This article is part of our NHL Barometer series.
This week's article includes Paul Who?, Grabner grabbing goals on Broadway, the #1 netminder in Winnipeg on a roll, a possible serious injury for Stamkos and a scuffling member of the HBK line.
First Liners (Risers)
Victor Rask, C, CAR – Rask tallied 33 points as a rookie and upped that total to 48 as a sophomore. Expectations were high for him coming into this season and, so far, the Swedish center has delivered. Rask has 12 points in 15 games and is on pace to easily surpass his career high, aided by an uptick of ice time of over two-plus minutes a contest.
Paul Byron, C, MTL – Byron notched his sixth goal of the season on Tuesday, with four of them coming in the past five games since being moved up to the top line. Prior to this season, Byron had only scored 66 points in 200 career games with a high of 11 goals set last year, so be careful not to overrate. But as long he is on the top line, take a chance.
Nikita Kucherov, RW, TB – Kucherov, who didn't sign until just before the season started, continued his fine play Tuesday with two goals and an assist. This came on the heels of a goal and an assist Monday against the Islanders, giving him eight goals and 13 assists through the first 16 contests. Kucherov is reaping the benefits of getting moved to the first line alongside Steven Stamkos (see below).
Michael Grabner, RW, NYR – The knock on Grabner, save for his 34-goal campaign in 2010-11 with the Islanders, has been his lack of hands. But his early start has the critics thinking he may have undergone a hand transplant. The speedy winger added two more goals Sunday against Edmonton, giving him 10 in just 16 games. With Chris Kreider (neck) and Pavel Buchnevich (back) out, Grabner has moved up to the top line as a reward.
Patrick Eaves, RW, DAL – Eaves is loving life alongside Tyler Seguin. His goal Tuesday gives him seven tallies, with five of those lamplighters coming in his last five games. Eaves totaled just 17 points after notching 27 the previous year, so he is not a true point producer. But as long as he stays on the Seguin line, look for solid production.
Zach Werenski, D, CLM – Werenski, the eighth overall pick of the 2015 draft, was profiled in the first column of the year. Even so, his stellar play this season warrants another mention. Werenski, who played his sophomore season with the University of Michigan rather than joining the Blue Jackets, tallied his fifth goal of the season on Tuesday to up his point total to 13 in 14 games. The kid will slow down but he is a minute muncher, including on the man-advantage, which should afford the 2015-16 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and All-Big Ten first teamer ample opportunities to score.
Ryan Suter, D, MIN – Suter reached a career-best 51 points last year, aided by 43 helpers. A strong start has the 31-year old blueliner on pace to possibly top that mark. Suter, who signed a 13-year, $98 million contract extension with the Wild in July 2012, has notched four goals and eight assists through 14 games. He may be benefitting from seeing slightly less ice time, as it has dropped the past three seasons – from 29:25 in 2013-2014 to 27:22 this year – so he may be a bit fresher.
Connor Hellebuyck, G, WPG – After a rough start to the season, Hellebuyck has righted the ship of late. He started Tuesday for the sixth time in seven games and stopped 27 shots to whitewash the Blackhawks. In fact, Hellebuyck has allowed just two markers in each of his last four appearances with a 5-1-0 record in those six starts. Maybe, just maybe, coach Paul Maurice has finally decided on making the 23-year old netminder the team's #1 goalie.
Cory Schneider, G, NJD – Schneider had a brilliant campaign last year, with a career-high of 27 wins to go along with a 2.15 goals-against average and .924 save percentage. The only issue with the former Canuck is that the Devils' pop-gun offense depresses his win total. The team took steps to remedy that this offseason, though the plan hasn't fully come to fruition. Despite that problem, Schneider is currently 7-3-2 with a similar goals-against average to and a better save percentage to last season.
Others include Vladislav Namestnikov, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Kesler, Eric Staal, Mark Scheifele, Jamie Benn, David Krejci, Bo Horvat, Alexander Wennberg, Denis Malgin, Tyler Seguin, Mitch Marner, Marian Hossa, Vladimir Tarasenko, Cam Atkinson, James Neal, Radim Vrbata, Max Pacioretty, David Pastrnak, Patrik Laine, Patrick Kane, Patrick Maroon, Micheal Ferland, Nikolaj Ehlers, Damon Severson, Shea Weber, Kevin Shattenkirk, Mike Matheson, Andrei Markov, Tuukka Rask, Sergei Bobrovsky, Antti Raanta and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Training Room (Injuries)
Steven Stamkos, C, TB – Stamkos left Tuesday's game in the first period with a lower-body injury after getting tangled with Gustav Nyqvist against the boards. It looked like he tweaked his right knee and was unable to put any pressure on the leg leaving the ice. Stamkos has been relatively healthy in his career, playing at least 77 games in a fully scheduled NHL season in every year except for 2013-14 when he was limited to just 37 games after snapping his tibia. No word yet as to the type or extent of his injury.
Matt Duchene, C, COL – Duchene, off to a solid start with 11 points in 13 games, is currently sidelined with a concussion. Tuesday marked the second straight day the Avalanche's top pivotman missed. He may return Thursday versus Dallas, but he will first need to pass concussion protocol.
Others include Nick Bjugstad (hand, could play Saturday), Ryan O'Reilly (abdomen, day-to-day), Kyle Connor (lower-body injury, placed on IR), Chris Kreider (neck, in New York for an examination), Pavel Buchnevich (back, day-to-day), Zach Parise (foot, returned to action Tuesday), Michael Cammalleri (personal, out first four games of Devils' road trip), Thomas Vanek (hip, to be activated Sunday), Dennis Seidenberg (broken jaw, placed on IR), Taylor Hall (lower-body, day-to-day), Justin Faulk (upper-body, played Tuesday after missing three games), Anton Stralman (undisclosed, missing first three games of Lightning's five-game road trip), Pekka Rinne (lower-body, day-to-day), and Michal Neuvirth (lower-body, out 4-6 weeks).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Nick Bonino, C, PIT – The H(agelin)-B(onino)-K(essel) line was dominant down the stretch and in the playoffs to help carry Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup. This year hasn't gone as well, especially Bonino, who has just four points in 15 games. That's a far cry from what he posted down the stretch, with 16 points in the final 13 regular-season contests and 18 points in 24 playoff outings.
Joel Ward, LW, SJ – Ward only has three points in 15 games after 43 points last season, his first in the teal and white. Ice time isn't a major issue, as he is still skating 15:40 a game, but that is over a minute below what he saw last year. The big key lies in the fact Ward is only seeing an average of 0:18 on the power play, a two-plus minute drop from 2015-16. So, unless that changes, his production may continue to suffer.
Marc Giordano, D, CGY – Giordano ended a nine-game point drought with an assist on Johnny Gaudreau's first period score on Tuesday. Even with that, he has just six points in 17 games after notching 47, 48 and 56 points the past three seasons. Giordano is still playing over 25 minutes a game, including more than 3:30 on the power play, so he should turn it around shortly.
Semyon Varlamov, G, COL – The Avalanche were just 3-7 in their last 10 games heading into Tuesday's matchup with the Kings. Varlamov has been between the pipes for most of them and is also 3-7 in the last 10 games he has started. While Varly has looked better in his last two, a 3.22 goals-against average and .896 save percentage – a regression for a third straight season – are a far cry from being good.
Others include Joel Eriksson-Ek, Joe Colborne, David Desharnais, Jarome Iginla, Jaromir Jagr, Esa Lindell, Jake Muzzin, Jaroslav Halak, Jake Allen and Marc-Andre Fleury.
