This article is part of our NHL Barometer series.
This week's article the first overall pick from 2017 on a roll, Hertl the Turtle, a hot Price, Florida's top center back in action and the relatively invisible Ghost.
First Liners (Risers)
Nico Hischier, C, NJD – Hischier, who just turned 20, continued his fine play Saturday, notching a goal and an assist. The first overall pick in the 2017 draft has been locked in since the end of November, racking up nine goals and 18 points in his last 21 games. Hischier recorded 20 goals and 32 assists while playing in all 82 games as a rookie. His current hot streak has the Devils center at 14 goals and 20 assists in 44 games, putting him on pace to exceed his rookie totals.
Sean Kuraly, C, BOS – Kuraly's inclusion on this side of the column is one for deeper leagues. He skates as the Bruins' fourth-line center but has a knack for scoring, especially in key situations. Kuraly's goal Thursday was his fifth in 14 games. Since mid-December, Kuraly has notched eight points in 16 games, giving him 14 points overall — matching his total from 75 games last season as a rookie.
Jordan Eberle, RW, NYI – Eberle, an unrestricted free agent after the season, had a nice initial campaign on the Island last season after coming over from Edmonton, posting 59 points. He has just 23 points in 49 games this year but has been hot lately, racking up five goals and five
This week's article the first overall pick from 2017 on a roll, Hertl the Turtle, a hot Price, Florida's top center back in action and the relatively invisible Ghost.
First Liners (Risers)
Nico Hischier, C, NJD – Hischier, who just turned 20, continued his fine play Saturday, notching a goal and an assist. The first overall pick in the 2017 draft has been locked in since the end of November, racking up nine goals and 18 points in his last 21 games. Hischier recorded 20 goals and 32 assists while playing in all 82 games as a rookie. His current hot streak has the Devils center at 14 goals and 20 assists in 44 games, putting him on pace to exceed his rookie totals.
Sean Kuraly, C, BOS – Kuraly's inclusion on this side of the column is one for deeper leagues. He skates as the Bruins' fourth-line center but has a knack for scoring, especially in key situations. Kuraly's goal Thursday was his fifth in 14 games. Since mid-December, Kuraly has notched eight points in 16 games, giving him 14 points overall — matching his total from 75 games last season as a rookie.
Jordan Eberle, RW, NYI – Eberle, an unrestricted free agent after the season, had a nice initial campaign on the Island last season after coming over from Edmonton, posting 59 points. He has just 23 points in 49 games this year but has been hot lately, racking up five goals and five assists in his past 12 games. Eberle, a 2008 first-round pick, is skating on the top line with Brock Nelson and Anders Lee and sees three-plus minutes a game of power-play time.
Tomas Hertl, RW, SJ – Maybe it's because he plays in San Jose, but it sure seems like Hertl's big season is going somewhat unnoticed. Hertl notched his second career hat trick – and first since his third NHL contest back on Oct. 8, 2013 – Tuesday, giving the 25-year old 19 goals on the season. In addition, Hertl has added 22 assists and with 41 points in 46 games, he's only three goals and five points shy of tying his career bests in both categories.
T.J. Brodie, D, CGY – Coming into this season, Brodie's production had declined the past three seasons, falling from a career-best 45 points in 2015-16 to 36 and then 32 points. But Brodie has found his scoring touch especially lately, registering three goals and nine points with a plus-11 rating in nine games in January. Overall, Brodie has six goals and 23 points with a plus-28 rating in 49 contests this season despite notching just three points on 0:49 of average power-play time.
Cody Ceci, D, OTT – Ceci's main and maybe sole value is in leagues that use hits and blocked shots. After posting 111 hits and 159 blocked shots two years ago, Ceci upped those numbers to 163 and 171 last season. This year, Ceci is behind that pace with 59 hits and 93 blocked shots, but he has upped his offensive production. Thomas Chabot is the blueliner Ottawa counts on to score, but Ceci has five points his last seven games and 15 on the year, putting his career high of 26 within reach.
Carey Price, G, MTL – Price closed out 2018 on injured reserve but has been dominant since the calendar flipped to 2019. He is just 4-3-0 but with a 1.59 GAA and .951 save percentage. Overall, Price is 19-13-4 with a 2.60 GAA and .914 save percentage, which are an improvement over last year. The good news for Montreal, who signed Price to an eight-year extension with an AAV of $10.5 million in July of 2017, is that their netminder appears to be rounding back into form.
Anders Nilsson, G, OTT – Nisson opened the season in Vancouver, but the Canucks moved him to Ottawa on Jan. 2 for a minimal return to make room for Thatcher Demko. He had struggled mightily this season before the trade, posting a 3-8-1 mark with a 3.09 GAA and .895 save percentage in 12 games. The move to the Senators may have been just the ticket for Nilsson, who has won four of his last five starts while posting a 2.14 GAA and .931 save percentage through seven outings in January. Craig Anderson is back from his concussion, but Nilsson still should be in line to see solid playing time.
