NHL Barometer: Risers and Fallers for the Week

Jack Eichel shines in Vegas, Matthew Knies heats up in Toronto, and Spencer Knight dominates in Chicago. Get the latest NHL highlights, injuries and player insights!
NHL Barometer: Risers and Fallers for the Week
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This week's article includes Eichel coming up aces in Vegas, Knies rolling in Toronto, Knight lights out in net in Chicago, several big injuries and a Gus Bus running on empty at times. 

First Liners (Risers)

Jack Eichel, C, LV: Eichel took a massive step forward last season, thrusting himself into the MVP discussion. He posted 28 goals and 94 points in 77 games, living up to the billing that made him the second pick in the 2015 draft. Eichel notched four assists Saturday and continues to lead the NHL in points – he now has 15 in just six games after his second four-point effort of the season. Of his 10 assists, eight have been on the power play, which is not a surprise, as he posted 34 points on the man-advantage last season.

Macklin Celebrini, C, SJ: The Sharks are winless on the season, but Celebrini is off to another strong start. He has a goal and four assists his first four games of the campaign, after posting 25 markers and 38 apples in 70 games as a rookie. San Jose has tried different wingers to find combinations that click, with Celebrini producing irrespective of who is part of his trio on the ice. Celebrini has a strong chance to exceed his prior campaign production in this his sophomore season. 

Matthew Knies, LW, TOR: Knies, as we noted in our preseason outlook, Knies broke out to the tune of 29 goals, 58 points and

This week's article includes Eichel coming up aces in Vegas, Knies rolling in Toronto, Knight lights out in net in Chicago, several big injuries and a Gus Bus running on empty at times. 

First Liners (Risers)

Jack Eichel, C, LV: Eichel took a massive step forward last season, thrusting himself into the MVP discussion. He posted 28 goals and 94 points in 77 games, living up to the billing that made him the second pick in the 2015 draft. Eichel notched four assists Saturday and continues to lead the NHL in points – he now has 15 in just six games after his second four-point effort of the season. Of his 10 assists, eight have been on the power play, which is not a surprise, as he posted 34 points on the man-advantage last season.

Macklin Celebrini, C, SJ: The Sharks are winless on the season, but Celebrini is off to another strong start. He has a goal and four assists his first four games of the campaign, after posting 25 markers and 38 apples in 70 games as a rookie. San Jose has tried different wingers to find combinations that click, with Celebrini producing irrespective of who is part of his trio on the ice. Celebrini has a strong chance to exceed his prior campaign production in this his sophomore season. 

Matthew Knies, LW, TOR: Knies, as we noted in our preseason outlook, Knies broke out to the tune of 29 goals, 58 points and 182 hits over 78 regular-season games in his second full NHL campaign. That production earned Knies a six-year, $46.5 million extension with the Maple Leafs in June. Knies has shown that last season he may just have been scratching the surface of what he can do, as he is on a three-game, six-point streak. He is up to a pair of tallies and five helpers in five contests so far. 

Kevin Fiala, LW, LA: All Fiala does is quietly produce. He tallied 35 goals last season, albeit with only 25 assists, as his output fell from 73 to 60 points. Fiala is lighting the lamp again, notching three goals in five contests, though he has just one helper to date. His minutes, both overall and on the man-advantage, remain consistent with his prior year's totals, so a rebound, at least in terms of helpers, should hopefully happen. At a minimum, though, Fiala should net 30-plus goals again. 

Shayne Gostisbehere, D, CAR: Ghost is telling Alexander Nikishin, you may be the future PP QB, but I am still the present. He is off to a hot start, with a goal and six helpers over four contests, even though just one point has come on the man-advantage despite him seeing 3:54 of power-play time on ice. Gostisbehere has added eight blocked shots, six shots on net and a plus-nine rating to supplement his high-end offense early in the campaign. Monitor his status, as he left Saturday's game and didn't play Monday due to a lower-body injury.

Ivan Provorov, D, CLM: Provorov entered Saturday's game on a three-game scoring streak. Since he is not known for his scoring, be careful not to overrate here. Provorov has tallied between 26 and 36 points each of the last six seasons, so we know what his level is. That said, those points could come in bunches, so take advantage of Provorov's "hot streak" while it is ongoing, then jump off when he is ice cold. 

Matthew Schaefer, D, NYI: Schaefer, the first overall pick in this year's draft, has shown early this season that he was more than ready to play in the NHL. He is the youngest player in NHL history to start his career with a five-game point streak, notching a goal and four assists in that stretch. Schaefer has played 22-plus minutes in three of his five contests and is already the Isles' power-play quarterback.

Spencer Knight, G, CHI: Knight is 2-2-1 on the season, but that record does not tell the full story. He's allowed just 10 goals on 158 shots, posting a 1.96 goals-against average and .937 save percentage early this season. Knight, acquired in the Seth Jones trade last year, struggled after arriving in Chicago. His strong start to this season and three-year, $17.5 million contract extension he signed with the Blackhawks in September, mean he is the unquestioned top netminder in the Windy City. 

