Blue Line Buzz: Subbanator Not Running Optimally

Sometimes, it's the little moves that make a big difference.

Case in point: Justin Faulk's score with just 17 seconds remaining on a well-placed wrist shot.

Erik Karlsson does this really well, too, using his wrister to put pucks on net with accuracy rather than winding up and pretending to be Al MacInnis. Lots of defensemen are doing this now because not everyone has a cannon, and there's no point in shooting as hard as you can if it doesn't hit the net. The big clapper is sexy, but like "The Naked Man" routine, it's hit or miss.

Little changes to a team's defensive corps can change fortunes in a hurry, too. Just look at what Colton Parayko, Rasmus Ristolainen and Shayne Gostisbehere have done for their teams in a relatively short period of time. Each of them has really improved his respective team's defense, and for fantasy owners who missed out on Erik Karlsson, P.K. Subban and John Klingberg, these overlooked players – rookies who have flown under the radar and talented blueliners on poor teams – can be game-changing waiver-wire additions.

Potentially among these: 2012 sixth-round pick Petteri Lindbohm, who was called up Sunday by the Blues. The 22-year-old Finn looked pretty good in 23 NHL games last year, but began this season with AHL Chicago, where he had seven points in 20 games prior to his recall. The point totals may not look like much, and the scouting report on the defense-first Lindbohm is that his offensive ceiling is a little limited, but he's still got some skill even at 6-foot-3. Joel Edmundson, who made the roster out of camp, was sent to the AHL accordingly.

San Jose's Mirco Mueller, a 2013 first-round pick who has ridden the minor league shuttle three times already this season, is also worth mentioning. The Sharks' third pairing has been a revolving door this season, and with their AHL affiliate now playing in the same city rather than across the country in Worcester, Mass., the team can now make instant call-ups. Mueller was demoted Dec. 3 in favor of Dylan DeMelo, but was called up again two days later as coach Peter DeBoer keeps tinkering.

Mueller is a big defenseman who scored four points in 39 games for the Sharks last year, but has been held without a point in eight NHL games this season while putting up a minus-3 rating. Strength is the obvious issue for him, and DeBoer has limited him to an average of just 10:23 on the ice so far, but as the season progresses, Mueller's stock should continue to climb as well.

Other names to keep an eye on in the AHL include the Ducks' Brandon Montour, who's leading all AHL defensemen with 22 points in 21 games as a rookie, another Duck in former first-rounder Shea Theodore, who's been riding the minor-league shuttle this season like Mueller, Carolina's recently demoted Ryan Murphy, the Stars' Esa Lindell, Chicago's Ville Pokka and high-flying Bolts prospect Anthony DeAngelo.

Last week's top five performers:

Shea Weber, NAS – Perhaps motivated by his appearance in the 'trending down' section last week, Weber put up two three-point games in three contests, including a hat trick against Detroit. He's still on pace for 50 points and well over 20 goals, which leaves among the league's elite blueliners.

Ron Hainsey, CAR – The 34-year-old still has some touch. He has a goal and three assists in his past four games, putting up what might be the most productive week of his season. He's still not a fantasy option except in the deepest of leagues, but he's a big reason why Carolina has won two straight.

Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF – He's been playing well all year as the league's youngest No. 1 defenseman, and although a loss to the Connor McDavid-less Oilers was disappointing, Ristolainen also had a three-assist game against Detroit. He's one of the highest-upside young defensemen this year and is approaching universal ownership territory. The Finn's four assists in the last week trail only Erik Karlsson among blueliners.

Erik Karlsson, OTT – He's a near-automatic selection for this list for obvious reasons, and once again Karlsson led all defensemen this past week with six points, including an overtime winner against the Islanders. Though he said he disliked the 3-on-3 overtime at the beginning of the season, Karlsson added recently that he's learning to like it because he's learned how to play it. That's bad news for 29 other teams.

Michael Del Zotto, PHI – We all know that Philly's defense will be a force to be reckoned with five years down the road, but for now, Del Zotto and Shayne Gostisbehere seem to be able to handle the duties. Though MDZ had been practically invisible early on this season, he has strung together five good games, scoring four points in the process. He led all defensemen with 12 blocked shots this past week.

Top five trending up:

Brian Dumoulin, PIT – Mike Johnston's work with the Pittsburgh defense has ranged from average to mediocre, which is a little surprising for someone who had a lot of success developing them with WHL Portland. Though the results have been a mixed bag, Dumoulin is the latest Penguin to step up, playing over 20 minutes in three straight games and collecting three assists. However, that hasn't exactly led to wins for the struggling Pens.

Matt Dumba, MIN – He had goals in two straight games, including the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Toronto, even though his ice time has been limited. The Wild have a pretty deep defense, which allows Mike Yeo to be selective with Dumba's usage. That's good news for a developing defenseman, but a headache for fantasy owners. He's a good name to target for next season.

