This article is part of our NHL Barometer series.
This week's article includes Brock Nelson, Ryan O'Reilly, The Nuge, Forsberg on a roll, a major absence in Toronto and a center slumping in Anaheim.
First Liners (Risers)
Brock Nelson, C, NYI - Nelson, who will be a free agent after the season, started slow with one goal in the Islanders' first six games. However, he has notched four goals the last three contests, as he tries to help replace some of the production lost by John Tavares' departure. Nelson, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey put up eight points (three goals, five helpers) Saturday, and that trio should remain together with Mathew Barzal centering Anthony Beauvillier and Jordan Eberle.
Ryan O'Reilly, C, STL - The move from Buffalo to St. Louis has done little to hurt ROR's production. Centering the second line, O'Reilly has notched three goals and 11 assists in 10 games, riding a four-game point streak. In his last six full seasons, O'Reilly has notched between 55 and 64 points, a number he should be able to reach with the Blues thanks to the offensive support around him.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, LW, EDM - Nugent-Hopkins' production took a positive turn when he was moved from his role as a center on the second or third line to the left of Connor McDavid on the top unit. He closed the season strong and has carried that fine performance into the current season. Nugent-Hopkins had three goals and nine assists in nine goals while seeing 24:25 of
This week's article includes Brock Nelson, Ryan O'Reilly, The Nuge, Forsberg on a roll, a major absence in Toronto and a center slumping in Anaheim.
First Liners (Risers)
Brock Nelson, C, NYI - Nelson, who will be a free agent after the season, started slow with one goal in the Islanders' first six games. However, he has notched four goals the last three contests, as he tries to help replace some of the production lost by John Tavares' departure. Nelson, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey put up eight points (three goals, five helpers) Saturday, and that trio should remain together with Mathew Barzal centering Anthony Beauvillier and Jordan Eberle.
Ryan O'Reilly, C, STL - The move from Buffalo to St. Louis has done little to hurt ROR's production. Centering the second line, O'Reilly has notched three goals and 11 assists in 10 games, riding a four-game point streak. In his last six full seasons, O'Reilly has notched between 55 and 64 points, a number he should be able to reach with the Blues thanks to the offensive support around him.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, LW, EDM - Nugent-Hopkins' production took a positive turn when he was moved from his role as a center on the second or third line to the left of Connor McDavid on the top unit. He closed the season strong and has carried that fine performance into the current season. Nugent-Hopkins had three goals and nine assists in nine goals while seeing 24:25 of ice time nightly, including 4:20 on the man-advantage.
Jason Pominville, RW, BUF - Pominville extended his point streak to four games with a goal and an assist Saturday. In this stretch, Pominville has notched four goals and as many assists, taking advantage of his placement on the Sabres' top line with Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner. Head coach Phil Housley will likely keep this trio intact for as long as it remains hot.
Filip Forsberg, RW, NAS - Forsberg potted a hat trick Saturday, upping his season total in goals to 10. Practically stolen from Washington for Martin Erat several years ago, Forsberg has posted between 58 and 64 points in each of the last four seasons. Skating on Nashville's top line with Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson and on a potent power play, Forsberg should continue to rack up points.
Jared Spurgeon, D, MIN - With five points in 10 games this year, he is on pace to finish near the 40-point range again. One concerning aspect is that Spurgeon is seeing two minutes less of ice time nightly, but at least over two minutes of that occurs on the power play. Spurgeon should rack up over 100 blocked shots, which adds to his value in leagues that utilize that stat. But even in straight scoring leagues, Spurgeon produces enough to warrant a roster spot.
Corey Crawford, G, CHI - Sidelined with a concussion to start the season, Crawford returned to action with a loss on Oct. 18. He then reeled off three excellent starts in a row before allowing six goals Saturday. I profiled Crawford last week in the injury section of the column, but seeing how solid he has played coupled with better-than-expected production from the Chicago offense makes Crawford a riser to target in your league.
Others include Max Domi, Mikael Granlund, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Derek Stepan, Matt Duchene, Kyle Turris, Jack Eichel, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Brendan Gallagher, Elias Lindholm, Anders Lee, Patrick Kane, Taylor Hall, Vladimir Tarasenko, Kyle Palmieri, Mike Hoffman, Alex DeBrincat, Artemi Panarin, Jeff Skinner, Mikko Rantanen, Jacob Trouba, Brent Burns, P.K. Subban, Jeff Petry, Tyson Barrie, Corey Crawford, Robin Lehner, Jaroslav Halak, Devan Dubnyk, Laurent Brossoit and Semyon Varlamov.
