesday against the Phoenix Coyotes and will do his best to keep a struggling team afloat in the Western Conference Stanley Cup Playoff picture. Lack has allowed two goals or fewer in 17 of his 25 appearances and started the 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic on Sunday over Luongo.

It's better late than never for Pekka Rinne and the many fantasy owners who have been banking on him to return for more than four months.

With the Nashville Predators vying for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, the timing couldn't have been more impeccable. For fantasy owners in head-to-head formats, Rinne could make or break your chase for a league championship.

That's a chance worth taking any day of the week.

Ryan Miller being traded from the Buffalo Sabres to the St. Louis Blues should have a night-and-day impact on his fantasy value.

Plain and simple, it's an opportunity for this workhorse goalie to prove he still has top-five fantasy capability at his position.

Miller, who leaves Buffalo as the franchise's all-time leader in wins (284 in 540 games played), had a knack for putting his team on his back in good times and bad. This season, even with the Sabres rebuilding and in the basement of the NHL standings, his .923 save percentage ranks 10th in the NHL despite him facing the sixth-most shots League-wide (1,411).