This article is part of our NHL Barometer series.
This week's article includes a pair of young top centers, the "backup" goalie in San Jose, down goes Shattenkirk and a not-so-great Dane.
First Liners (Risers)
Aleksander Barkov, C, FLA – Injuries curtailed Barkov's production throughout his career, costing the young center 76 games his first four seasons in the league. Healthy so far this season, the NHL is seeing just how special the 22-year old is on the ice. Barkov looks like he will be a perennial Selke Award candidate and is well known for his shootout prowess. This year, Barkov has tallied 15 goals and 28 assists in 44 games while averaging three more minutes of ice time.
Sean Monahan, C, CGY – Monahan tallied 62 points in his second year in the league and 63 two years ago before "falling" to 58 last season. He is more than doing his part to make sure another decline doesn't happen this season. The sixth overall pick in 2013 has posted four goals and 12 points in his last 11 games, giving the 23-year pivot 21 goals and 21 assists in 45 contests. Monahan centers Johnny Gaudreau and Micheal Ferland on Calgary's top line, a trio that should continue to wreak havoc for the remainder of the season.
Jamie Benn, LW, DAL – Benn extended his point streak to seven games with a goal and an assist Saturday against the Sabres. After dropping to 69 points in 77 games from 89 and 87 points the prior two
This week's article includes a pair of young top centers, the "backup" goalie in San Jose, down goes Shattenkirk and a not-so-great Dane.
First Liners (Risers)
Aleksander Barkov, C, FLA – Injuries curtailed Barkov's production throughout his career, costing the young center 76 games his first four seasons in the league. Healthy so far this season, the NHL is seeing just how special the 22-year old is on the ice. Barkov looks like he will be a perennial Selke Award candidate and is well known for his shootout prowess. This year, Barkov has tallied 15 goals and 28 assists in 44 games while averaging three more minutes of ice time.
Sean Monahan, C, CGY – Monahan tallied 62 points in his second year in the league and 63 two years ago before "falling" to 58 last season. He is more than doing his part to make sure another decline doesn't happen this season. The sixth overall pick in 2013 has posted four goals and 12 points in his last 11 games, giving the 23-year pivot 21 goals and 21 assists in 45 contests. Monahan centers Johnny Gaudreau and Micheal Ferland on Calgary's top line, a trio that should continue to wreak havoc for the remainder of the season.
Jamie Benn, LW, DAL – Benn extended his point streak to seven games with a goal and an assist Saturday against the Sabres. After dropping to 69 points in 77 games from 89 and 87 points the prior two seasons, Dallas' captain in on pace once again to reach, if not surpass, the 80-point mark for the year.
Travis Konecny, RW, PHI – Konecny, selected 24th overall in 2015, has settled in nicely to the first line right wing position. His goal and assist Saturday followed by his game-winning tally in overtime Sunday upped his production to 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his last 11 games, with all of those points coming at even strength. Konecny is starting to flash the promise that made him a first round pick, taking advantage of skating on a line with Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux.
Mark Stone, RW, OTT – It's been a rough season for the Senators, but Stone, especially lately, is pulling his weight. His two assists Saturday against the Maple Leafs marked the 25-year-right winger's fourth multi-point performances in his last six games, boosting him to a point-a-game pace (18 goals, 26 assists in 44 contests) on the season.
Sami Vatanen, D, NJ – The Finn has marked the scoresheet in seven of his past 10 contests for a goal and eight assists, which comprises 90 percent of the points he has notched in 21 games in New Jersey. Vatanen is averaging just under 22 minutes of ice time, including over two minutes on the power play, and should be a fixture on the blue line for New Jersey for the next several years.
Alexander Edler, D, VAN – Edler has 15 points in 34 games, which is nothing exceptional. But six of those points have come during his recent five-game point streak, which ended Sunday. The 91st overall pick in 2004 hasn't had a big offensive campaign since 2011-12, but his ability to play in all situations could make him attractive as a trade-deadline candidate.
Aaron Dell, G, SJ – Dell is still technically the backup to Martin Jones, but Jones is out now with a small injury, which will open the door for Dell now. Dell went 11-6-1 record along with a 2.00 GAA and .931 save percentage over 20 games (17 starts) as a rookie. His numbers this year have been remarkably close to last season (12-3-2 mark with a 2.17 GAA and .929 save percentage in 20 games).
Antti Raanta, G, ARI – Arizona acquired Raanta with Derek Stepan from the Rangers to assume the role of its No. 1 netminder. He struggled early and missed time twice due to injury but has relatively rounded into form lately. In his last 13 games, despite just three wins, Raanta has posted a 2.43 GAA and. 920 save percentage. The wins likely will remain challenging for Raanta due to the team's all-around struggles, but if he can continue to post solid enough ancillary stats, he should hold some value as a third goalie in some leagues.
