NHL Barometer: Risers and Fallers

This week's article includes a Brock Star on the Island, Toffoli on a roll, Klingberg heating up, a new No. 1 goalie in the Desert and the usual No. 1 down with an injury and Seattle's netminder slumping. 

First Liners (Risers)         

Brock Nelson, C, NYI – Quick, amongst players who have been on the Islanders all season, who leads the team in points? That's right, it's Nelson. He has hit the scoresheet in 10 straight games, including Saturday, piling up six goals and 12 points over that stretch. On the season, Nelson has produced 21 goals and 51 points in 56 contests – leaving him only eight points short of tying the career-best 59 he managed last season in 72 games. Enjoy the ride if you have Nelson in your league. 

Nick Schmaltz, RW, AZ – On an elite team, Schmaltz would likely slot in on the second or third line. In Arizona, he is seeing top line minutes, and, for the most part, has succeeded in that role. Last year, Schmaltz posted a career-high 23 goals and 59 points in 63 games while skating with Clayton Keller. This season, despite missing slightly more than a month with an injury and with a similar line placement, Schmaltz is up to 14 goals, 35 points, 78 shots on net and an even plus-minus-rating through 38 outings. Schmaltz has been hot lately, racking up seven goals and seven helpers with a plus-7 rating over his last eight contests. 

Tyler Toffoli, LW, CGY – Toffoli has been relatively consistent in his career, racking up at least 43 points in seven of his last nine seasons. This season is no exception, as Toffoli is on pace to exceed the career-high 58 points he scored with LA in 2015-16 having notched 19 goals and 24 assists in 52 games. Toffoli has been on a roll recently, posting four goals and two assists in his last four games. Calgary is barely hanging on to the second Wild Card spot in the West and will need Toffoli to keep producing to have any shot at maintaining that position. 

Sam Reinhart, RW, FLA – The Florida sun did wonders for Reinhart last year, as he posted career-highs in goals (33), assists (49) and points (82). This year has not been as successful for the winger, but Reinhart's game continues to stay warm with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in his last 13 games. The Panthers have been very up-and-down this year, contributing to Reinhart's slight decline in production. If the team can find a way to stay healthy, they have a realistic shot at a Wild Card spot, which will require solid performances from Reinhart as well.

John Klingberg, D, ANA – Klingberg left Dallas with a little bit of a bang, posting 40-plus points (47) for the sixth time in eight years last season. He also finished with exactly 20 power-play points, the fourth time he has reached that level. Klingberg couldn't find a long-term suitor in the market, so he took a one-year, $7 million deal with Anaheim. To date, to put it nicely, he has been a bust. But he has shown signs of life recently, with five points over his last four contests, which could raise the interest level in him before the March 3 trade deadline. Be aware though, he missed Sunday's contest with an undisclosed injury. 

Moritz Seider, D, DET – Quietly, Seider has mostly put his early-season struggles behind him, hitting the scoresheet with more frequency the past month. With two assists Saturday, in 13 games over the last month Seider has racked up one goal and 15 points. That output has upped his season marks to three goals and 25 assists in 51 games, a far cry from the 50 he posted in 82 games, but respectable nonetheless. The ancillary numbers – besides shots on goals – including time on ice, power-play time on ice, hits and blocks, are in line with last season, boding well for future success.

Adin Hill G, LV – Hill had been relatively solid for Vegas, posting an 11-5-1 record with a 2.58 goals-against average (GAA) and .909 save percentage. He now gets an opportunity to run for the starting job – at least for a little while – with Logan Thompson week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Las Vegas is in a lighter part of their schedule, so the number of games Hill sees might be minimal. But a starting goalie on a playoff bound team has solid value in almost all formats and he picked up the win, stopping 23 of 25 shots Sunday. 

Casey DeSmith, G, PIT – DeSmith's time in the sun may be coming to an end soon, but he has been a godsend for the Penguins. With Tristan Jarry sidelined, DeSmith started his sixth straight game Saturday. He went 3-1-1 in his first five games while registering a .910 save percentage, albeit with a 3.28 goals-against average. DeSmith was pulled after allowing three goals on 15 shots Saturday and will revert back to his backup job once Jarry returns, which should be in the near term, as he practiced this week with the team. 

