This article is part of our NHL Barometer series.
This week's article includes a pair of centers coming on strong late, a former Devil at home in Hockeytowm, he's a bad Mama Cam-mer and Super Trouba not so Super.
First Liners (Risers)
Andrej Nestrasil, C, CAR - Fantasy leagues are won late by savvy pick-ups. Finding a gem or at least a player on a hot streak can carry a team to a title. Nestrasil could be one of those type players. His two assists Sunday gave him nine points in his last nine games. As seen by his recent production, Nestrasil is making the most of his increased ice time, as he is skating for 3:30 more a game than his average when he was a member of the Red Wings.
Brandon Pirri, C, FLA - Pirri scored Florida's only goal Sunday. That marker gave him four goals in his last six games and 10 in his last 14. Like noted above with Nestrasil, sometimes the key to winning a league is late-season magic. Pirri may have that touch. He went nearly two-month span with just one point, but his production has taken a major step forward, which has gone hand-in-hand with more ice time, including on the man advantage.
Scott Hartnell, LW, CMB - Hartnell extended his goal-scoring streak Sunday to four games, during which he has lit the lamp five times. He has seven goals and two assists in his last eight games, giving him 21 and 27 on the year. Hartnell's solid
This week's article includes a pair of centers coming on strong late, a former Devil at home in Hockeytowm, he's a bad Mama Cam-mer and Super Trouba not so Super.
First Liners (Risers)
Andrej Nestrasil, C, CAR - Fantasy leagues are won late by savvy pick-ups. Finding a gem or at least a player on a hot streak can carry a team to a title. Nestrasil could be one of those type players. His two assists Sunday gave him nine points in his last nine games. As seen by his recent production, Nestrasil is making the most of his increased ice time, as he is skating for 3:30 more a game than his average when he was a member of the Red Wings.
Brandon Pirri, C, FLA - Pirri scored Florida's only goal Sunday. That marker gave him four goals in his last six games and 10 in his last 14. Like noted above with Nestrasil, sometimes the key to winning a league is late-season magic. Pirri may have that touch. He went nearly two-month span with just one point, but his production has taken a major step forward, which has gone hand-in-hand with more ice time, including on the man advantage.
Scott Hartnell, LW, CMB - Hartnell extended his goal-scoring streak Sunday to four games, during which he has lit the lamp five times. He has seven goals and two assists in his last eight games, giving him 21 and 27 on the year. Hartnell's solid overall season makes Philly look even sillier for dealing him this offseason for R.J. Umberger.
Marian Hossa, RW, CHI - Hossa had a goal and an assist Saturday, giving him 19 and 32 on the year. He is on pace to exceed 60 points for the two second straight, despite a significant drop in his shooting percentage. That 9.4 shooting percentage would be the lowest of his career, making his production even more surprising. Hossa has been a volume shooter again, aiding those that use that category in their leagues.
Michael Cammalleri, LW, NJ - The Devils don't score a ton, making their signing of Cammalleri this past off-season even more important. His five-year, $25 million deal may be a bit steep, but with 25 goals, Cammalleri has more than 15 percent of New Jersey's goals this season. Granted, his numbers are Cy Young-esque, as he has just 11 assists, but it's not as if he has a murderers row around him.
Marek Zidlicky, D, DET - If felt at the deadline that Detroit's acquisition of Zidlicky from New Jersey for a third-rounder was one of the better moves of the day. So far, so good, as Zidlicky had a goal and two assists Sunday, giving him seven points in seven games since the trade. The pairing on the power play point with Niklas Kronwall has worked out as best as could be expected, with five of Zidlicky's seven points coming on the man advantage, giving him 17 points on the power play this season.
Kris Russell, D, CGY - Dennis Wideman got the bold treatment last week. This week, it's another Calgary D-man in Russell to be profiled. Russell is pointless his last two, but put him eight points his prior four games. With Marc Giordano done for the season, Calgary has heaped more responsibility on Russell, and so far, he is proving more than up to the task. Run, don't walk, to grab him if still available in your league.
Jonathan Quick, G, LA - Quick has had an up-and-down year, but the last five-plus weeks, he has been solid. In that stretch, beginning Feb. 7, Quick is 12-3-1, allowing more than two goals four times, made up of three goals thrice and four goals once. If LA is going to sneak into the playoffs, it will be on Quick to help carrying them there, a task he has proven to be up to in the past.
Cam Talbot, G, NYR - Talbot may not have made Rangers' fans forget Henrik Lundqvist, but he sure has made his absence a lot more palatable to them. The man with the Ghostbusters mask made 38 saves, carrying New York to a 2-1 win over Florida on Sunday. All Talbot has done is go 13-2-3 while Lundqvist has been sidelined, including five straight wins during which he has allowed just four total goals in that span. Keep rolling with the University of Alabama-Huntsville product night.