Buy Low
Jake Gardiner, D, TOR - Gardiner notched his first goal of the season Saturday against the Jets. With six assists, Gardiner is producing nicely through 12 games, but he has just one power-play point on the season. Gardiner's ice time is slightly down from last season, including on the power play, though that drop in action is only 20 seconds or so on average. Don't cut bait if you own Gardiner, and if you can acquire him reasonably, now would be a good time to make a deal.
Darcy Kuemper, G, ARI - Antti Raanta is entrenched as the Coyotes' starting goalie, but with Raanta out with an illness this past week, Kuemper allowed just a pair of goals in two starts — both of which were victories.. After coming to Arizona from Los Angeles last season, Kuemper struggled in 10 games of action, though he had been brilliant as a King. That said, Kuemper may be a cheap streaming option in DFS when he gets the starting nod.
Training Room (Injuries)
Auston Matthews, C, TOR - Matthews, off to a tremendous start to the season, will miss at least the next four weeks with a shoulder injury suffered on a hit by Jacob Trouba on Saturday. The only silver lining is that Matthews didn't re-injure the same shoulder that cost him a month of the 2017-18 campaign. In 11 games, Matthews had already racked up 10 goals and six helpers in 11 games. Nazem Kadri will move up to the second line with Matthews out, and this inury could accelerate Toronto's negotiations with holdout William Nylander.
Alexander Edler, D, VAN - Edler will miss the next 3-6 weeks with a sprained MCL. His absence robs Vancouver of its best overall blueliner, damaging an already questionable defense. Prior to being sidelined, Edler had five points – all assists – in 10 games while skating 22 minutes a game, including 2:44 with the man advantage. Michael Del Zotto figures to see an uptick in playing time throughout Edler's absence.
Others include Max Pacioretty (upper body, out Sunday), Alexander Radulov (lower body, missed fourth straight game Sunday), Ondrej Palat (lower body, missed Saturday's game), Victor Hedman (upper body, will be re-evaluated in a week), Charlie McAvoy (injured on hit against Edmonton on October 18, could practice Sunday or Monday), Torey Krug (ankle, expected to be activated Tuesday), Jake Allen (undisclosed injury, left Saturday's game), Jonathan Quick (lower body, missed Sunday's game) and Anders Nilsson (fractured finger on his blocker hand, out 2-3 weeks).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Conor Sheary, LW, BUF - Sheary was the flavor of the month to start the season after he notched two power-play goals in Buffalo's first game of the season against the Rangers. Since that effort, Sheary had just a goal and two assists in nine games. With Jason Pominville and Jeff Skinner now on a line with Jack Eichel, Sheary has been moved down to the second line, though he is still seeing solid ice time on the power play. He should still be somewhat productive, but skating with Vladimir Sobotka is a far cry from playing with Eichel
Ryan Pulock, D, NYI - I was all in on Pulock in my drafts, as I expected him to take a major step forward. That rise might still happen, but to date, his production has been extremely underwhelming. Pulock hadn't registered a point since opening night in Carolina, a streak of eight straight games, until he finally scored a goal Sunday. The good news is that Pulock is seeing almost 23 minutes of ice time nightly, including over 1:30 on the power play, so a turnaround is still possible.
Brian Elliott, G, PHI - Elliott's tenuous hold on the starting job in Philly is getting less secure each game. With Michal Neuvirth now back from his conditioning stint in the minors, head coach Dave Hakstoll has flexibility with his netminders. The only saving grace for Elliott is that Carter Hart, the Flyers' goalie of the future, is struggling in the minors, but they may opt to make a deal to improve their goaltending this season.
Others include Dylan Larkin, Casey Mittelstadt, Ryan Hartman, Justin Abdelkader, Kevin Fiala, Bryan Rust, Nino Niederreiter, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jake Muzzin and Mike Smith.
Sell High
Adam Henrique, C, ANA - Henrique opened the season as Anaheim's second center due to the absence of Ryan Kesler. With Kesler now active, Henrique has slid down to the third line. Since that move, Henrique is scoreless in his last four contests. The Ducks could shift Henrique to the wing, as they did at times last season, and Henrique is still seeing lots of time on the power play. But if he remains as the third line center, Henrique's value and production will likely take a huge hit.
