This article is part of our NHL Barometer series.
This week's article includes a change of scenery doing wonders for a center, a winger on a roll in D.C., two big losses in Vancouver and St. Louis and an offensive blueliner in a major slump.
First Liners (Risers)
Adam Henrique, C, ANA – Henrique has settled in nicely in Anaheim, notching a point in all five games as a Duck. The impending return of Ryan Getzlaf will likely move Henrique down to the second line, but Henrique's chemistry with Corey Perry could allow Perry to remain as a duo with the former Devil. Eventually, Ryan Kesler will also return, possibly moving Henrique even further down the center pecking order, but enjoy the ride while it lasts.
Tyler Johnson, C, TB – Johnson has been playing right wing but qualifies in most leagues as a center. His two assists Saturday in Tampa's 4-3 win over the Jets extended his point streak to four games and seven points, including five assists. Johnson has just six goals on the season, impacted by a 15-game goalless streak, continuing his struggles the past two seasons after a breakout in 2014-15. The myriad weapons for the Lightning means that Johnson has to stay hot to keep his line placement, so be wary of placing too much reliance on him.
Tom Wilson, LW, WAS – The placement on Washington's top line and recent production may be fleeting, but take advantage of it while it lasts. Wilson was moved to the No. 1 line
This week's article includes a change of scenery doing wonders for a center, a winger on a roll in D.C., two big losses in Vancouver and St. Louis and an offensive blueliner in a major slump.
First Liners (Risers)
Adam Henrique, C, ANA – Henrique has settled in nicely in Anaheim, notching a point in all five games as a Duck. The impending return of Ryan Getzlaf will likely move Henrique down to the second line, but Henrique's chemistry with Corey Perry could allow Perry to remain as a duo with the former Devil. Eventually, Ryan Kesler will also return, possibly moving Henrique even further down the center pecking order, but enjoy the ride while it lasts.
Tyler Johnson, C, TB – Johnson has been playing right wing but qualifies in most leagues as a center. His two assists Saturday in Tampa's 4-3 win over the Jets extended his point streak to four games and seven points, including five assists. Johnson has just six goals on the season, impacted by a 15-game goalless streak, continuing his struggles the past two seasons after a breakout in 2014-15. The myriad weapons for the Lightning means that Johnson has to stay hot to keep his line placement, so be wary of placing too much reliance on him.
Tom Wilson, LW, WAS – The placement on Washington's top line and recent production may be fleeting, but take advantage of it while it lasts. Wilson was moved to the No. 1 line with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin, and his production has taken off since. His recent offensive outburst, a three-game point streak with three goals and four assists, is largely due to his linemates, while his willingness to throw his body around has certainly helped. Whenever T.J. Oshie returns from injury, Wilson could be moved off the top line, but for now, take advantage of his placement there.
Jason Zucker, LW, MIN – Zucker's early-season production has shown that last year's breakout was no fluke. A second round pick in 2010, Zucker has posted 14 goals, 10 assists and a plus-8 rating to complement four power-play points through 28 games this season. Those four power-play points are key, as that matches his production on the man advantage the past three seasons. It's that placement that bolsters his ability to remain productive despite the likelihood of his 20.9 shooting percentage falling.
Artemi Panarin, LW, CLM – Panarin has taken a bit of time to find his way in Columbus, but he may be on the verge of a big-time breakout. He assisted on all five Blue Jackets goals Friday, giving him 19 helpers on the year. Panarin has been hurt by his shooting percentage of 8.9, resulting in just seven goals, but he if he improves closer to his 14.7 mark from last year, he could be in for a bushel full of tallies.
Nate Schmidt, D, VGK – It's been a magical first two months for the Golden Knights, with Schmidt playing a key role in their success. The former Capital tallied two more assists Saturday, giving him a goal and 13 assists through the first 29 games of the season. Schmidt is playing more than 22 minutes per game and his 14 points leave him just three shy of his career high set just last season.
Drew Doughty, D, LA – Doughty is off to a phenomenal start with five goals and 19 assists along with a plus-16 rating through the first 31 games of the season. The coaching change from Darryl Sutter to John Stevens coupled with the much faster form of playing style under Stevens has suited Doughty and the Kings well. Doughty scored 59 points in his sophomore campaign way back when he was 19 in 2009-10. His hot early start could align him to surpass that mark by season's end.
Cory Schneider, G, NJ – Schneider didn't play well Friday, surrendering five goals to Columbus. Despite that poor start, he has 11 wins, a .919 save percentage and 2.72 GAA after a disastrous 2016-17 campaign. New Jersey is a much better team, especially offensively, and the recent addition of Sami Vatanen bolsters the team's blue line — which should help Schneider post a better win total than in the past.
Tuukka Rask, G, BOS – An ugly 3-7-2 start landed Rask on the bench watching Anton Khudobin, but since returning, Rask has looked like the Vezina Trophy candidate most expected him to be. Rask has reeled off four straight wins, allowing just four total goals. Give his resurgence, it's best to make sure he's active again in all formats.
