Blue Line Buzz: Sharks with Beards

If you haven't seen it already, Dmitry Orlov's Houdini goal is the highlight of the week, hands down.

Remember when @orlov_09 played hide and seek with the puck? #CapsAvs#RockTheRed#HockeyHoudini https://t.co/S6pGBBHq2Q

— Washington Capitals (@washcaps) November 22, 2015

It caught everyone by surprise, especially Tyson Barrie, who nearly lost his balance as he scrambled to block the shot, to no avail.

When Mike Green left the Caps, there was some concern as to how the team would adjust, considering that he had played a big role on offense for so many seasons. John Carlson has picked up most of the slack and emerged as one of the league's best all-around defenseman, but Orlov can provide something that they've been lacking for years: a booming point shot.

Orlov was the 55th overall pick in 2009, and was known as a skilled defenseman with a two-way game and good offensive instincts. For a while, he came as advertised, but then Orlov suffered a wrist injury that kept him out of NHL action for 17 months; he became an afterthought, with Victor Hedman and Oliver Ekman-Larsson regarded as the best defenseman of that class thus far.

It remains to be seen whether Orlov can really put his slap shot to good use, with just one goal in 19 games and very little ice time on the power play. But he is a far better option than Matt Niskanen, and it should only be a matter of time before Barry Trotz starts using Orlov more. Trotz, who has a proven track record of developing defenseman going back to his days with Nashville, admitted that Orlov lost a year of development and still has tons of work to do, but has undeniable upside. Orlov, it should be noted, is one of Washington's best defenseman when it comes to on-ice advanced metrics, and he starts in the offensive zone 43.7 percent of the time, nearly twice as much as Karl Alzner (26.0 percent) and significantly more than Carlson (31.7 percent).

If there's one defenseman who's worthy of a deep bench stash on the possibility of a big second half, Orlov is it. He simply just needs to get a bit more playing time, especially with the man advantage, to take the Caps' offense to another level.

Last week's top five performers:

Erik Karlsson, OTT – The Sens' captain continues to roll, with five points in three games this past week, two of which were shutout wins. His best game came in a 3-0 win against Columbus, in which he had a hand in all three goals and fired seven shots on net. Karlsson continues to be the No. 1 defenseman in fantasy.

Ryan Suter, MIN – The Wild went on a three-game slide before righting the ship in a 4-0 win over Nashville, but Suter managed to tie Karlsson with five points in three games this past week. He continues to be a workhorse for Mike Yeo, but what's been surprising this season is his production: 19 points in 19 games, and certainly on pace to shatter his previous career high of 46 set in 2012, his final season with Nashville.

Kevin Shattenkirk, STL – He was eased back into the lineup with limited minutes in his first three games, but has scored a point in each of his past five games. Consistency remains elusive for the Blues, who have gone L-W-L-W-L in their past five, but as long as he's healthy, Shattenkirk should be one of the league's most productive power-play quarterbacks.

Brent Burns, SJ – He had two multi-point performances in his past four games and scored Sunday against Columbus to give him goals in back-to-back games. Burns rivals Dustin Byfuglien as one of the league's most unstoppable defensemen and remains one of the linchpins of San Jose's offense. The 30-year-old has six points and 29 shots on goal during the Sharks' six-game winning streak.

Ryan Murray, CLM – The Jackets are winning more often under John Tortorella, and some of that praise should be directed at Murray, who's finally coming into his own after being drafted second overall in 2012. He was very impressive in a 4-0 win against Nashville in which he was on the ice for all four goals, and has two points in his past four games to give him 10 in 22 games this season. Murray's worth keeping an eye on, fellas.

Top five trending up:

Jeff Petry, MON – He made an appearance in this space earlier this month, and owners in deep leagues should consider having him in their lineup. Petry has three points in his past four games, and while his scoring comes in spurts, he gets consistent minutes under Michel Therrien and fires a lot of shots on net.

Alex Goligoski, DAL – John Klingberg had a better week statistically, but "Goose" has fulfilled wingman duties with a two-assist game against Buffalo and a plus-6 rating in his past three games. The 30-year-old has been a pretty consistent point producer with totals of 36, 42, 27 and 30 points in his past four seasons, but should only be owned in deep leagues.

