This week's article includes Sid the Kid, a hot veteran in the Desert, a pair of D-men down, and a top prospect struggling and asking to be traded.
First Liners (Risers)
Sidney Crosby, C, PIT: Relegated to the after-thought and on the downside pile, Crosby has shown lately those are far from the case. Sid the Kid has five goals and 10 points in his last seven games. The coaching change from Mike Johnston to Mike Sullivan has done wonders for the Pittsburgh team as a whole, but especially its skilled players, including Crosby.
Jack Eichel, C, BUF: Eichel has experienced the usual rookie growing pains, but lately, he has been on a hot streak. As RotoWire's Jan. 2 update noted: "Since Christmas, Eichel has picked up at least a point in four of his five games and has nine points (four goals, five assists) in those five. And 11 of his 25 points have come in his last seven games (he had 14 in his first 32)." The second overall pick in this past year's draft has Ryan O'Reilly to take some pressure off him by filling the first line center slot, which enables Eichel to avoid opponents' top checking pivotmen.
Kyle Palmieri, RW, NJD: Palmieri was traded from the Ducks to the Devils before the last draft for a second-round pick. So far, it's looking like a wise investment for New Jersey, as Palmieri has excelled since returning to his native Garden State. Palmieri has four goals and five points in his last five games through Saturday's contests giving him 16 goals and 13 assists in 39 games.
Nikita Kucherov, RW, TB: Kucherov, a member of the Triplets - Kucherov, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat, got off to a slow start this year, as his linemates dealt with injury and ineffectiveness. Despite the continued struggles and/or absence of those linemates, Kucherov has found his game lately. Kuch is riding an eight-game point streak during which he has tallied 12 points (three goals, nine assists) to up his season marks to 13 and 16 in 38 games. While his plus-minus leaves a lot to be desired, the rest of his game is rounding into form.
Shane Doan, RW, ARI: "That Ol' Man River ... He just keeps rollin', he keeps on rollin' along." Everytime we think Doan is done, he just keeps on rolling along. Doan notched two goals on New Years' Eve, surpassing Dale Hawerchuk for the franchise's (Jets/Coyotes) all-time goals record. He didn't rest on his laurels, adding two more Monday. Those last two goals gave Doan nine in his past seven contests and upped his season's point total to 21 in 30 games. The ride will conclude at the end of the year but Doan is doing his best to make sure he goes out on a high note.
T.J. Brodie, D, CGY: Brodie missed almost all of October with a broken hand suffered during training camp. After a slow start following his return, Brodie has been making up for lost time. His return to form has helped Calgary get hot on the ice as well. Brodie has 19 points in 28 games and is playing 25-plus minutes nightly, as he did last season.
Erik Johnson, D, COL: Johnson has filled the void with Tyson Barrie sidelined. Of the 16 points Johnson has notched on the season, six of them (two goals and four assists) have come in his last six games. Johnson was off to the best start of his career last season before a knee injured cost him the final 30 games of the season. If he can stay healthy, Johnson should be able to post solid numbers, even with Barrie's recent return. Check his status as he suffered an injured in Monday's game.
John Gibson, G, ANA: Gibson got a chance to play with Frederik Andersen out and made the most of the opportunity. Now with Andersen back, Gibson has shown no signs of relinquishing his hold on the top job in Anaheim. A similar occurrence took place last year, but Gibson suffered an upper-body injury and the Dane was able to regain the No. 1 job. Gibson entered Sunday's game with a 7-4-2 record, 1.68 goals-against average (GAA), .931 save percentage (SV%) and four shutouts in 14 games this season.
Jonathan Quick, G, LA: Quick has shown of late why he is an elite goalie, allowing just seven goals during a five-game win streak. Those five victories have given Quick 21 already on the year to go along with a solid 2.16 GAA and .922 SV% and three shutouts. His career-high in wins for a season is 39, so it wouldn't be all that surprisingly to see him surpass that mark this season.
