This article is part of our NHL Barometer series.
This week's article includes a hot AA in the Windy City, Kuch doing Kuch things, the Dub rolling in Minnesota, and a high-priced signee struggling in Brooklyn.
First Liners (Risers)
Artem Anisimov, C, CHI – Anisimov, after going scoreless with a minus-two rating his first two games, has six goals and six assists with a plus-9 rating in the last seven. AA came to the Blackhawks before last season in the Brandon Saad deal and settled in nicely with 20 goals and 22 assists. As the second line center behind Jonathan Toews, Anisimov benefits by avoiding the opponents' top checking line. The 37.5 shooting percentage will drop, but the 18-plus minutes of ice time, including just under four minutes on the power play, bodes well for future success.
Nazem Kadri, C, TOR – Much of the attention in Toronto is rightly on Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner, enabling Kadri to stay under the radar. After tallying two goals Tuesday, that may no longer be the case. Kadri has eight points and 19 hits in the first 10 games and still is the team's top center, even if that is in name only.
Marcus Johansson, LW, WAS – M-Jo is on some kind of a roll. After a rather pedestrian goal and three assists in his first four games, Johansson has been red-hot. Tuesday marked his third straight game with a goal and multi-point effort, for a total of five goals and two assists in those three games. Johansson has tallied at least 44 points in each of the past four seasons in which he has played 74 or more games, so he could be in line for a true breakthrough campaign.
Nikita Kucherov, RW, TB – Kuch missed all of preseason before agreeing to a three-year deal worth an annual average value of $4.76 million right before the opener. After amassing 65 and 66 points the past two seasons, Kucherov scored a pair of goals and two assists to give him three goals and nine assists in nine games through Tuesday's action. He may just be scratching the surface of how good he can be.
Nick Foligno, LW, CLM – Foligno burst on the scene with a career-high 73 points in 2014-15. H signed a six-year, $33 million extension during that season, locking him up through the 2020-21 campaign. Unfortunately, he regressed mightily last year, falling all the way to 37 points. Foligno was a major question mark coming into the season, but he has alleviated some of those concerns, with a goal and seven assists in his first eight games.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, ARI – OEL added an assist Tuesday, giving him five goals and two assists in nine games. Ekman-Larsson has notched at least 43 points the past three years, including 55 last season. The addition of Alex Goligoski takes some pressure off the star blueliner, yet he means so much to the Coyotes' success.
Noah Hanifin, D, CAR – Hanifin has taken a step forward in his sophomore campaign with six points, albeit with a minus-six rating, in the first nine games. Justin Faulk is still the alpha male on the Carolina blue line, but Hanifin is proving to be a nice sidekick. The fifth overall pick in last year's draft has several other young D-men around him, which should help in his transition and development.
Devan Dubnyk, G, MIN – Dubnyk fell 2-1 to Buffalo on Tuesday, ending a streak of three straight shutouts. After coming to the Wild two years ago, he posted a 27-9-2 record with a 1.78 goals-against average (GAA) and .936 save percentage (SV%). He was, unsurprisingly, unable to replicate that success last year, but still posted 32 wins with a 2.33 GAA and .918 SV%. Dubnyk is backed by a decent offense, which should result in another solid campaign in the Home of Hockey.
Robin Lehner, G, BUF – Lehner returned from illness in spectacular fashion, stopping 37 shots to carry Buffalo to a 3-1 win over the Jets on Sunday. He replicated that fine performance, turning away 27 in a 2-1 victory versus the Wild on Tuesday. The Sabres are playing shorthanded, as they are without Jack Eichel and Evander Kane, but that hasn't bothered Lehner. As long as the big Swede can stay healthy, which has been a major issue for him in the past, 30-plus wins should be attainable.
Others include Steven Stamkos, Connor McDavid, Evgeni Malkin, Kevin Hayes, Tyler Motte, Brock Nelson, Vincent Trocheck, Matt Duchene, Claude Giroux, Marian Hossa, Jeff Skinner, Wayne Simmonds, Jimmy Vesey, Artemi Panarin, Corey Perry, Kyle Okposo, Alexander Radulov, Charlie Coyle, J.T. Miller, Zach Werenski, Morgan Rielly, Shea Weber, Damon Severson, Ryan McDonagh, Duncan Keith, Tuukka Rask, Jimmy Howard, Craig Anderson, Corey Crawford, Frederik Andersen, Sergei Bobrovsky, John Gibson and Cam Talbot.
Training Room (Injuries)
Zach Parise, LW, MIN – Parise has been tagged as week-to-week with an undisclosed foot issue, suffered when he blocked Brandon Carlo's shot on Oct. 23. And this after a knee injury kept him out early last season and a back problem forced him out of the playoffs. The Minnesota native has scored at least 29 goals in every full NHL season, but injuries have stunted his overall production.
Others include Rickard Rakell (visa/abdominal issue, returned on Tuesday and scored), Martin Hanzal (lower-body injury, left Tuesday's game), Jonathan Drouin (possible concussion, day-to-day), Thomas Vanek (lower-body, week-to-week), Michael Raffl (abdomen, could play Wednesday), Chris Kreider (neck spasms, activated Tuesday), Mark Stone (upper-body injury, day-to-day), Ryan Murphy (lower-body, activated Tuesday), Ryan Murray (upper-body, activated Tuesday) and Matt Murray (hand, starting Wednesday).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Dylan Strome, C, ARI – Strome returned to the lineup Tuesday after being a healthy scratch for the last four games. Unfortunately, he was unable to get on the scoresheet and now sits with one assist in four games. I am thinking of starting a #freestrome movement on Twitter, as Arizona should be focusing on the future and developing players, meaning Strome should either be in the lineup every day in the Desert or somewhere else where he can play regularly.
Andrew Ladd, LW, NYI – Ladd, who signed a seven-year, $38.5 million deal with the Islanders this offseason, has been a bust so far in Brooklyn. In eight games on the top line with John Tavares, the ex-Jet captain managed just one assist, resulting in getting shifted to the second line alongside Brock Nelson and Shane Prince. Ladd should eventually move back with Tavares, but not until he finds his game again.
Torey Krug, D, BOS – It's been a start to forget for Krug in the Hub, with no points and a minus-four in eight games after scoring 44 a year ago. After notching 14 and 12 goals in 2013-14 and 2014-2015, he only netted four goals on 244 shots last season. Maybe the league has learned to play Krug but he should eventually rack up assists on a potent Boston attack.
Jaroslav Halak, G, NYI – Halak is available for trade, after his agent criticized the Islanders for their use of three goalies – the others being Thomas Greiss and Jean-Francois Berube. The problem is that the Slovak is signed through next season and might need to be exposed to the expansion draft, limiting his interest. Also, it doesn't help that the team is struggling. It's best to avoid all three netminders for now.
Others include David Krejci, Joe Colborne, Anthony Duclair, Justin Williams, Michael Cammalleri, Jake Muzzin, T.J. Brodie, Francois Beauchemin, Roberto Luongo and Peter Budaj.
