NHL Barometer: Risers and Fallers for the Week

This week's article includes the younger Strome excelling, a hot winger in Anaheim, the Jets' No. 1 blueliner rolling, Grubauer heating up, the return of Eichel and a pair of rookies going through growing pains.

First Liners (Risers)

Dylan Strome, C, WAS – Strome continued his recent roll with a goal and pair of assists Friday. He has provided three multi-point performances in the last seven games, and over the last 15 contests, he's erupted for six goals and 19 points. The third overall pick in the 2015 draft, Strome has taken off since arriving in Washington in 2022. He is one goal shy of tying his career-high of 23 set last season and could exceed the career-high 66 points he also tallied last season while centering the second line.

Morgan Frost, C, PHI – Frost continued his fine play since the calendar flipped to 2024, tallying a pair of assists Friday. In 25 games since January 1, Frost has four goals and 16 helpers. Frost took a major step forward last season with 19 goals and 27 assists, but has spent part of this year in coach John Tortorella's doghouse. He seems to have finally extricated his way out of chateau bow-wow and is centering the Flyers' second line. In addition, Frost is the pivot on Philly's first line power play unit. 

Frank Vatrano, RW, ANA – Vatrano scored a pair of goals on five shots and added two hits Friday, upping his fine marks in each category. Despite the myriad of trade rumors, especially linking Vatrano back to the Rangers, he has racked up seven goals and five assists over 11 games since the start of February. Each point Vatrano scores creates a new career high. Add in the 119 hits, which leave him 20 shy of tying his high set in 2018-19 with Florida, and he is contributing across the board. 

Dylan Guenther, RW, AZ – Guenther continued to quietly produce, notching a power-play goal and two assists Sunday. The ninth-overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, Guenther is not scoring at a point-per-game pace. But over his last 16 games, Guenther has delivered six goals and 13 points, with five of those tallies coming on the power play. Arizona is far from playoff contention, so look for Guenther to see consistent playing time and possibly move up to the Coyotes' top-six as he continues his growth. 

Timo Meier, LW, NJD – Meier has not had an easy time of it since moving from San Jose to New Jersey. He scored 31 goals and 52 points in 57 games prior to the trade, but was held to just nine goals and 14 points in 21 contests with the Devils. Meier signed an eight-year, $70.4 million contract with the Devils last June but got off to a brutal start to the season, possibly landing him on the waiver wire in shallower leagues. He has found his game of late, racking up four goals and five assists over his last 11 outings, which corresponds with his recent rise from the third line to a top-six spot.

Josh Morrissey, D, WPG – Morrissey had a monster third period Saturday, notching three assists as the Jets scored five goals to rally for a 5-3 win. He added a goal and assist Sunday while dishing multiple assists in five of the last seven games, erupting for 13 helpers over that blistering stretch, and now has 43 apples on the year. Morrissey has just eight goals; his tally Sunday was his first since December 22 – a span of 19 games – but that is a minor point, as he will finish the year with 100-plus blocked shots and 24-plus minutes of ice time per game.

Brandon Montour, D, FLA – Montour had a magical 2022-23 season, posting 16 goals and 57 assists in 80 games – career-bests in each column. While regression was expected, I don't think anyone expected Montour to struggle as badly as he did after returning from offseason shoulder surgery. Maybe he just needed some time to believe he was fully healed, but he has been red hot lately. Montour has erupted for four multi-point performances in the last six games, racking up three goals and 10 points over that stretch, equaling his point total from his prior 30 contests. 

Spencer Martin, G, CAR – This one is probably a short-term inclusion. Martin, waived by Columbus in January, has been excellent since being claimed by Carolina. Martin has yet to take a regulation loss as a Hurricane, going 4-0-1 with a 1.97 goals-against average and .922 save percentage. Unfortunately for Martin, Frederik Andersen (illness) is nearing his return, which likely will result in Martin getting exposed to waivers or dealt elsewhere by Friday's trade deadline. 

