NHL Barometer: Not So Defensive

ROTOWIRE BAROMETER
Jan Levine, RotoWire Hockey Writer

This week's article includes Kaner on the mark, who the heck is that on the Big D blueline rolling, the top netminder in the Arch City down for a few weeks and a Calder Trophy candidate scratched twice in the past two weeks.

First Liners (Risers)

Tyler Bozak, C, TOR - Bozak doesn't fit the profile of a top-line center, save for his production. His three goals and two assists his last three games give him nine and 11, respectively, in 23 games this year. Bozak had 19 goals and 30 assists in just 57 games last season, building off solid years his prior two seasons. He should spend most of his playing time on a line with Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk, which should allow him to post career-best numbers.

John Tavares, C, NYI - The Islanders have gotten off to a tremendous start, going 16-6 with Tavares getting the game-winning, overtime goal in their latest win Wednesday. His numbers are good, not great, with 20 points in 21 games. The offensive talent around JT takes some of the pressure off him, which should make him fresher as the year wears on. But don't expect a decline in his numbers, since he still should be a good for at least a point a game and it wouldn't shock me if he gets 90 points.

Jiri Hudler, RW, CGY - Hudler went good year, bad year, good year for three years from 2008-09 to 2010-11, putting him in line for another poor season if the pattern repeated in the strike-shortened 2012-13. He blew up that streak in 2012-13 with 27 points in 42 games and added 54 points in 75 games last year. Hudler's two goals Wednesday gave him 10 goals and 10 assists in 23 games this season. He is in the third year of the four-year, $16 million deal he signed in July 2012, which so far is looking like a great bargain for Calgary.

Alexander Ovechkin, LW, WAS - You can rightly ask why Ovechkin is here, because he usually is at the top of his game. He lands on this side of the ledger and in the column, not because of his scoring but because his overall play has been a bit better. While plus-minus is not the full measure of a player, after posting a minus-35 and playing matador and indifferent defense in the past, Ovechkin has been more engaged under new coach Barry Trotz and sits at just minus-three so far. His offense, with 11 goals and 20 points in 21 games, hasn't suffered with a "defensive minded coach" leading the team.

Patrick Kane, RW, CHI - Kane's early-season struggles look to be a thing of the past. His three assists Wednesday gave him 11 points in the last six games and 21 points in 22 games for the year. Kane is thriving on a line with Brad Richards and Kris Versteeg while his minutes, overall and on the power play, are in line with the past few years, which should enable to have similar production to those seasons.

John Klingberg, D, DAL - Klingberg is the no-brainer inclusion on this side of the ledger. After failing to score his first three games after his promotion, Klingberg has more than made up for it with five assists and three goals - one each his last three games - his past five contests. Klingberg played last season for Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League, where he totaled 28 points in 50 games before coming to the US, where he had hip surgery. He showed he was healthy in training camp and notched 12 points in 10 games for Texas in the AHL to show he was ready for the promotion. So far, he has made the most of that call up.

Brayden McNabb, D, LA - McNabb has just seven points - all assists - in 23 games on the season, but five of them have come in the past five contests. He showed in the past that he could score in the AHL, but failed to repeat that success in the NHL. McNabb was traded from the Sabres to the Kings along with two second-round picks this past March in exchange for prospects Hudson Fasching and Nicholas Deslauriers. That move gave him a new lease on life and he has made the most of it so far this season.

Michael Hutchinson, G, WPG - This one is for those in deeper leagues, as Hutchison is not the #1 in Winnipeg, but his play warrants a mention. Hutchinson is still the back up to Ondrej Pavelec, who has played well for the Jets, but he is 4-1-1 with a 1.50 goals-against average and .947 save percentage.

Corey Crawford, G, CHI - When Crawford has played the past few seasons, his success has been viewed by many as being a result of the team he is on and blue line in front of him. This year may be the year that he gets recognized as a top goalie, as he might be on pace for his best year in his career. Crawford has four wins in his last five starts and 10 on the year. His tidy .926 save percentage and 1.98 goals-against average are on pace to what he did two years ago, so if he can keep up those numbers, he may finally get the recognition he deserves.

Others include Pavel Datsyuk, Ryan Kesler, Mikko Koivu, Eric Staal, Nick Bjugstad, Ryan Johansen, Ryan Strome, Nicklas Backstrom, Steven Stamkos, Bo Horvat, Josh Jooris, Evgeni Malkin, Sean Monahan, Claude Giroux, Brandon Pirri, Stephen Weiss, Nikita Kucherov, Leo Komarov, Rick Nash, Marian Gaborik, Jonathan Huberdeau, Filip Forsberg, Blake Comeau, Marian Hossa, Jeff Skinner, Evander Kane, David Pastrnak, Matt Moulson, Nino Niederreiter, Dan Boyle, Kris Letang, Zach Redmond, Alex Pietrangelo, T.J. Brodie, Jacob Trouba, Pekka Rinne, Jake Allen, Steve Mason, Calvin Pickard, Jaroslav Halak, Frederik Andersen, Carey Price, Ryan Miller and Martin Jones.

