This article is part of our NHL Barometer series.
This week's article includes ZIb's roll continuing, Michael who in Arizona, a hot 'Canes blueliner, two young goalies rolling, a top-six winger out for two weeks in Toronto and a former rising winger now on the wrong side of the ledger.
First Liners (Risers)
Mika Zibanejad, C, NYR – The Rangers offense is rolling with Zib as the trigger man on the first line. He notched three assists Saturday and a goal and assist Sunday, giving the Swedish pivot five goals and seven assists in 10 April games with a six-game point streak. If you go back to March 13, Zibanejad has 13 markers and 17 apples in 20 games and 39 points on the season, showing just how slow his start was. Zibanejad's slow start to the year is attributed to post-COVID after-effects. Now fully healthy, the Blueshirts' No. 1 center has the jump back in his step that was lacking the first two months or so of the season.
Josh Norris, C, OTT – Norris, profiled a month ago, gets another mention, as he extended his point streak to five games with a goal and an assist Monday. In his last 10 games, Norris has posted five goals and six apples while skating on a line with Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk. Drafted 19th overall in 2017, Norris appeared in three games with the parent club last season. Getting a chance at consistent ice time, the 21-year-old has 13 goals and 16 assists in 46
This week's article includes ZIb's roll continuing, Michael who in Arizona, a hot 'Canes blueliner, two young goalies rolling, a top-six winger out for two weeks in Toronto and a former rising winger now on the wrong side of the ledger.
First Liners (Risers)
Mika Zibanejad, C, NYR – The Rangers offense is rolling with Zib as the trigger man on the first line. He notched three assists Saturday and a goal and assist Sunday, giving the Swedish pivot five goals and seven assists in 10 April games with a six-game point streak. If you go back to March 13, Zibanejad has 13 markers and 17 apples in 20 games and 39 points on the season, showing just how slow his start was. Zibanejad's slow start to the year is attributed to post-COVID after-effects. Now fully healthy, the Blueshirts' No. 1 center has the jump back in his step that was lacking the first two months or so of the season.
Josh Norris, C, OTT – Norris, profiled a month ago, gets another mention, as he extended his point streak to five games with a goal and an assist Monday. In his last 10 games, Norris has posted five goals and six apples while skating on a line with Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk. Drafted 19th overall in 2017, Norris appeared in three games with the parent club last season. Getting a chance at consistent ice time, the 21-year-old has 13 goals and 16 assists in 46 games as a rookie. Norris was electric last season with AHL Belleville, racking up 31 goals and 61 points in 56 games, while being named the league's most outstanding rookie.
Roope Hintz, LW, DAL – Two weeks ago I profiled Jason Robertson, but now Hintz gets the bold love. Hintz tallied a power-play goal and an apple Monday, giving the 24-year-old left winger three goals and 10 assists in his last six games. On the season, Hintz has 14 goals and 23 helpers through 32 outings, exceeding the career-high 33 points he posted last year in 60 games. The Finn has added a plus-12 rating, 72 shots on goal, 38 hits and 17 power-play points as he helps keep Dallas in the playoff hunt in the Central Division.
Michael Bunting, LW, AZ – Michael who? Bunting was placed on waivers in January but stayed with the Coyotes. After spending all season with AHL Tucson, racking up seven goals and 19 points through 16 games, Bunting got the nod to join Arizona's parent club in late-March. Bunting played five games in the NHL in 2018-19, scoring once, but has been on fire in this stint. After scoring the game-winner Saturday, Buntin, despite skating on the fourth line, has scored seven goals and one assist in 11 games this season with three of those snipes in his last six outings.
Dougie Hamilton, D, CAR – Hamilton has shown that last year's monster campaign prior to his injury was no fluke. After scoring 14 goals and 26 assists in 47 games, Hamilton has posted six markers and 30 helpers in 44 games. Fifteen of those points have come on the man-advantage. Hamilton's shooting percentage was a career-high 8.3 percent last season, so some regression was expected. But he is at just 4.2 percent this year, which would be a career low, though he is making up for that drop with an uptick in assists.
Dmitry Orlov, D, WAS – Orlov extended his point streak to five with an assist Sunday. He has notched a single point in each of those games, giving Russian blueliner seven goals and eight assists in 41 games. Orlov is shooting a ridiculous 11.1 percent on the year, evidencing just how much he has struggled overall, since he has just 14 points on the season. In addition, his playing time is down three minutes a game, but maybe his recent hot streak will result in a strong finish to the season.
Alex Nedeljkovic, G, CAR – Nedeljkovic has seen his playing time dwindle since Petr Mrazek came off the injured list following thumb surgery. But he has shown the ability to rise to the task when called upon, making him worth a start in DFS leagues. Nedeljkovic stopped 27 of 28 shots to notch the victory Saturday and has won back-to-back starts, stopping 51 of 52 pucks (.981 save percentage) in those two appearances. The 25-year-old improved to 10-4-2 with a tremendous 1.92 GAA and .930 save percentage, along with a trio of shutouts.