Others include Hendrix Lapierre, Adam Henrique, Chandler Stephenson, Robert Thomas, Owen Tippett, Matias Maccelli, Zach Hyman, Tyler Toffoli, Kevin Fiala, Patrick Kane, Pavel Buchnevich, Roman Josi, Rasmus Dahlin, Kevin Shattenkirk, Drew Doughty, Alex Lyon, Juuse Saros, Jake Oettinger, Sergei Bobrovsky and Igor Shesterkin. 

Buy Low

Philipp Grubauer, G, SEA – Grubauer continued his recent stretch of fine play, allowing two goals in 37 shots in a 4-2 win over the Flames on Monday. Prior to Monday's contest, Grubauer had won five of his last seven starts, stopping 181 of 192 shots. On the year, Grubauer is 10-10-1 and his recent hot stretch has bumped his save percentage over .900 for the season. Grubauer has scuffled since signing a six-year, $35.4 million contract with the Kraken in July of 2021, but he has shown he can reel off a span of solid play, as he is right now. 

Training Room (Injuries)

Jack Eichel, C, LV – Eichel, who missed his 19th straight contest Saturday following knee surgery, was activated and played Monday. Prior to being sidelined, the 27-year-old forward has racked up 19 goals, 44 points, 173 shots on net and 40 blocked shots over 42 appearances this season. The most games Eichel has played in a season is 81 as a rookie in 2015-16, but he has missed time due to injury in almost every campaign since. Eichel should be fresh for the stretch drive due to the time missed. 

Others include: Josh Norris (shoulder, injured Tuesday, was placed on long-term injured reserve Friday), Kent Johnson (will undergo surgery for a torn labrum and miss the rest of the 2023-24 season), Jake Guentzel (upper body, out since Feb. 14 and expected to miss six to eight weeks, skated in a noncontact jersey at practice Saturday), Brady Tkachuk (upper body, missed Saturday's game), Gabriel Vilardi (upper body, missed second straight game Sunday, has gone back to Winnipeg for further evaluation), Tyler Myers (lower body, week-to-week), and Joseph Woll (high-ankle sprain, out since Dec. 7, returned to action with win Thursday). 

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)

Leo Carlsson, C, ANA – The future is very bright for Carlsson, the second overall pick in last year's draft, but it is a work-in-progress. He missed Friday's game with an upper-body injury and scored Thursday, but prior to that tally, his last goal was December 5. Anaheim may look very different after Friday's trade deadline, and Carlsson would be one of the primary beneficiaries if one of the top-six players moved. Rate this one as more of a hold-and-see rather than a true Faller, and monitor his status as he missed Sunday's game with an injury. 

Mike Hoffman, LW, SJ – Hoffman's goal Thursday was his first since Dec. 10, a span of 28 games in which he had just seven helpers. His name has been prominently mentioned in trade rumors, though his stock might not rise much if he does go elsewhere. Hoffman likely would fill a third-line role and see second unit power-play time. His scoring output has steadily declined the past few seasons, resulting in Hoffman bouncing from team to team since 2017-18 when he was a member of the Senators. 

Brandt Clarke, D, LA – Clarke, the eighth pick of the 2021 draft, has a bright future, though that future might not be now. He has been a healthy scratch lately and played just 7:06 when he scored Thursday as the seventh blueliner. Those in keeper, and especially dynasty leagues, know to just be patient with Clarke, as his time will come. Those, however, in single-year formats, might want to consider to tossing Clarke back to the waiver wire due to his lack of consistent ice time. That was evident Sunday, as skated just 8:56 in the Kings' win. 

Others include Barrett Hayton, Tage Thompson, Andrew Copp, Trent Frederic, K'Andre Miller, Seth Jones, Logan Thompson and Kaapo Kahkonen. 

Sell High 

Connor Ingram, G, AZ – Remember when Ingram and Coyotes were each the hot commodity in the league? Those days are certainly long ago. Ingram is 0-6-2 with 29 goals allowed in his last eight starts and has ceded the net the last two games to Karel Vejmelka. He warrants a place on your fantasy bench until he can right the ship. Arizona is playing out the string, so Ingram should get another chance before too long, though I would wait until he strings a few solid games together before reactivating him.