NHL Thursday: Who's Hot? Who's Not?
Unfortunately, there is no absolute magic formula when it comes to predicting player production on a nightly basis, but one obvious factor to consider is who’s hot right now, and who’s cold. Both success and failure often comes in bunches for NHL players and it’s important to know the trends. Let’s start with the good news:
WHO’S HOT
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first…. With the return of Crosby, you can assume just about everyone wearing a flightless bird on their sweater is scoring these days. The obvious: Malkin, Crosby, Neal, Kunitz, Letang, Staal. The not so obvious are flying as well: Cooke, Kennedy, Dupuis. If it’s Black and Gold, it’s good right now.
Martin Havlat (SJ)
The forgotten man in San Jose wants to be remembered. After missing 3 months of action, Havlat is full of energy and producing at a fine pace. He has 3 straight 2-point games, including 4 goals in that span.
Brad Richards (NYR)
Since being paired up with Gaborik, Richards has exploded in terms of fantasy production. He has 9 points in the last 5 games and 14 in the last 10. He’s even putting some pucks in the net with two straight 2-goal games last week.
John Tavares (NYI)
Tavares continues to keep up his point-a-game pace on the season. His 3 assist performance on Tuesday gave him 9 points in the last 5 games. He’s already set his career best numbers in goals and assists and should make a strong push for 80 points on the year at this rate.
Patrick Sharp (CHI)
The Blackhawks are impossible to predict from week to week, but one man remains a steady fantasy force. That would be Sharp. His 4 goals in the last 3 games have put him over the 30 goal mark. He has 13 points in the last 9 games for the Hawks.
Tyler Ennis (BUF)
Ennis has just 24 points on the season, but 1/3 of them have come in the last 4 games. He’s used somewhat sparingly on a line with Stafford and Foligno, but he’s making a case for more responsibility. 4 goals in his last 5 games sweetens the pot here.
Mark Streit (D-NYI)
Streit is once again a full-fledge dynamo on the defense for the Isles. He’s logging 24+ minutes a game and is averaging about 3 shots per contest. And, oh yeah, the points are rolling in, too. He is currently riding a 5-game streak.
Anze Kopitar (LA)
Kopitar slowed down considerably mid-season, as he’s prone to do; however, it seems he has regained the scoring touch in recent days. The numbers: 4 straight games with a goal. Points in 10 of his last 11. Coming off a 3-point performance against the rival Sharks. All good signs you ought to get on board.
Kyle Brodziak (MIN)
Not exactly a household name, but the depth forward has been a fantasy genius for the past two weeks. Following a 17 PIM performance against the Avs, he put up points in 4 of the next 5 games for the Wild. He has 2 goals and 3 assists in the last two contests.
Chad LaRose (CAR)
After sitting out 7 games with an upper body injury, LaRose has discovered the joys of goal scoring. He has goals in 6 of the last 8 games for the Hurricanes. He piled up an impressive 10 shots on net last weekend against Minnesota.
P.K. Subban (D-MON)
The first half of the season was a big let down in terms of fantasy production for Subban. However, he’s on fire right now, adding up 9 points in his last 9 games. He’s closing in on 30 minutes a game for Montreal these days.
In terms of goalies, Bryzgalov is the hottest thing in the crease these days. A few other stoppers are currently riding a 4-game win streak:
- Corey Crawford (CHI) – this guy is all over the map. Apparently, it’s a good week. Stay tuned.
- Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT) – he got a rest in the Winnepeg shootout. He’ll be back in the pipes tonight against the Preds
- Ryan Miller (BUF) – tale of two seasons, as Miller has been his old in the 2nd half of the season
WHO’S COLD
Injured players aside, these guys have no such excuse for dive-bombing from fantasy relevance in recent weeks:
Dany Heatley (MIN)
No points in the last 8 games. Just 1 goal since Valentine’s Day. Somebody’s missin’ their Mikko.
Radim Vrbata (PHO)
Vrbata was the feel good story in Phoenix this year, running to a career high of 30 goals by mid-February. March has been unkind, however, as he hasn’t registered a goal in 11 games.
Patrice Bergeron (BOS)
Bergeron has been a streaky force this season. After a surge in late February, he’s once again gone missing. No goals in 12 games. Just 4 assists over the stretch.
Jaromir Jagr (PHI)
As expected, the rigors of a full season seem to have slowed down the old man. He has just 1 goal and 2 assists in the last 10 games for Philly.
Alex Burrows (VAN)
While the Sedins have finally broken out of their twin funks, they’ve done so without their normal partner. With scoring hard to come by in Vancouver, the Canucks have been experimenting with Mason Raymond on the Sedin line. Bad news for Burrows, who has just 2 points in the last 6 games.
Daniel Alfredsson (OTT)
11 games and counting without a goal for the captain.
Sam Gagner (EDM)
Gagner has more points in one game this season than he’s had in the last 14.
Alex Goligoski (D-DAL)
Zero goals, 2 assists in the last 14 games. Wasn’t he traded for some guy named James Neal last season?
Goalies Struggling this Week:
- Martin Brodeur (NJ) – 9 goals allowed over his last two losses and Hedbergs fills in with a shutout
- Jimmy Howard (DET) – In between injuries, he’s dropped 3 straight and 6 of 7.
- Evgeni Nabokov (NYI) – 2 wins in his last 9 games. GAA has ballooned from 2.32 to 2.56 in that stretch