Jake Allen, G, NJ: Like last season, an injury to Jacob Markstrom has thrust Allen into the top goalie role in New Jersey. Markstrom is slated to miss a few weeks, and during that time Allen should see most of the starts with support by Nico Daws. Allen has won two straight starts, allowing just five goals on 76 shots through three appearances. Bolstered by a quality lineup in front of him, Allen is a solid short-term option in nearly all leagues and formats. 

Others include Dylan Strome, Bo Horvat, Jack Hughes, Mark Scheifele, Tyler Toffoli, Martin Necas, Jeff Skinner, Cole Caufield, JJ Peterka, Pavel Dorofeyev, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jani Nyman, Jake Sanderson, Adam Fox, Cale Makar, Erik Karlsson, Igor Shesterkin, Connor Hellebuyck, Cam Talbot and Karel Vejmelka

Buy Low

Zach Benson, LW, BUF: Benson, whose start to the season was delayed after he took a puck to the face in practice during training camp, has been making up for lost time. He tallied four assists in his season-debut Wednesday, following that up with another helper Saturday. Benson's first two seasons in the league were fairly similar: 30 points in 71 games in 2023-24 and 28 points in 75 contests last season. Skating on Buffalo's first line with Tage Thompson, Benson could be set for a career year. 

Training Room (Injuries)

Jacob Markstrom, G, NJ: Markstrom, for the second straight season, will miss time with an injury. Last season, Markstrom missed a month with a knee injury. This season, another lower-body injury will cost him two to three weeks. Prior to this year's injury, Markstrom – and the Devils – were off to a rough start, as he had a 2-1-0 record, 3.88 GAA and .845 save percentage. Jake Allen is manning the pipes until Markstrom returns and should be on your bench while Markstrom is sidelined. 

Others include Anze Kopitar (foot, week-to-week), Brady Tkachuk (thumb surgery, out six to eight weeks), Filip Chytil (upper body, injured Sunday, placed on IR on Monday), Kirby Dach (lower body, missed Saturday's game), Jonathan Marchessault (lower-body, injured Thursday, missed Saturday's game), Nikita Kucherov (illness, missed Friday and Saturday's games, should play Thursday), Patrick Kane (upper body, injured Friday, missed game against Edmonton on Sunday), Noah Hanifin (illness), Nils Lundkvist (lower body, "week-to-week") and Darcy Kuemper (lower body, missed last two games, could join Kings on their five-game road trip). 

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)

Alex Laferriere, RW, LA: Laferriere took a step forward last season, going from 12 goals and 11 assists to 19 and 23, respectively. That performance earned Laferriere a three-year, $12.3 million contract extension with the Kings in early-August. Laferriere has gotten off to a slow start with no points the first six games of the season. He now may center the top line with Anze Kopitar sidelined. Maybe that will be the jump start he needs to find his game. 

Jackson LaCombe, D, ANA:  LaCombe went for two goals and 15 assists as a rookie to 14 markers and 29 helpers last season. He inked an eight-year, $72 million contract extension with Anaheim at the beginning of the month, furthering the view that he is the future No. 1 blueliner for the Ducks. Granted, the 14 tallies were helped by a likely unsustainable 10.4 per center shooting percentage, but to see LaCombe with no goals and no assists in four games is a bit surprising. The tide should turn based on his deployment and usage, though for now, it's just goose eggs. 

Filip Gustavsson, G, MIN: The Gus Bus has had a flat tire or two recently. He allowed five goals on 45 shots Friday, and, on the year, Gustavsson was 1-3-0 with 14 goals allowed over four games, which includes a shutout in the season opener. Jesper Wallstedt started Saturday and is not a real threat to assume the top job, but he could receive additional chances while Gustavsson is scuffling. Gustavsson showed Monday why he is viewed as an elite netminder, stopping 23 of 24 shots to defeat the Rangers 2-1 on the road. 

Others include Brock Nelson, Chandler Stephenson, Andrei Svechnikov, Vasily Podkolzin, Rasmus Andersson, Denton Mateychuk, Dustin Wolf and Yaroslav Askarov

Sell High 

Shane Pinto, C, OTT: Pinto was tied for the league lead in goals through Friday's contest. The odds you could have received prior to the season on that fact were likely through the roof. Pinto, who notched 20 goals in 2022-23 and 21 tallies last season, has found the twine in all but one of his five outings, a span in which he's also racked up one assist, a plus-two rating, six PIM and 15 shots on goal. The scoring pace will slow, but Pinto has a good chance at setting new highs in tallies and assists.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Levine covers baseball and hockey for RotoWire. He is responsible for the weekly NL FAAB column for baseball and the Barometer for hockey. In addition to his column writing, he is master of the NHL cheat sheets. In his spare time, he roots for the Mets and Rangers.
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