This week's article focuses on first-half risers and fallers, including a Spoon, a Kuz, Bobby Lu and one of the many Staals. (Stats as of All-Star break.)
First Liners (Risers)
Ryan Spooner, C, BOS: Spooner notched 18 points in 29 games last season but entered this season as the B's third line center behind David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron. An injury to Krejci, who got off to a tremendous start before being sidelined, afforded Spooner additional ice time. He did not disappoint, posting 15 points in the 14 games Krejci missed. With Krejci back, Spooner has played wing on his line. Monitor this situation closely, because if Spooner does return to the third line pivot, his numbers will take a hit.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, C, WAS: Kuznetsov, selected 26th overall in 2010, started his rise up the charts last season. After a slow start, he posted 13 points his last 17 games, portending things to come. This year, Kuz has really ascended, earning First Star of the Month for January. The Russian notched four goals and 16 points in 10 games last month and is now up to 15 goals and 49 points with league-leading numbers in plus-minus (plus-24) and primary assists (29).
Artemi Panarin, LW, CHI: Panarin came over from the KHL and has not missed a beat. In fact, he has taken a major step forward, meshing beautifully on a line with Patrick Kane. Whether or not you believe someone who played in a professional league should be eligible for the Calder Trophy, Panarin is having a magical campaign. He now has 17 goals and 46 points and has filled a gap on the second line.
Dylan Larkin, LW, DET: Larkin's phenomenal rookie run took off even more under the bright lights and focus of the All-Star Skills Competition and Game. He won the fastest skater and then broke Mike Gartner's 20-year old record (set before Larkin was even born) for fastest turn around the ice. In addition, he notched three assists in the first game of the 3-on-3 tournament. In the regular season, Larkin has amassed 15 goals and 18 assists and is viewed by many as the one who will pick up the torch from Pavel Datsyuk, who himself took it from Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom.
Johnny Gaudreau, LW, CGY: For anyone concerned Johnny Hockey might have a sophomore slump, those thoughts can be tossed out the window. The Boston College legend scored 64 points as rookie (24 goals and 40 assists). This season, he already has 20 goals and 27 assists. The Flames are unlikely to make the playoffs, but it's obviously not Gaudreau's fault.
Brent Burns, D, SJ: Burns had a huge year last season, racking up a career-high 60 points. He is set to blow those numbers out of the water. Through 48 games, Burns already has 18 goals -- well poised to break his career-high 22 set in 2013-14 -- along with 25 assists. The Bearded One is on pace to notch over 100 hits and blocked shots while playing 26 minutes nightly. In one word: stud.
Rasmus Ristolainen, D, BUF: With a last name that just rolls off the tongue, Ristolainen has taken a huge step forward. He has already matched the eight goals he scored last year while also posting 23 assists. Risto is averaging over 25 minutes, with almost three on the man-advantage, and like Burns, is projected to hit triple-digits in hits and blocked shots.
Braden Holtby, G, WAS: Holtby showed how good he was last year, winning 41 games with a 2.22 goals-against average (GAA) and .923 save percentage (SV%). Well, he was just warming up. This season, Holtby already has 30 wins with a 2.07 GAA and .929 SV%. He is a major reason why Washington leads the Metro Division by a wide margin and remains the top seed in the conference and league.
Roberto Luongo, G, FLA: I usually don't like profiling a player two weeks in a row, but given the nature of this column, Luongo is worthy. He won three straight games heading into the break and, as noted last week, surrendered two or fewer goals in eight of his last 10 appearances and sat fifth in the league with 22 wins. Luongo also looked brilliant in the All-Star Game, so rumors of his demise were way too premature.
Others: Tyler Seguin, Leon Draisaitl, Anze Kopitar, Nathan MacKinnon, Jack Eichel, Matt Duchene, Aleksander Barkov, Victor Rask, Jamie Benn, Evgeni Malkin, Joe Thornton, Brandon Dubinsky, Nazem Kadri, Kyle Palmieri, Tobias Rieder, J.T. Miller, Nikita Kucherov, Leo Komarov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Robby Fabbri, Max Pacioretty, Mike Hoffman, Lee Stempniak, Tyler Toffoli, Loui Eriksson, James Neal, Cam Atkinson, Bobby Ryan, Alexander Steen, Patrick Kane, Jaromir Jagr, Victor Hedman, John Klingberg, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Mark Giordano, Duncan Keith, Kris Letang, John Carlson, Tyson Barrie, Roman Josi, Aaron Ekblad, Marc-Andre Fleury, Martin Jones, Corey Crawford, Connor Hellebuyck, John Gibson, Petr Mrazek, Pekka Rinne and Cory Schneider.
Training Room (Injuries)
Rick Nash, RW, NYR: Nash was going to land on the list of first half fallers but instead populates the injury ledger of the column. A bone bruise in his left knee sidelined Nash for a third straight game Tuesday. As we have seen, this type of injury can sometimes take a lot longer than first anticipated to heal, so there is no clear timeframe for his return.
Others: Connor McDavid (collarbone, activated Tuesday), Henrik Sedin (upper-body injury, returned to practice after All-Star Game), Kyle Turris (ankle, day-to-day, wasn't activated to play Tuesday), Tyler Ennis (undisclosed, return not imminent), Marcus Johansson (upper-body, day-to-day), Michael Cammalleri (upper-body, out Tuesday and Thursday), Johnny Boychuk (shoulder, close to returning) and Michal Neuvirth (lower-body, out 7-10 days).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Eric Staal, C, CAR: As RotoWire's recent update for Staal points out, he is not having a horrific season, but those high-production campaigns of yesteryear are but a memory: "Now with 30 points in 51 games, Staal has a shot at a 50-point season if he can pick up the pace a bit. The troubling thing is, Staal's game has dropped off in more than one aspect -- his shooting percentage has declined to a career-low 7.0, his shot total is down, and his power-play production has fallen right off the map. Unfortunately, Staal is a formerly elite player who is trending in the opposite direction right now." The pre-trade rumors are bubbling in earnest and he likely could use a change of scenery.
Radim Vrbata, LW, VAN: It was an ugly first half for Vrbata, who tallied just 11 goals and 11 assists after notching 31 goals and 32 assists last year. Much of that production in 2014-15 came while he skated on a line with the Sedins. Vrbata has mainly been on the second line this season, which has adversely impacted his production. He may also be on the block, which could help his numbers.
Alex Pietrangelo, D, STL: Pietrangelo recently put up a streak of six points in eight games, but that gave him just 21 in 50 games. After notching 51 and 46 points the last two campaigns, much more was expected this year. That's especially true when you factor in the early-season absence of Kevin Shattenkirk, which should have resulted in an uptick for Pietrangelo.
Jimmy Howard, G, DET: Like Luongo, I usually don't profile a player in consecutive installments but in this case, it's warranted again. As I wrote last week, Howard looked primed to reach the NHL's top tier for goalies after inking a six-year extension in 2013. But now, he has only been left to back up Petr Mrazek, and hasn't earned a victory since Dec. 3.
Others: Derek Stepan, Sam Gagner, Sidney Crosby, Mike Fisher, Sean Monahan, Kevin Hayes, Evander Kane, Jarome Iginla, Marian Gaborik, Jason Pominville, Jiri Hudler, Matt Moulson, Alex Goligoski, Andrei Markov, Tyler Myers, Andrej Sekera, Ryan McDonagh, Eric Gelinas, Jacob Trouba, Trevor Daley, Mike Smith, Cam Ward, Steve Mason and Ryan Miller.