John Moore, NJ – An underrated, smooth-skating defenseman, Moore has been a nice addition to a surprisingly good Devils squad. He had four points in four games before going two straight without a point, but finished with a solid plus-3 rating Saturday against Florida. Damon Severson and Adam Larsson still have more upside, but Moore could see his ice time creep up if he continues his strong play.

Steve Kampfer, FLA – An undersized defenseman with some offensive skill, Kampfer has filled in quite nicely in Florida, notching two assists in his last three games. He's a tweener, meaning that he's the type of player who will ride the minor league shuttle his entire career, but given the right opportunities, Kampfer can score a few points in the NHL.

Yevgeni Medvedev, PHI – After riding the shelf with an upper-body injury for a while following a rough start to the season, Medvedev's seen increasing ice time recently – 22:45 with almost two minutes on the power play Saturday – and has three points in five games since returning. With the lack of options on the Philadelphia defense, Dave Hakstol has had to place his faith in unproven players, and it's paying off so far.

Top five trending down:

P.K. Subban, MTL – The raw stats don't look good: Subban hasn't scored a goal since Oct. 24 and has just one assist to go with a minus-2 rating in his last five games. That said, Subban's an integral piece of the Habs' offense, and even if his name doesn't appear on the scoresheet, he's often on the ice when they score. Unfortunately for fantasy purposes, it's all about the stats.

Victor Hedman, TB – After scoring 55 points in 75 games during the 2013-14 season and then 38 points in 59 games last year, Hedman's production has fallen below expectations, as he owns a modest 14 points in 27 games. He has just one assist in his past four games as the Lightning have slipped to sixth in an Atlantic Division that looks much stronger this year.

Andrej Sekera, EDM – He translated one sublime season with Carolina into a $33 million payday, once again proving how terrible some teams are at evaluating defensemen. This isn't the first time the Oilers' big free-agent splash on defense hasn't panned out, and truth be told, outside of that 44-point season with Carolina, Sekera never showed that he was a consistent and/or capable top-four defenseman. Having watched a lot of him in Buffalo, I say that with full confidence.

Erik Johnson, COL – He has just one goal in his last 10 games and nine points on the season. While the former top draft pick has first-pairing potential, he's still a tier below the league's elite, so a team that employs him as a No. 1 defenseman probably needs other facets of the game to go right in order to win. Johnson's peripherals remain solid, but the points aren't there.

Seth Jones, NAS – Since notching three points in a 7-0 drubbing of Winnipeg back on Nov. 14, Jones has disappeared, going 10 games without a point. He played just 15:10 in a 5-4 loss against Detroit and finished with a minus-3 rating. This is quite normal, though, for a young and developing defenseman. He's just not quite reliable enough to hold down a regular roster spot on fantasy teams – yet.

This week's top five picks:

Brent Burns, SJ – Just three games this week, but the Sharks have two juicy matchups, as they play the two Alberta teams back-to-back.

Shea Weber, NSH – Fresh off his hat trick, the star blueliner is slate to play four games, facing Chicago twice, Boston and Colorado. Those aren't easy matchups, but they'll provide plenty of opportunities to score.

Keith Yandle, NYR – The Rangers' power-play specialist will go through a Western Canada swing facing Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. All are good matchups for a team that's expected to sweep the week.

Kevin Shattenkirk, STL – It's taken a while for him to get going, but the Blues get a four-game home stand this week hosting Arizona, Philadelphia, Dallas and Colorado.

Mike Green, DET – With assists in three straight games, maybe it's time to give Green another shot, though the Wings have a tough test with Washington, Montreal, New Jersey and Buffalo this week. Don't scoff at Buffalo – the Sabres are one of the faster teams in the league and have some enviable talent that can take over a game on any given night.

Last week's picks:

Erik Karlsson, OTT – He came up short in Sunday's loss against the Rangers, but played 32:41 the previous night and scored the overtime winner. The Swedish star has six points over his last three games.

Brent Burns, SJ – After a poor two-game stretch in which he went minus-5, Burns redeemed himself a little with a two-point effort Saturday against Tampa Bay. He continues to plays lots of minutes for the Sharks, even though they've only won once in their past four games.

Tyson Barrie, COL – Facing Cory Schneider and then later a solid Rangers defense didn't faze him, as Barrie collected a point in each of those two games. However, with just two goals on the season, he's still not meeting expectations.

Alexander Edler, VAN – The Canucks have lost six of their past seven games, and Edler has just a goal and two assists in that span. Over his past four games, Edler's ice time has dipped to 21 minutes, although the entire Canucks defense is struggling with turnovers and poor decision making.

Dion Phaneuf, TOR – He hasn't scored a goal since Nov. 15 and has gone pointless in his last three games. Nazem Kadri is really turning his game around under Mike Babcock, but the same can't really be said for the Leafs' captain.