NHL Barometer: Risers and Fallers

This week's article includes a hot Namestnikov, Sprong sprung in Hockeytown, Burns and Kochetkov rolling for the 'Canes, Bedard down and the Hub's offense grounded for Calgary. 

First Liners (Risers)

Vladislav Namestnikov, C, WPG – Namestnikov has been hot lately, racking up a pair of goals and six helpers over his last six contests. Currently, he is centering Nikolaj Ehlers and Gabriel Vilardi on the first line, but he has been deployed in the top-six all season. Overall, the 31-year-old has managed 23 points, 44 shots on net, 25 hits and a plus-18 rating over 36 appearances. His scoring pace might allow Namestnikov to exceed his career-high of 48 points, a mark he set with the Lightning and Rangers in 2017-18.

Bo Horvat, C, NYI – Horvat continues to quietly rack up points for the Islanders. After posting two goals and an assist Thursday and a helper Saturday, Horvat has racked up 10 goals and 14 assists in his last 19 contests. This hot stretch has upped his season totals to 16 markers and 23 apples in 38 games. Horvat could exceed the career-high 70 points he posted in 79 contests between Vancouver and the Islanders last season. Centering Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal on the top line while playing on the first-unit power-play should provide Horvat a good chance at setting a new career high. 

Daniel Sprong, RW, DET – Sprong notched a pair of assists Thursday, giving him has three goals and four helpers over his last eight contests. Despite playing on the fourth line and just 13 minutes a night, Sprong has tallied 10 goals and added 16 assists in 40 games. The 46 points he posted last year as a member of the Kraken look less like an aberration given what Sprong has done so far this year following a slow start to his career that took Sprong to four other cities before he landed in Seattle.

Connor Zary, LW, CGY – It's been a rough season for Calgary, but they seem to have found a solid second-line winger. Zary, taken in the first round (24th overall) in 2020, made his season debut Nov. 1 after starting the year in the AHL. Since his promotion, Zary has notched eight goals and 11 assists in 30 games while skating with Nazem Kadri. The future is very bright for Zary, and with the Flames looking towards the future, look for him to see copious ice time the second half of the season. 

Brent Burns, D, CAR – Burns continued his hot play, notching a pair of goals and an assist Friday. He flipped the switch after Christmas, posting three multi-point performances in the last six games and racking up three goals and nine points over that stretch, to break out of a slump that had seen him manage just two helpers over his prior 11 contests. The addition of a few blueliners in Carolina has adversely impacted Burns' production, as even with his hot streak, he only has 23 points in 40 games after tallying 54 and 61 points, respectively, in the last two seasons.

Gustav Forsling, D, FLA – Forsling has found his offense lately, notching seven points in his last seven games. After posting 37 and 41 points, respectively, his last two seasons, Forsling opened this season cold as ice. In his first 32 contests, Forsling had just three goals and six assists, with several scoreless streaks. One caveat is that with Aaron Ekblad back in action and the presence of Oliver Ekman-Larsson in Florida, Forsling is not seeing much power-play time at all, but his even-strength scoring still makes him valuable, especially in deeper formats. 

Pyotr Kochetkov, G, CAR – Kochetkov has bailed out the Hurricanes between the pipes following the illness to Frederik Andersen and subpar play of Antti Raanta. The 24-year-old goaltender has won four straight starts, allowing two goals or fewer in each outing. Since the beginning of December, Kochetkov has posted an 8-3-2 record with a 2.22 GAA and .918 save percentage over 13 appearances. Andersen is expected back sometime this month, but even when that happens, Kochetkov should remain the 'Canes starting netminder.

Martin Jones, G, TOR – Before the season, if someone had said to me Jones would be listed as a riser, I would have given very high odds against that. But he deserves the placement here, stepping in ably between the pipes for the Maple Leafs following the ankle injury to Joseph Woll and ineffective play of Ilya Samsonov. Since being recalled from the AHL in early December, Jones has gone 7-3-0 with a pair of shutouts, an impressive .932 save percentage and 2.08 goals-against average through 11 appearances.