Igor Shesterkin, G, NYR – The Czar has been on a roll, as he tries to backstop the Rangers to a playoff berth. Starting his third straight game against the Devils on Saturday, Shesterkin allowed three goals on 33 saves after shutting out New Jersey in back-to-back games. He's only lost once in regulation in his last nine starts, going 6-1-2, and this season the 25-year-old sports a sharp 2.28 GAA and .925 save percentage. Shesterkin should start nearly every game down the stretch as New York looks to slide into the fourth spot in the East Division.
Others include Brayden Point, Bo Horvat, Casey Mittelstadt, Ryan Strome, Tomas Hertl, Patrice Bergeron, Marcus Johansson, Vinnie Hinostroza, Wade Allison, Kyle Connor, Craig Smith, T.J. Oshie, Jason Robertson, Alex DeBrincat, Yegor Sharangovich, Frank Vatrano, Pavel Buchnevich, Joe Pavelski, Anthony Mantha, Mark Stone, Sam Reinhart, Bryan Rust, Anthony Duclair, Mats Zuccarello, Nikita Gusev, Denis Gurianov, Tyson Barrie, Victor Hedman, Jakob Chychrun, Alex Goligoski, Rasmus Dahlin, John Klingberg, Roman Josi, John Carlson, Mike Smith, Tristan Jarry and Jake Oettinger.
Buy Low
Nick Bonino, RW, MIN – If you are going to get hot, late in the season is sure a good time to do so. Bonino has just 17 points in 43 games on the year, but in his last four games, Bonino has two goals and six helpers, including two apples Monday. His recent uptick coincides with Zach Parise landing on his line. Bonino's hot streak is most likely to be short-lived, but if you jumped on board, ride the wave, and if not, why not take a flier on him, especially in DFS.
Training Room (Injuries)
Zach Hyman, LW, TOR – Hyman, injured on a brutal knee-to-knee hit from Alexander Edler on Sunday that resulted in a two-game suspension for the Canucks defenseman, will miss the next two weeks with a strained MCL. A two-week timeline means that the earliest Hyman can return is with fewer than 10 games remaining in the regular season. The 28-year-old Hyman has racked up 33 points and a plus-19 rating in 43 games this season skating on the top-six for Toronto, who will miss his physical presence.
Others include Elias Pettersson (upper body, out since March 2, no timetable for return), Matt Duchene (lower body, out since March 4, activated from injured reserve for Saturday's game against the Hurricanes), Blake Wheeler (concussion, out since April 5, has been medically cleared to play and should rejoin the lineup Thursday against the Maple Leafs), Ben Bishop (knee surgery, will miss the season), Philipp Grubauer (tested positive for COVID-19 on April 14, will miss the next two weeks at a minimum). and Jaroslav Halak (out since April, 3 cleared COVID-19 protocol and returned to the ice Sunday).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Jonathan Drouin, C, MON – Drouin has struggled to score goals all season — lighting the lamp just twice — but he has bailed out his owners by racking up assists. That treasure trove has dried up recently, as Drouin has just two helpers in his last 12 games. Drouin is still seeing the same amount of ice time, including on the power play, but he has been held off the score sheet much more often than not recently, impacting his overall numbers. Montreal still has work to do to make the playoffs and Drouin picking up his game will go a long way to assisting in that endeavor.
Jordan Kyrou, LW, STL – Kyrou was the golden boy and hot pick up earlier in the season when he started to fulfill his potential. Some of his decline coincided with the return of Vladimir Tarasenko, as that addition pushed Kyrou down the pecking order. But that doesn't fully explain his drop in production. Since Feb. 20, Kyrou has just three goals and six assists in 24 games along with a minus-four rating. The upside still remains, though it may not be until next year until Kyrou fully delivers, meaning his value mainly is in keeper leagues. In addition, Kyrou missed Sunday's game with an illness, putting his next game in doubt.
P.K. Subban, D, NJD – The good news is that Subban notched a goal and assist Saturday and helper Sunday against the Rangers. On the downside, and why he is the column this week, Saturday was the first multi-point performance of the season for the veteran defenseman, who matched his production from his prior 15 games combined in that game. On the season, Subban has five goals and 19 points through 44 games, though that is a step forward after he posted just seven markers and 11 apples in 68 contests last season, his first as a Devil.
Others include Casey Cizikas, Ryan Johansen, Pius Suter, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Jaccob Slavin, Zdeno Chara, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Mattias Ekholm, Jack Campbell and Jordan Binnington.
Sell High
Joonas Korpisalo, G, CLM – Korpisalo looked like a possible future starting goaltender in the NHL last season when he posted a 19-12-5 record with a 2.60 goals-against average (GAA) and .911 save percentage. This year, it has gone off the rails for the Finnish netminder, as his rough outing Saturday left him 9-12-7 with a 3.21 GAA and an .896 save percentage through 31 outings. The only saving grace has been that Elvis Merzlikins has only been mildly better between the pipes, allowing Korpisalo to see more action than he probably deserves.