Others include Evgeni Malkin, Sean Couturier, Max Domi, Bryan Little, Ryan Dzingel, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Carl Soderberg, Dylan Larkin, David Krejci, Mika Zibanejad, Brayden Point, Chris Tierney, Filip Chytil, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Phil Kessel, Elias Lindholm, Anders Lee, Patrick Kane, Viktor Arvidsson, Loui Eriksson, Vladimir Tarasenko, Mike Hoffman, Gabriel Landeskog, Evander Kane, Cam Atkinson, Johnny Gaudreau, Kevin Fiala, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Tuch, Andreas Johnsson, Mikko Rantanen, Mats Zuccarello, Jake Guentzel, Erik Karlsson, Torey Krug, Ivan Provorov, Tyson Barrie, Seth Jones, Mattias Ekholm, Kevin Shattenkirk, Robin Lehner, Thomas Greiss, Tuukka Rask, John Gibson, Darcy Kuemper, Jordan Binnington, John Gibson, Carter Hart, Henrik Lundqvist (moved into sixth all-time in career wins) and Laurent Brossoit.
Buy Low
Daniel Sprong, RW, ANA – Sprong is a buy-low solely for his overall production, because he has been red-hot lately. His goal and assist gave Sprong five points (two goals, three assists) in his last five games after he delivered just two goals in his previous nine games. Pittsburgh moved Sprong to Anaheim in early December for Marcus Pettersson, as the Penguins needed blue-line help and seemingly had tired waiting for the wing to meet the hype. The Ducks need scoring and Sprong, who is skating on the third line, could be in the top-six after the All-Star break.
Training Room (Injuries)
Vincent Trocheck, C, FLA – Trocheck, who fractured his ankle on Nov. 19, requiring surgery, returned to action slightly earlier than expected Friday. Originally expected to be sidelined until early February, Trocheck slid back into his second-line center spot, notching an assist against Toronto. Prior to getting injured, Trocheck, who scored a career-best 31 goals and 44 assists last season, racked up 14 points in 18 games. Also, although he was bogged down in an 12-game goal drought, he's scored in back to back games.
Others include Kevin Hayes (upper-body, practiced this past week, will return after the All-Star break), Elias Pettersson (knee, goal/assist in return to action Sunday), Tyler Bozak (concussion, missed eighth straight game Saturday, hoping to return before the All-Star break), Ondrej Kase (right arm, placed on injured reserve Saturday), Alexander Steen (shoulder, returned Saturday on a line with Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz), Erik Karlsson (undisclosed, didn't suit up Saturday in Tampa Bay), Colin Miller (undisclosed, returned Saturday after missing 13 consecutive games), Corey Crawford (concussion, on ice working with Chocago's goaltender coach Jimmy Waite on Saturday), Braden Holtby (eye, returned to action Friday) and Tuukka Rask (concussion, injured when Charlie McAvoy checked Filip Chytil who hit Rask resulting in his head hitting the post Saturday).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Derick Brassard, C, PIT – Brassard is on the trade block and would benefit from heading out of Pittsburgh. Locked into a third-line center role, Brassard's playing time is limited behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, as he sees just 15 minutes on average. In his last 20 games, Brassard has managed just five goals and a pair of helpers, far off his production as a Ranger and Senator. If he ends up somewhere where he can be a second-line pivot, it might help revive his game.
William Nylander, LW, TOR – Eventually Nylander will figure it all out, but right now, he looks lost on the ice. His hold out and late-signing coupled with Toronto's decision not play Nylander a few games in the minors have all conspired to leave the 22-year old with just a goal and three assists in 20 games. Nylander posted 61 points for the second straight season last year while improving his plus-minus from minus-six to a plus-20. Bench Nylander if you haven't done so yet, but be ready to activate him as soon as he shows some signs of life.
Shayne Gostisbehere, D, PHI – As a Gostisbehere owner in the Rotowire Staff League, it pains me to include him on this side of the ledger. But his play lately more than warrants a spot here. With no goals and two assists with a plus-2 rating in the last 10 games. Ghost has been a major disappointment, especially after notching a career-high 65 points last season, but maybe his two assists Saturday will spark his season. Ghost has alternated good and bad seasons in his first four full years in the league. Aas such, that should mean he should be primed for a rebound campaign next year.
Others include Brayden Schenn, Brandon Sutter, Alexander Wennberg, Ryan Strome, Mikael Granlund, Drake Caggiula (but on top line, so watch closely), Andrei Svechnikov, Andre Burakovsky, Anthony Duclair, Dmitry Orlov, Mikhail Sergachev, MacKenzie Blackwood (sent to AHL, will be back after the All-Star break?) and Jonathan Quick.
Sell High
Pekka Rinne, G, NAS – Juuse Saros started Saturday in place of the struggling Rinne, but struggled in his opportunity to earn a few starts in a row. Prior to Monday's game, Rinne was 17-12-3 with a 2.51 GAA and .913 save percentage, but since Dec. 1, Rinne had posted a 7-7-2 record with a 3.05 GAA and .894 save percentage in 17 appearances. Rinne righted the ship Monday, surrendering just one goal on 35 shots, but Saros has proven capable, so Nashville could elect to give him more playing time after the All-Star break to keep Rinne fresh for the stretch run.