Others: Sean Couturier, Tyler Bozak, Ryan Getzlaf, Riley Sheahan, Vincent Trocheck, Brad Richardson, Bryan Little, Joe Pavelski, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Evgeni Malkin, Mike Ribeiro, Tyler Seguin, Carl Soderberg, Anze Kopitar, Tyler Seguin, Aleksander Barkov, Leo Komarov, Blake Wheeler, Patric Hornqvist, Patrick Sharp, Max Pacioretty, Jordan Eberle, Jeff Skinner, Matt Beleskey, Brandon Saad, Tyler Toffoli, Jakub Voracek, Dan Boyle, Shea Weber, Roman Josi, Erik Karlsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Shea Weber, Erik Karlsson, Sami Vatanen, Michael Stone, Kris Letang, Drew Doughty, Rasmus Ristolainen, Justin Faulk, Cory Schneider, Braden Holtby, Antti Niemi, Connor Hellebuyck, Cam Talbot and Karri Ramo.
Training Room (Injuries)
Jaden Schwartz, LW, STL: Schwartz, who underwent ankle surgery in October, is skating with the team. However, he will not return to game-action until after the All-Star break. When that happens, an already potent offense will add a 63-point scorer from a year ago.
Johnny Boychuk, D, NYI: The shoulder injury Boychuk suffered Saturday night will sideline him for 4-6 weeks. Boychuk wasn't having the type of offensive season he had his last year, his first with the Islanders. But he was the team's top or second best d-man, so his absence is a huge loss for the Isles. Travis Hamonic and Nick Leddy will need to step up.
Cam Fowler, D, ANA: A sprained knee will sideline Fowler for 3-5 weeks. Fowler, whose offensive game has gone south the past few seasons, has become a solid defender and passable option on the power play. While he is out, Anaheim will add more responsibility to Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm.
Others: Connor McDavid (collarbone, returned to practice Friday), David Krejci (UBI, possibly shoulder, week-to-week), Nick Bjugstad (UBI, may return this week), Martin Hanzal (LBI, could play Monday), Michael Cammalleri (UBI, skated on his own Sunday, but out again Monday), David Pastrnak (left foot is healed, but suffered a finger injury at WJC and was sent down to Providence in the AHL on Monday), Nail Yakupov (ankle, could be back in 1-2 weeks), Tyler Ennis (UBI, week-to-week), John Carlson (undisclosed, out a while), Robin Lehner (high ankle sprain, returned to practice last week), Sergei Bobrovsky (aggravated groin injury, indefinite) and Jaroslav Halak (UBI, could play Thursday).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Jonathan Drouin, C, TB: Drouin is a big-time prospect whose production has yet to match the hype. Two years ago, Tampa Bay opted to send Drouin back to juniors for more seasoning. That helped his development, but he scored just four goals and 28 points while playing 13:14 nightly in 70 NHL games. This season, the QMJHL star has eight points (two goals, six assists) in 19 games, seeing 14:07 in ice time. He was demoted to Syracuse of the AHL over the weekend, a move that led his agent Allan Walsh to go public with his client's trade request, a move that formally requested in November. The puck is in Stevie Y's court.
Kevin Hayes, RW/C, NYR: Hayes, a first round pick of Chicago, did not sign with the Blackhawks, instead opting to sign with the Rangers before last season. He burst on the scene with 17 goals and 28 assists while also playing a key role in the Blueshirts' run to the ECF. Expectations were high for the 6'5" forward coming into the season, with the main question being if he would be the third line center or second line wing. Hayes has struggled in both roles and was a healthy scratch the previous two games with poor practice habits and on-ice performance called out by coach Alain Vigneault.
Ryan Murray, D, CMB: A defenseman's growth is not linear. A defenseman's growth is not linear. A defenseman's growth is not linear. Keep repeating that every time you take a flyer on a young blueliner. Murray, the second overall pick in the 2012 draft, is slowly rebounding as injuries have set back his development. Even with that, he is on pace for just 26 points this year, despite seeing close to 22 minutes and 2:32 on the man-advantage each game. The light will likely eventually go on; it just may take a while longer.
Steve Mason, G, PHI: Mason was profiled a month ago, and what I wrote then applies now. Every time he seems to right the ship, he regresses. Mason played well in two straight games and after an average third contest, which he won, he allowed four goals in two straight to land back on the bench. Philly has lost three in a row and Michael Neuvirth could get another shot to run with the netminder job.
Others: Sam Gagner, Jordan Staal, Jori Lehtera, Justin Fontaine, Emerson Etem, Andrew Cogliano, Daniel Winnik, Sam Bennett, Morgan Rielly, Zdeno Chara, Niklas Kronwall, P.K. Subban (solely because of just one goal in 40 games), Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Jones, and Chad Johnson.