Others include Vincent Trocheck, Adam Fantilli, Travis Konecny, Alex Kerfoot, Morgan Geekie, Andrei Svechnikov, Sam Reinhart, Alexander Holtz, Frank Vatrano, Gustav Nyquist, Juraj Slafkovsky, Sebastian Aho, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Kris Letang, Vince Dunn, Brady Skjei, Charlie McAvoy, Stuart Skinner, Joey Daccord, Thatcher Demko, Igor Shesterkin, Alex Lyon and Connor Hellebuyck. 

Buy Low

Dawson Mercer, LW, NJD – Check your league settings, as Mercer may only have center eligibility. With Jack Hughes (upper body) sidelined, Mercer moved into the top six, centering the first line Saturday. Prior to that contest, Mercer had notched three multi-point efforts his last eight games, notching five goals and eight points during his surge. On the season, the 22-year-old has just 20 points (12 goals, eight helpers) in 38 contests, evidencing just how slow his start to the season was after he scored 56 points last season. 

Training Room (Injuries)

Connor Bedard, C, CHI – Bedard suffered a fractured jaw when he was hit by Brendan Smith in the first period last Friday. The 18-year-old Bedard has 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) through his first 39 games, though he'd been held to just one helper in his last five contests. Bedard was placed on injured reserve Saturday, but no timeframe has been given for how long he will be sidelined. A rough guesstimate is 5-6 weeks, though Bedard could play with his jaw wired shut, but that is unlikely. 

Others include Jack Hughes (upper body, injured Friday, sat Saturday's game), Martin Necas (upper body, missed second straight game Saturday), Max Pacioretty (Achilles, made his season debut Wednesday), Timo Meier (abdomen, out since Dec. 30, was placed on injured reserve Saturday), Mikhail Sergachev (lower body, out since Dec. 19, placed on long-term injured reserve Thursday), Miro Heiskanen (lower body, injured Thursday, viewed as week-to-week) and Jake Oettinger (lower body, missed 10th straight game Saturday against Nashville, now termed day-to-day).

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)

Pierre-Luc Dubois, C, LA – PLD managed his first multi-point effort since Nov. 25 by posting a pair of assists Thursday. That sentence should tell you all you need to know on the kind of season Dubois has had. Acquired this offseason as part of a sign-and-trade from Winnipeg, Dubois signed an eight-year, $68 million contract extension with the Jets in June to pave the way for the deal. To date, it's been a disappointing campaign for Dubois, who has just seven goals and nine assists in 36 games for LA. 

Jonathan Huberdeau, LW, CGY – If you thought Huberdeau's drop from 115 points in 2021-22 to 55 last year was concerning, look at what he has done so far this year. His goal Tuesday was his first since Nov. 18 and just his second point in his last 14 games. Overall, the 30-year-old winger has six goals and 20 points through 40 games this season. Those are bad numbers overall but are made even when you consider that Huberdeau is only in the second year of the eight-year, $84 million contract extension he signed with the Flames in August of 2022.

Brandon Montour, D, FLA – Montour missed the first month-plus of the season recovering from offseason surgery, He found a new level during the 2022-23 campaign, setting new career highs with 16 goals and 73 points in 80 games, nearly doubling his previous career high of 37 points. Twenty-three games into this season, last year looks like the aberration and not the new norm, as Montour has just a goal and six assists. Maybe he is still just rounding into form, but for those teams that retained Montour as a keeper or selected him early, they wish he was in 2022-23 mode by now. 

Others include Trevor Zegras, Lukas Reichel, Blake Wheeler, Robby Fabbri. Nicolas Hague, Erik Gustafsson and Carter Hart. 

Sell High 

John Gibson, G, ANA – I dislike including Gibson on this side of the ledger as frequently as I have, but unfortunately, it's warranted. Gibson has struggled to string together wins and is just 7-16-0 with a 2.97 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage through 25 outings. Anaheim is still trying to find their footing, adversely impacting Gibson's numbers. The last time Gibson finished with better than a .500 mark was way back in the 2018-19 season. All signs point to Gibson needing a change of scenery to live up to his talent level making him a sell high until that happens.