Mike Green, DET – He has three points in his past five games, which is as much as he's done all year, but maybe it's because the long-time Capital is finally understanding the system in Detroit. The Red Wings' defense has been shaky all season, but if Green can pitch in on offense like he did in Washington, it would make winning games a little easier.

David Savard, CLM – There's a bit more love than usual for Columbus this week, but here's an interesting stat on Savard: Under old coach Todd Richards, Savard played just over 25 minutes once in seven games, but under Tortorella, he's surpassed that mark eight times in 15 games, including three straight games with at least 27 minutes and over 30 minutes Friday against Nashville. His talent is limited and his plus-minus still isn't trending the right way, but there's no doubt Savard's no-fuss style has a fan in Torts.

Trevor van Riemsdyk, CHI – Talk about polar opposites. While big brother James was a second overall pick, Trevor was a free agent out of the University of New Hampshire. James is a left winger, while Trevor is a defenseman, but both are undeniably playing big roles for their team. The younger van Riemsdyk has emerged as solid second-pairing defenseman, averaging 20:35 per game, well ahead of Viktor Svedberg (17:12) and, somewhat surprisingly, veteran Trevor Daley (15:46). He's filling the void left by Johnny Oduya and should be able to post better numbers, though maybe still not enough for fantasy consideration.

Top five trending down:

Colin Miller, BOS – The Bruins have won their past two games with Miller registering five shots, and while he may be in Claude Julien's good graces right now, things didn't look so pretty last week, when he sat out a game as a healthy scratch.

Mark Giordano, CGY – He'll turn it around eventually, but the Flames' captain has now gone eight games without a point. He has just six points on the season and a minus-11 rating as Calgary continues to struggle; whatever momentum they generated late last year clearly evaporated over the summer.

Keith Yandle, NYR – The power-play specialist for the Rangers is going through a tough stretch with just one assist in five games, and he played a season-low 12:56 in a 5-4 win over Florida. He's also registered just one shot in three of those five games as part of a not-very-productive start to the year. If it wasn't already a foregone conclusion, Yandle is highly unlikely to be retained by the Rangers.

Niklas Kronwall, DET – This will probably be the final season Kronwall maintains fantasy relevance. The 34-year-old veteran is irreplaceable on the Detroit blue line, but with no goals and just seven assists this season, it's unlikely he'll be able to post his third consecutive 40-point season. The Red Wings' defense just hasn't been quite the same since Mike Babcock left, allowing 31.1 shots per game, sixth-worst in the league. Other than blocked shots, Kronwall doesn't provide enough to warrant a roster spot.

Marek Zidlicky, NYI – The year in which defenseman are coming in high demand continues with Zidlicky failing to live up to expectations and sitting out Sunday's game as a healthy scratch. I'm pretty certain that the Islanders will get at least one defenseman in return when they trade Travis Hamonic, as those leftover minutes certainly won't go to Zidlicky. Between Zidlicky and Green, it just hasn't been a good season for power-play specialists, and the one no one wanted, Cody Franson, might just turn out to be the most valuable of them all.

This week's top five picks:

Erik Karlsson, OTT – Has three dates against teams that win with their offense and not their defense: Dallas, Colorado and Arizona.

Shea Weber and Roman Josi, NAS – The Preds' top pair gets four games this week, including two against Buffalo and one against Philadelphia.

Ryan McDonagh, NYR – The Rangers have four games this week, but Nashville and Montreal could prove challenging. With Yandle struggling, the captain is the best choice.

Ryan Suter, MIN – Suter on the road: 10 games, eight assists, minus-3 rating. Suter at home: nine games, three goals, 11 points, plus-5 rating. The Wild host Vancouver, Winnipeg and Dallas this week.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI – Upcoming dates against the floundering Ducks (5-0 loss against Tampa Bay) and the porous Flames (league-worst 75 goals against) are mouth-watering. The additions of Max Domi and Anthony Duclair have really increased OEL's fantasy value.

Last week's picks:
P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov, MON: 2 assists, 11 shots, 11 blocked shots
Kevin Shattenkirk, STL: 2 goals, 4 assists, 10 shots, 8 blocked shots
John Klingberg, DAL: 3 assists, plus-6 rating
Aaron Ekblad, FLA: 1 goal, 3 points, 9 shots
Shayne Gostisbhere, PHI: First career goal, eight shots