This article is part of our NHL Barometer series.
This week's article includes the other Chad Johnson, "Vesey" does it, a major loss on the blue line in Big D and the Oilers' goalie springing a leak.
First Liners (Risers)
Sean Couturier, C, PHI – After an extremely slow start, Couturier has found his game of late. He notched two goals and an assist along with a plus-4 Saturday to extend his point streak. In that stretch, Couturier has tallied six points (three goals, three assists) with eight of his 11 points on the season notched in his last six games. He has shown lately that his breakthrough 76-point campaign last season was no fluke, so ride the wave.
Mikael Granlund, RW, MIN – When we think of elite wingers, Granlund doesn't usually come to mind. But maybe, just maybe, he needs to be considered in that class or at least a tick below. Granlund finally had that expected breakout season two years ago with 69 points and followed that up with 67 points last season. After not scoring in the first three games of the year, Granlund has points in 13 of his last 14 contests and is up to 10 goals and eight assists.
Dominik Simon, LW, PIT – The Penguins have been shuffling players throughout their lineup looking for the right combinations lately. The wheel landed on Simon, and he has not looked out of place to the left of Sidney Crosby. He showed at the AHL level that he could
This week's article includes the other Chad Johnson, "Vesey" does it, a major loss on the blue line in Big D and the Oilers' goalie springing a leak.
First Liners (Risers)
Sean Couturier, C, PHI – After an extremely slow start, Couturier has found his game of late. He notched two goals and an assist along with a plus-4 Saturday to extend his point streak. In that stretch, Couturier has tallied six points (three goals, three assists) with eight of his 11 points on the season notched in his last six games. He has shown lately that his breakthrough 76-point campaign last season was no fluke, so ride the wave.
Mikael Granlund, RW, MIN – When we think of elite wingers, Granlund doesn't usually come to mind. But maybe, just maybe, he needs to be considered in that class or at least a tick below. Granlund finally had that expected breakout season two years ago with 69 points and followed that up with 67 points last season. After not scoring in the first three games of the year, Granlund has points in 13 of his last 14 contests and is up to 10 goals and eight assists.
Dominik Simon, LW, PIT – The Penguins have been shuffling players throughout their lineup looking for the right combinations lately. The wheel landed on Simon, and he has not looked out of place to the left of Sidney Crosby. He showed at the AHL level that he could score and has taken advantage of the chances afforded him to date. Roll the dice — if Mario Lemieux could make Rob Brown a 50-plus goal scorer, anything is possible.
Noah Hanifin, D, CGY – Hanifin isn't lighting up the scoreboard, but he has shown signs of life lately. His assist Saturday gave him three helpers in his past four games, and he has cracked 20 minutes of ice time in his past three contests. Hanifin likely won't warrant a spot in shallow leagues, but as a fifth/sixth defenseman in deeper leagues, especially one where hits and blocked shots count, you could do worse than owning the Calgary blueliner.
Brad Hunt, D, VGK – Hunt has only played in nine games this season, bouncing in and out of the press box, but he now has two goals and five points in his limited action, with four of those points coming with the man advantage. Nate Schmidt is eligible to return from his suspension on Nov. 19 in Calgary, which will put additional pressure on Hunt for playing time, but with Vegas needing all the help it can get due to a slow start, Hunt's proficiency on the power play could keep him in the lineup.
Roberto Luongo, G, FLA – The Panthers, not surprisingly, struggled without Bobby Lu between the pipes. The return of Luongo has been the cure for what ailed Florida, as he's gone 3-0-0 with a .952 save percentage and 1.42 GAA since returning. For the Panthers to contend for a playoff spot and maybe a division title, Luongo will need to be a major component.
Chad Johnson, G, STL – With Jake Allen's issues between the pipes showing no signs of abatement, desperate times call for desperate measures. Prior to allowing three goals on 18 shots Sunday against the Wild, Johnson was coming off back-to-back wins, including a 33-save shutout Friday against the Sharks. Take a short-term flier on the veteran.
Others include Sidney Crosby, Colin White, Vincent Trocheck, Travis Zajac, Chris Tierney, Ryan Johansen, Nolan Patrick, Kyle Turris, Ryan O'Reilly (point streak hit 10 Sunday), Matt Duchene, Aleksander Barkov, Gustav Nyquist, Alex Tuch, Ryan Hartman, Jeff Skinner, Loui Eriksson, David Pastrnak, Richard Panik, Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Wheeler, J.T. Miller, Tomas Tatar, Claude Giroux, Sam Reinhart, Brady Tkachuk, Alex Galchenyuk, Mathieu Joseph, Mike Hoffman, Seth Jones, Anthony DeAngelo, Sami Niku (call up by Winnipeg), Ivan Provorov, Torey Krug, Brent Burns, Jaroslav Halak, Casey DeSmith, David Rittich, Henrik Lundqvist and Frederik Andersen.