Others include Mika Zibanejad, Elias Pettersson, Boone Jenner, Adam Henrique, Matt Duchene, Bo Horvat, Brandon Tanev, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Chris Kreider (goal No. 250 as a Ranger), Roope Hintz, Frank Vatrano, Quinn Hughes, Seth Jones, Aaron Ekblad, Jake Oettinger, Ville Husso, Jaroslav Halak and Jack Campbell. 

Buy Low

Sam Lafferty, C, CHI – This is one for deeper leagues and a short-term recommendation. Chicago is in Connor Bedard sweepstakes mode and could end up dealing Jonathan Toews as well as Patrick Kane and Lafferty, who signed a two-year, $2.3 million contract with the Blackhawks last April. Lafferty would be a perfect fourth line center on a contender, but for now, he is seeing third-line minutes in the Windy City. With three goals and three helpers over his last seven outings, Lafferty is up to eight goals and 11 assists, all career-highs. If he remains in Chicago post-deadline, he could see even more ice time down the stretch. 

Training Room (Injuries)

Logan Thompson, G, LV – Thompson is week-to-week with a lower-body injury suffered Thursday. The injury looked to be to his leg and looked like it might sideline him long-term, which still might be the case. Thompson has had a fine rookie campaign, going 20-13-3 while posting a respectable 2.66 GAA and .914 save percentage. With Thompson facing an extended absence, Adin Hill has taken over as the Knights' preferred option in net for the foreseeable future. 

Others include Jack Hughes (upper body, week to week), Troy Terry (upper body, injured last Monday; placed on injured reserve Friday), Ryan O'Reilly (broken foot, missed all January; returned to action Saturday), Mark Stone (back, surgery January 31; out indefinitely), Andre Burakovsky (lower body, injured Tuesday; placed on injured reserve Thursday), Rasmus Andersson (struck by a car while driving a scooter Wednesday; sat last three games), Anton Forsberg (injured Saturday, MRI showed torn MCL in both knees; out two to three months), and Matt Murray (ankle, injured January 28; placed on injured reserve Thursday).

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers) 

Jack Eichel, C, LV – Eichel finally broke his goal drought Thursday, lighting the lamp for the first time in 10 games and notching his first point in six. He followed that up with another goal and assists, giving Eichel 17 tallies, 38 points, 147 shots on net and a plus-10 rating through 41 contests overall, solid enough numbers, but not to the level that was expected from him following his acquisition from Buffalo. Eichel has yet to truly dominate in the Desert, which will be needed with Vegas battling to maintain their top spot in the division. Maybe his last two performances are a sign that dominance is beginning. If that happens, he becomes a Buy Low.

Alexander Edler, D, LA – Edler hasn't recorded a point in his last 19 contests and sits with just one goal and six assists in 45 games. His ice time is down three minutes a game and he's also served as a healthy scratch a bit recently. The Kings are likely to add a blueliner by the trade deadline, which could relegate Edler to seventh blueliner duty, meaning he will be on the outside looking in. Feel free to move on. 

Jonathan Huberdeau LW, CGY – Huberdeau has had a rough campaign in Calgary after notching a career-best 115 points last year in Florida. He got off to a brutal start and appeared to have turned the corner in January, but he ended up back in the middle of a rough patch thereafter. Huberdeau has five points – two goals and three assists – in his last eight games, which is a mild hot streak for him this season, and sits with just 10 goals and 26 assists in 51 games. That output is a far cry from what Calgary expected when they dealt Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.

Others include Jeff Carter, Jared McCann, Dominik Kubalik, Seth Jarvis, Dylan Guenther and Marc-Andre Fleury. 

Sell High 

Martin Jones, G, SEA – Jones is having a phenomenal rebound season, but could the bloom be off the rose? Overall, Jones has a 23-9-3 record, 2.89 GAA and .892 save percentage in 37 games, but he has surrendered at least four goals in each of his last three outings. Given his struggles the last three years, it's hard not to think that he has reverted to that form rather than the netminder we saw the first three months of the season. Buyer beware for Jones at this point, until we see him use another gear.