NHL Barometer: Risers and Fallers for the Week

This week's article includes Keller shining in the Desert, Kirill the Thrill, Ovi rolling, Georgiev racking up wins, the return of Larkin and Henrique's production declining. 

First Liners (Risers)

Clayton Keller, C, AZ – The Coyotes are having another rough season, this one coming after a strong start. Despite missing the playoffs again, Keller is having a fine campaign once again. Keller has scored in five straight games and now has eight goals and two assists over 10 outings in March. He is up to 30 tallies, 62 points, 196 shots on net and a minus-21 rating through 67 appearances after posting a career-best 86 points in 82 contests last year. One major difference is that Keller was a minus-two in the 2022-23 season compared to the minus-21 this year.

Bo Horvat, C, NYI – Horvat has been on a tear, but his streak looks like it will not be enough to keep the Isles in playoff contention. He has scored seven goals and added seven assists in his last 14 games. Horvat sits one tally short of his third straight 30-goal campaign, and at 63 points, he is seven shy of tying his career-high in points set last season. Horvat centered Mathew Barzal for a good portion of the season, but now is between Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri on New York's top line. 

Kirill Kaprizov, LW, MIN – Kirill the Thrill is keeping the Wild on the fringes of playoff contention. Minnesota sits six points shy of the second Wild Card with 11 games remaining. Kaprizov has five multipoint performances in the last 10 games, a stretch in which he's amassed 10 goals and 16 points, and he sits one point short of reaching 80 on the season. His slow start is but a memory, and while he won't exceed the 100-point mark for the second time in his career, he could hit 40 goals for the third straight season.

Timo Meier, LW, NJD – Next year, the Devils should change all their calendars so that each month is March. Saying it's been Meier March is an understatement. Meier lit the lamp again Sunday, giving him 12 goals (17 points) in 13 games this month. Evidencing just how hot he is and how cold he was until March hit, Meier now has 23 tallies on the year, meaning that in the first 45 games he played this season, he potted just 11 goals. His hot play has helped the Devils get back into playoff contention. 

Alex Ovechkin, LW, WAS – There is hot, there is red-hot and then there is Ovechkin. Whatever impacted Ovechkin earlier this season sure has been remedied. In the last 24 games, Ovechkin has lit the lamp 18 times including in five straight games. Only Zach Hyman with 20 goals and Auston Matthews with 19 have scored more in that stretch. Ovi has nearly single-handedly vaulted the Caps into a playoff spot and they sit just two points shy of Philly for third in the Metro Division. In addition, Ovechkin is now 47 goals shy of Wayne Gretzky's all-time mark of 894 markers.

Mattias Ekholm, D, EDM – Ekholm has three multipoint games in his last five outings -- he's totaled three goals and five assists in that span. Quietly, Ekholm's up to seven goals, three shy of his career high, and 34 points through 66 games this season. The hope when he was traded to Edmonton was that his offensive game would take a step up to the next level. While that hasn't fully been the case, the plus-32 rating coupled with Ekholm being on pace for 100-plus hits and blocks and 21 minutes of ice time add to his value. 

Alexandar Georgiev, G, COL – Georgiev wasn't great Sunday, allowing four goals in the first 35:40 vs. the Penguins. But coach Jared Bednar kept him in the game, the Avalanche rallied to win in overtime, and Georgiev extended his win streak to six contests. In this stretch, Georgiev has stopped 159 of 172 shots, improving his season marks to 37-15-3 with a 2.82 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. With 37 victories, Georgiev is just three shy of tying his career-high, set just last season. 

David Rittich, G, LA – This one if for those in Daily Fantasy Leagues, Rittich is the clear backup to Cam Talbot, but he regained the luster he had earlier this year. Rittich carried the load for a bit while Talbot scuffled, then hit his own speed bump. Talbot is starting nearly every game for L.A., but Rittich has been solid when between the pipes, as he's earned shutout wins in two of his three starts in March. His fine play could earn Rittich an extra game or two in net down the stretch for the Kings. 

Others include Brayden Point, Connor McMichael, Jack Hughes, Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Artemi Panarin, Brandon Saad, Zach Hyman, Conor Garland, Jonathan Drouin, Patrick Kane, Shea Theodore, Moritz Seider, Luke Hughes, Adam Fox, Cale Makar, Samuel Ersson, Joel Hofer, Jake Allen, Jonathan Quick and Justus Annunen

Buy Low

Thomas Chabot, D, OTT – Chabot has come off the injured list en fuego offensively. Since missing five games with a lower-body injury, Chabot has put up five points, including two goals, in his last five contests. Chabot has 27 points in 43 appearances this season and he has played well when he's on the ice. The problem is that Chabot has missed 28 games due to a variety of injuries, which pretty much has been the story of his career. Healthy now, he should close out the season strong for Ottawa.

Training Room (Injuries)

Dylan Larkin, C, DET – Larkin returned from a lower-body injury against the Islanders last Thursday, scoring two goals in the Red Wings' win. He missed eight straight games before returning to action. Larkin has 28 goals and as many assists in 57 games, with his close to point-per-game output matching what he has posted each of the prior two seasons. Detroit is battling Philly and Washington, depending on which is in the second Wild Card spot for a playoff berth, and gets a major boost from Larkin's return. 

Others include Aleksander Barkov (undisclosed, missed third straight game Sunday), Gustav Forsling (illness, missed his second straight game Sunday), Jacob Markstrom (lower body injury, missed five straight games, returned to action Saturday) and Adin Hill (undisclosed, injured Saturday, did not play Monday).

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)

Adam Henrique, C, EDM – Henrique posted 42 points in 60 games with Anaheim before he was dealt to Edmonton. We all expected his production to decline with Henrique no longer in a top-six role, since he is being used as the Oilers' third-line pivot. This has been the case, as Henrique has just two goals and an assist in nine games since the trade. He has seen his ice time drop more than 2:30 per game with 1:30 of that decline coming on the man-advantage. Look elsewhere for stretch run production. 

Eeli Tolvanen, LW, SEA – Tolvanen's offense has gone completely south. He has produced just six points over his last 20 contests after notching 30 points in his first 50 games. Tolvanen has seen some first-line minutes but has been unable to take advantage of that placement. He is better suited to middle-six deployment but at least has set a new high in hits, which provides him value in leagues that use that category. View him as a long shot for output the last few weeks of the regular season. 

Colton Parayko, D, STL – Parayko notched his first goal in 18 games Thursday. That marker tied his career-high in the category at 10, but as seen from the first sentence, he has suffered through a massive drought in lighting the lamp. Parayko still has value, as he is seeing just 24 minutes of ice time a game while dishing out 104 hits and blocking 191 shots. As long as you don't expect much offense from him, you won't be disappointed. 

Others include Erik Haula, Ross Colton, Marco Rossi, Troy Terry, Alexander Holtz, Charlie McAvoy, Brock Faber, Connor Ingram and Connor Hellebuyck. 

Sell High 

Ilya Sorokin, G, NYI – Sorokin and the Islanders are limping down the stretch. Sunday was Sorokin's sixth straight loss, a stretch in which he's stumbled to a 3.58 goals-against average and .881 save percentage, but the issue has been with New York's defense more than it's been with Sorokin's play. Sorokin carried the team for months when they failed to score. Now, the team overall has cratered and dragged Sorokin down with them. As crazy as it sounds, you may want to bench Sorokin down the stretch.