Others include Sean Monahan, Victor Rask, Craig Smith, Anze Kopitar, Mike Fisher, Tyler Ennis, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Spooner, Adam Henrique, Pavel Datsyuk, Tyler Johnson, John Tavares, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Justin Abdelkader, Alex Tanguay, David Perron, Nick Foligno, Henrik Zetterberg, David Booth, Nikita Kucherov, Jakob Silfverberg, Milan Lucic, Milan Michalek, Max Pacioretty, Vladimir Tarasenko, Chris Stewart, Andrew Ladd, Justin Williams, Drew Stafford, Blake Wheeler, Jiri Hudler, Johnny Gaudreau, Jaden Schwartz, Erik Karlsson, Jason Garrison, Dennis Wideman, Keith Yandle, Justin Faulk, Roman Josi, Brayden McNabb, Andy Greene, Tyson Barrie, Hampus Lindholm, Andrew Hammond, Ben Bishop, Tuukka Rask, Semyon Varlamov, Steve Mason, Corey Crawford, John Gibson, Devan Dubnyk and Dan Ellis.
Training Room (Injuries)
Erik Johnson, D, COL - Johnson, out since Jan. 21 with a knee injury that required surgery, will be back sometime during the Avalanche's upcoming five-game road trip that spans from March 19-26. With Johnson out, Tyson Barrie has carried the load from the back line, but Colorado will be happy to get back one of its top D-men. Johnson had 12 goals and 11 assists in 47 games when he was sidelined.
Roberto Luongo, G, FLA - Luongo, out with a right shoulder injury since March 3, skated again Saturday. Dan Ellis has done yeoman's work to keep Florida on the cusp of playoff contention with Luongo. But once Luongo is ready to go -- which should be sometime this week -- he will be back between the pipes.
Henrik Lundqvist, G, NYR - Lundqvist, sidelined since Feb. 2 with a sprained blood vessel that occurred when he took a shot to the neck on Jan. 31, has steadily increased his workouts. While Lundqvist has been able to face low shots and stay in shape, he has yet to be cleared for full contact. Coach Alain Vigneault indicated that Lundqvist would likely be able to play shortly after he gets cleared, though there is no timeframe for that to occur. Cam Talbot's stellar play has allowed New York to be cautious with Lundqvist's return, but there are some questions as to whether that will happen this year.
Others include Evgeni Malkin (undisclosed, DTD), Kyle Okposo (detached retina, returned to action this last week), Clarke MacArthur (concussion, out since Feb. 7, skated Sunday), Ondrej palat (foot, out 2-3 weeks), James Neal (UBI, DTD), Martin St. Louis (knee, Sunday, waiting on word as to extent of injury), Patric Hornqvist (undisclosed, inured Sunday), Matt Carle (hip, returned to action Saturday after missing 22 games), John Klingberg (UBI, DTD), Michael Del Zotto (UBI, close to returning), Nick Leddy (UBI, could be back this week). Kevin Shattenkirk (abdomen, skating with team), Kevin Klein (broken left arm due to Alexander Ovechkin shot, out 3-4 weeks, skating) and Ryan Miller (sprained knee, out two more weeks).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Nazem Kadri, C, TOR - It would appear that Kadri's days in Toronto are numbered. After scoring 44 points in 48 games in the strike-shortened 2012-13 season, Kadri had 50 points last season. However, he slumped down the stretch after the Olympics, scoring just nine points in 22 games. The bottom has fallen out this season, as Kadri has just 36 points while also sitting as a healthy scratch recently. Look for him to be moved this offseason.
Jiri Sekac, RW, ANA - The hope that the trade of Sekac to Anaheim for Devante Smith-Pelly would be increaee his fantasy value has not been the case. Sekac has three assists in 10 games while bounced between the frst three lines. He looks like he will settle in on the second or third line, but don't expect much from him.
Jacob Trouba, D, WPG - Trouba has been less than Super lately. He has tallied just one assist his last seven games and has struggled most of the year. Big things were expected for Trouba this year, but with just seven goals and 13 assists after 10 and 19 as a rookie last year, he has failed to those expectations. The future is still expected to be bright for Trouba, but it clearly won't be this year.
Michael Hutchinson, G, WPG - Hutchinson has struggled lately, going just 3-2-2 while giving up 24 goals in his last seven-plus games. Hutch carried Winnipeg for a while, but has come back to earth with a thud. Of course that happened just as my fantasy team needed him in the RotoWire Staff League with Henrik Lundqvist out, so needless to stay I am not a happy camper. Hutchinson is a better goalie than Ondrej Pavelec but a timeshare could be in place the rest of the season.
Others include Ryan Strome, Brad Richards, Phil Kessel, Patrick Maroon (maybe healthy scratch makes a difference), Shane Doan, Dwight King, Joffrey Lupul, Patrick Sharp, Dan Boyle, Jay Bouwmeester, James Reimer, Pekka Rinne and Frederik Andersen.