Others include Brayden Schenn, Logan Couture, Vincent Trocheck, Steven Stamkos, Nicklas Backstrom, Phillip Danault, Anze Kopitar, Sidney Crosby, Sean Monahan, Connor McDavid, Kyle Turris, Alex Kerfoot, Mikael Granlund, Brayden Point, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Haula, David Krejci, Joe Pavelski, Nathan MacKinnon, Marian Gaborik, David Perron, Yanni Gourde, Brad Marchand, Mats Zuccarello, Viktor Arvidsson, Jakub Voracek, Alex DeBrincat, Alexander Steen, Alex Tuch, Jesper Fast, Claude Giroux, Anders Lee, Josh Anderson, Jake Guentzel, Brock Boeser, Reilly Smith, Alex Pietrangelo, Brent Burns, Shayne Gostisbehere, Nick Leddy, Mathew Dumba, Jake Muzzin, Ivan Provorov, Noah Hanifin, John Klingberg, Keith Yandle, Jonathan Quick, Frederik Andersen, Malcolm Subban, Sergei Bobrovsky, Jake Allen, Pekka Rinne, Ryan Miller, Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Training Room (Injuries)
Bo Horvat, C, VAN – Horvat was injured Tuesday against the Hurricanes and could miss up to six weeks with a fractured foot. The 22-year-old, selected ninth overall in 2013, was off to a strong start with 10 goals and 10 assists in 28 games this season. Horvat, now the team's top center, will be hard to replace, and his absence will make it difficult for Vancouver to remain in playoff contention.
Jaden Schwartz, LW, STL – The Blues' offense took a huge blow last week when Schwartz was lost for at least six weeks with an ankle injury. The top-line winger was injured blocking a shot and he will be evaluated after six weeks, so his absence could conceivably stretch to two months (or more). Prior to being sidelined, Schwartz had posted 14 goals and 21 assists in 30 games with a plus-23 rating. St. Louis' depth will be tested with Schwartz sidelined.
Marc-Andre Fleury, G, LV – Fleury, sidelined since Oct. 13 with a concussion, will return to action Tuesday against Carolina. The revolving door in net early in the year for Vegas has landed lately on Malcolm Subban, who filled in extremely well for MAF. Fleury should regain his starting job, but initially, he may be part of a timeshare with Subban.
Others include Ryan Getzlaf (face, could return to action Monday), Ryan Kesler (hip surgery, making progress), Aleksander Barkov (upper body, will play Tuesday), Ryan Johansen (upper body, placed on IR on Friday), Mika Zibanejad (concussion, still sidelined, no timetable for return, but making progress), Patric Hornqvist (hit by puck in the face Saturday, day-to-day), Sven Baertschi (hit by puck in the face Saturday, day-to-day), Justin Schultz (lower body, will miss "a couple weeks"), Roberto Luongo (lower body, out indefinitely and looks to be sidelined for a long period of time) and Matt Murray (lower-body, could play Monday).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Matt Cullen, C, MIN – Cullen used to be an option in deep leagues. That looks to be the case no more based on his play so far this year. His goal drought has reached 16 games and he was out of the lineup Friday against Anaheim. Minnesota has little invested in him, signing Cullen to a one-year, $1 million contract this offseason, so don't be surprised if he is out of the lineup a lot more in the short-term.
Sven Andrighetto, LW, COL – Remember when Andrighetto was the hot pickup? Those days have long past. Andrighetto did notch an assist in each of his last two games, but prior to that, he failed to score in nine straight contests. Andrighetto recorded five goals, seven assists and six multi-point showings through the first 16 games of the season, building off his strong play after coming to Colorado last season. But we all may have overestimated Andrighetto, who should be productive, just not as productive as he was earlier in the year.
Justin Faulk, D, CAR – Faulk failed to register a point for the seventh consecutive game Saturday against the Kings. After posting 49 points in 2014-15, Faulk "fell" slightly, posting back-to-back 37-point efforts the next two seasons. This year has been a complete nightmare, as Faulk has just six points in 28 games (one goal, five assists). The 25-year-old blueliner has been rumored to be on the trade block due to the other defense options in Carolina, along with the two years remaining on the six-year, $29 million contract extension he signed in March of 2014.
Connor Hellebuyck, G, WPG – Hellebuyck is the clear starter in Winnipeg, especially with Steve Mason out, but he has struggled recently. Hellebuyck has allowed nine goals in his last two games and 13 in his last four, even with a shutout in that stretch. It's possible that Hellebuyck could use a few days off, or that the defense has struggled in front of him, but whatever the reason, his hot start is a thing of the past. But the Jets' solid offense still makes him a solid option between the pipes in all virtual settings.
Others include Jordan Staal, Markus Granlund, Tyson Jost, Benoit Pouliot, Rick Nash (lack of goal scoring), Alex Galchenyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Cam Atkinson (healthy scratch Saturday), Ryan Pulock, Zdeno Chara, Erik Karlsson, John Gibson, Thomas Greiss, and Jimmy Howard.