Training Room (Injuries)

Brandon Dubinsky, C, CMB - Dubinsky, who has been sidelined all season following abdominal surgery, finally returned to practice this week. He looked to be inching close two weeks ago but suffered a setback. This time, it's been all systems go for Dubinsky, who could be back in action early next week. Columbus could use all the help they can get, as the myriad of injuries has really hurt the team, contributing to their 6-13-2 start.

Benoit Pouliot, LW, EDM - Pouliot will miss five-to-six weeks after suffering a broken foot at the hands of a Marek Zidlicky shot hitting off that foot. He was beneficiary of a five-year, $20-million contract from the Oilers this past season, to the surprise of many. Pouliot hasn't done much to warrant that salary before he was hurt, notching three goals and five assists in 20 games.

Ryan McDonagh, D, NYR - McDonagh, profiled last week and sidelined since November 1 with a separated shoulder, could return to action Friday against the Flyers. He started skating last Tuesday and gradually increased his activity, resulting in him joining contact practices this past week. When he does come back, McDonagh will resume his spot alongside Dan Girardi on the top d-pairing and should play the point on the first power play unit.

Brian Elliot, G, STL - Elliott is listed as week-to-week with a knee sprain suffered Tuesday against the Semators. Prior to getting injured, Elliott was 8-4-1 on the season with a 1.90 goals-against average (GAA) and.927 save percentage, building off the success he had last season, when he went 18-6-2 with a 1.96 GAA and .922 save percentage in 31 outings. Those numbers landed Elliott a three-year, $7.5 million contract this past off-season after Ryan Miller left St. Louis. Elliott has split time with Jake Allen, who will serve as the #1 goaltender, though St. Louis has brought in Martin Brodeur on a PTO.

Others include David Krejci (groin, still sidelined), Mikael Backlund (abdominal procedure, now week-to-week), Michael Raffl (ankle, returned to action Wednesday), Victor Hedman (fractured finger, participating in full-contact practice, back shortly), Tobias Enstrom (UBI, DTD), Semyon Varlamov (groin, moved to IR, but could be back this weekend) and Roberto Luongo (UBI, DTD, injury not believed to be serious).

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)

Mike Richards, C, LA - Richards, who notched the game-winning goal Wednesday, has scored 10 points in 23 games this season, including three in his last four contests. After a mediocre season last year, he salvaged his season with a solid postseason. Richards had four solid-to-excellent years from 2007-08 to 2010-11 but has seen his production since then, and this year should be no different, given his line placement and likely regression from a 15.4 shooting percentage.

Jonathan Drouin, LW, TB - Drouin seemed to be the consensus favorite to win the Calder Trophy before the year began. Well, a funny thing happened on the way to that award, as Drouin has been a healthy scratch twice in the past two weeks. Drouin has been the odd-man out due to the vast collection of forwards in Tampa. When he has played, Drouin has been fairly productive, with nine points in 16 games, but it looks he may have to consistently rotate in and out of the lineup with Vladislav Namestnikov and Cedric Paquette. No offense to those two, but that's not what Drouin and his owners expected after he likely could have made the team last year but was sent back to the Q, where he led the league in playoff scoring, for more seasoning.

Justin Schultz, D, EDM - Schultz was a healthy scratch Thursday against the Predators. Before sitting in the press box, Schultz wasn't having a bad year, with two goals and eight assists while averaging a bit over 22 minutes in 22 games. However, he struggled substantially the previous two games, during which he saw just 16:30 and 15:13 in ice time. Schultz has failed to live up to the lofty expectations on him, so the jury is still out on him in this his third year.

Antti Niemi, G, SJ - Niemi surrendered just one goal in 18 shots Wednesday, but lost for the fourth straight time. In addition, he now has defeats in seven of his last eight games, and is now just 7-7-3 on the season with a .917 save percentage and 2.49 GAA. Niemi is lucky that Alex Stalock has been sidelined with a knee injury, or he might have been on the outside looking in already. Stalock likely will be out another week or two, giving Niemi some time to try and hold onto his job.

Others include Matt Cullen, Leon Draisitl, Dustin Brown, Jiri Tlusty, Tanner Pearson, Emerson Etem, Tomas Fleischmann, Chris Kunitz, Andrej Sekera, Jakub Kindl, Nathan Beaulieu, Jordie Benn, Eric Gelinas, Jonathan Quick, Cory Schneider and Craig Anderson.