Buy Low
David Krejci, C, BOS – Krjeci's appearance here is largely related to his struggles the past few seasons rather than his performance so far this year. After scoring 69 points in 2013-14 and 61 in 2015-16, Krejci dropped to 54 the following season and 44 last year, starting the whispers that the game had passed him by. His $7.25 million annual salary through 2020-21 made Krejci largely unmovable and somewhat locked him into a top-six role, but he has gotten off to a fine start with a pair of goals and 12 assists.
Jimmy Vesey, LW, NYR – Vesey's appearance on this side of the ledger is due to his prior production. After getting drafted in the third round and spurning a pair of teams, Vesey signed with the Rangers. Expectations were unfairly raised, so when he scored just 28 and 27 points, many viewed Vesey as a bust rather than recognizing his place is on the third line and not in the top six. Vesey has been unable to finish consistently, but placed on the third trio with Brett Howden and Jesper Fast, Vesey had found his sweet spot and is up to six goals on the season.
Training Room (Injuries)
Brock Boeser, LW, VAN – Boeser, who missed the latter few weeks of the regular season last year due to an injury, is now sidelined due to a groin issue. He is listed week-to-week and has been ruled out for the next four games. Considering that Vancouver sits atop the Pacific Division with a 10-6-1 record, they can afford to take all the necessary precautions with the sophomore, who had 29 goals and 55 points last year and already accumulated four goals and seven assists through his first 13 games of 2018-19.
John Klingberg, D, DAL – Klingberg injured his hand blocking a shot late Thursday against San Jose. Surgery was performed Friday and the elite blueliner, who already had 13 points in 16 games, will be sidelined for at least four weeks. Klingberg's absence will be a huge blow to the Stars' attack with Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell tasked with picking up the slack offensively.
Others include Brayden Schenn (upper body, missed third straight game Sunday), Alexander Radulov (lower body, returned to the lineup Monday), Maxime Comtois (lower body, sent to AHL San Diego for conditioning purposes), Brady Tkachuk (leg, returned to action this past week), Charlie McAvoy (concussion, practiced Saturday for the second consecutive day), Alex Goligoski (lower body, missed second straight game Sunday), Jack Campbell (meniscus tear in knee requiring surgery, expected to miss the next four-to-six weeks) and Antti Raanta (lower body, may be close to returning).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Craig Smith, C, NAS – Smith notched 52 points in this third NHL season back in 2013-14. Unfortunately, that output declined to 44, then 37 and 29 points the next three campaigns. Just when many were ready to write him off, Smith rebounded to post 25 goals and 26 assists last season. Despite a top-six role on a solid offensive team, Smith was held off the scoresheet for the fourth straight contest Saturday against the Stars, giving him just six points through 16 games. Making $4.25 million this season and next, Smith is likely safe for this year, but another poor campaign could put the pivot in danger of a buyout.
Dennis Cholowski, D, DET – Cholowski, selected in the first round in 2016, earned a roster spot with a solid preseason and carried his fine play into the campaign, producing two goals and five helpers over his first 10 NHL games. Once Detroit welcomed back a host of veteran blueliners from injury, Cholowski, either by cause or coincidence, has gone scoreless in four straight, posting just five shots on goal. A few games off in the press box or a possible trip to Grand Rapids could be on tap.
Cam Talbot, G, EDM – Talbot entered 2018-19 knowing he would an unrestricted free agent after the season, hoping that a big year would result in a lucrative long-term contract. To date, his performance hasn't provided much confidence to the GMs in the league, as his brilliant 2016-17 campaign is looking more like the aberration than the norm. Talbot entered Sunday's game mired in a three-game slump, dropping each decision and recording a .867 save percentage and 3.79 GAA in that span with a sub-.900 save mark for the season. He was pulled after allowing three goals on 14 shots, giving Mikko Koskinen a possible shot at grabbing the starting job in Edmonton.
Others include Anze Kopitar, Joe Pavelski, James Neal, Max Pacioretty, Thomas Vanek, Jesse Puljujarvi, Nick Leddy, Olli Maatta, Travis Sanheim, Jake Allen, Mike Smith and Jonathan Bernier.
Sell High
Pontus Aberg, LW, ANA – Aberg was the flavor of the week in late October when he scored a pair of goals in two straight contests. That production probably caused owners to rush out and grab Aberg, whose ownership percentage along with his DFS price spiked. Aberg fell back to earth, going scoreless for three straight before tallying a goal and assist his two games prior to Monday's contest. He will have spurts of offense, but he is likely too inconsistent to be relied upon in season-long leagues.