Others include Nathan MacKinnon, Tyler Johnson, Eric Staal, Joe Pavelski, Patrice Bergeron, Connor McDavid, Mattias Janmark, Paul Byron, Brayden Schenn, David Krejci, Sidney Crosby, Joe Thornton, Brayden Point, Leon Draisaitl, Mathieu Perreault, Elias Lindholm, Calle Jarnkrok, Phil Kessel, Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Weal, Max Pacioretty, Ondrej Kase, Anthony Beauvillier, Taylor Hall, Brett Connolly, Jakob Silfverberg, Mikko Rantanen, Patric Hornqvist, Evgenii Dadonov, David Pastrnak, Rick Nash, Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand, Erik Johnson, Ivan Provorov, Esa Lindell, Jake Gardiner, Torey Krug, John Klingberg, Brent Burns, Samuel Girard, Roman Josi, Ryan Pulock, Mike Smith, Jonathan Bernier, Tuukka Rask, Conor Hellebyuck, John Gibson and Henrik Lundqvist.
Training Room (Injuries)
Ryan-Nugent Hopkins, C, EDM – Nuge was supposed to rejoin the Oilers following the end of their bye-week, but it was then announced he had suffered cracked ribs and a bruised sternum and will miss 5-to-6 weeks. The injury occurred when Vegas' Brayden McNabb checked him last Saturday. To replace RNH, Edmonton recalled Iiro Pakarinen from the AHL, but his absence puts more pressure on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Kevin Shattenkirk, D, NYR – Shattenkirk has had a disappointing year in his first season on Broadway, and now we at least have a bit of an explanation for his struggles. He first suffered a torn meniscus in late September and received a cortisone shot so he could try to play through the ailment. That shot helped somewhat for 8-10 weeks, but the effects wore off and the blueliner has been unable to make quick direction shifts on the ice, plus his knee has been swollen and sore. Shattenkirk will undergo surgery Monday, at which point a timeframe for a possible return will be announced.
Others include Bo Horvat (fractured leg, out since Dec. 5, activated Sunday), Jeff Carter (ankle, out since sixth game of the season, starting to skate), Jaden Schwartz (ankle, out since 12/9, practiced fully Sunday, could play Tuesday), Sebastian Aho (left last Sunday's game with a concussion and lower-body injury, indefinite), Johnny Boychuk (Boychuk (lower body, missed last 11 games, participated in practice Friday), Martin Jones (undisclosed, missed last two games), Semyon Varlamov (lower-body, potential back after the All-Star break) and Corey Crawford (post-concussion syndrome or vertigo, could miss the rest of the season).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Frans Nielsen, C, DET – Detroit was hailed in many circles for signing Nielsen, who spent the first part of his career with the Islanders. The Red Wings inked the Dane to a six-year, $31.5 million contract in July 2016. Nielsen tallied 41 points last year, down from 52 his last season on the Island, along with a minus-19 rating. This season, Nielsen only has five assists and 15 points through 45 games and has morphed into primarily a shootout and special-teams specialist. As a result, his ice time has been cut to 15:50 per game, his lowest rate since he bloomed into a full-time player with the Islanders in 2008-09. Nielsen could be buyout candidate after the season.
James van Riemsdyk, LW, TOR – JVR will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, but he is far from putting his best foot forward. Van Riemsdyk posted 29 goals and 33 assists last season. This year, he's notched 19 goals in 47 games, though that has been augmented by just 10 assists. In his last nine games, JVR has just two goals with a minus-4 rating and is now skating on the third line.
Matt Niskanen, D, WAS – Since December 19, a span of 14 games, Niskanen has notched just a goal and two assists. Overall, the 2005 first-rounder has three goals and 10 helpers in 34 games, a far cry from the five and 34 he notched a year ago. Look elsewhere for blue-line production.
Robin Lehner, G, BUF – Buffalo acquired Lehner just after the 2014-15 season, hoping they had found their goalie of the future. Lehner hasn't been helped much by his teammates, but he has allowed four goals in each of his last two starts and pulled in two of his last three. With a GAA hovering around three and a sharp drop in save percentage, you could do much, much better from a fantasy standpoint. Lehner signed a one-year deal with Buffalo worth $4 million for the 2017-18 season in July 2017, so this could be the end of his stint with the Sabres.
Others include Pavel Zacha, Ryan Strome, Ryan Johansen, T.J. Oshie, Conor Sheary, Alex Iafallo, Ron Hainsey, Kris Letang, Aaron Ekblad, Scott Darling, Carey Price and Jake Allen.
