NHL Barometer: Don't Write Off Ovi

This week's article includes the new No. 1 center on Broadway, evidence that Alex the Great is still great, a brilliant debut for a young, D-man in N.J. and one of the best ever in Vancouver looking to reverse his fortunes from the past few seasons.

First Line (Risers)

Brayden Point, C, TB – Point was overshadowed by all the rookie talent in the league and quietly notched 18 goals and 22 assists in 68 games last season. He improved as the year wore on, posting 11 points in his last 10 games, including a three-point outing in the final game of the season. Early on, he has shown that performance was no fluke, as he has posted two goals and three assists in his first two games, centering the third line, flanked by Ondrej Palat. Tampa Bay has a ton of offensive talent, but don't sleep on Point.

Mika Zibanejad, C, NYR – The trade of Derek Stepan to Arizona and loss of Oscar Lindberg to Las Vegas in the expansion draft left holes at center for New York. Stepping into the breach and moving up to the top center is Zib, who has increased pressure on him after signing a five-year, $26.75 million contract with the Rangers in July of 2017. That terms and dollars were given to Zibanejad as a show of confidence and belief he can be the #1 center on Broadway. Zibanejad has goals in each of New York's three games, with three of his markers coming on the power play, blasting all of them top shelf to both sides of the net.

Alexander Ovechkin, LW, WAS – Parroting the lyrics by Rise Against or adjusting Mark Twain's words, the rumors of Ovechkin's demise (as an elite player) has been greatly exaggerated. After scoring at least 50 goals each of the past three seasons, Ovi slumped to just 33 last season, the second lowest of his career in a non-strike shortened season. He has come out of the gate firing, notching a pair of hat tricks his first two games of the year and seven goals total. Ovi suffered through a similar campaign in 2011-12, when he notched a career-low 65 points, but rebounded thereafter. Despite being 32, through two games, Ovi has shown discounting him or writing him off may have been unfounded.

Sonny Milano, LW, CLM – Milano, 16th overall pick in the 2014 draft, had cups of coffee with the Blue Jackets in 2015-16 and 2016-17 but spent almost all of each season in the AHL with Springfield and then Lake Erie/Cleveland. A strong training camp and the absence of Josh Anderson due to a contract dispute earned Milano a spot on Columbus' roster to begin the season. Milano, who is skating on the Jackets' second line with Nick Foligno and Oliver Bjorkstrand, is making the most of that chance, tallying goals in each of the team's first two games.

Mathieu Perreault, LW, WPG – Perrault is one of those players that doesn't stand out but helps you win your league. He has tallied at least 41 points the past four seasons, giving him value in most formats. This year, he has started the season skating on the second line, which is centered by Bryan Little and has Patrik Laine on the right wing. Perreault can be streaky, but his placement on that trio and copious power play time should minimize the likelihood of a long drought.

Will Butcher, D, NJ – Butcher more than made the most of his NHL debut, notching three assists, with all three coming on the power play. Selected in the fifth round of the 2013 NHL Draft by Colorado, Butcher declined to sign an entry-level deal with the Avalanche, opting to sign with New Jersey this offseason. Butcher, who played four seasons at the University of Denver, posted seven goals and 30 helpers in 43 outings as a senior. He should be given all the ice time he can handle, especially on the power play, with New Jersey in rebuilding mode.

Nate Schmidt, D, LV – Schmidt went from the Capitals to the Golden Knights in the expansion draft, a move Washington likely will regret. At just 26, Schmidt was just scratching the surface of his talent in the U.S. Nation's Capital and should be a top-four, D-man all season in Sin City. While Vegas will likely not be that good this year, despite its 2-0 start, someone has to log minutes, block shots, dish out hits and score from the blueline; Schmidt looks like the favorite to fill that role.

Jimmy Howard, G, DET – Howard went from losing his job to Petr Mrazek to playing just 26 games due to groin and knee injuries. But he posted career-best ratios in that limited action, notching a 2.10 goals-against average (GAA) and .927 save percentage (SV%) while finishing just 10-11-1 as the Red Wings missed the playoffs. Those strong numbers resulted in Detroit protecting Howard in the expansion draft and him opening the year as the team's starting netminder. Howard made that decision look good initially, as he went 2-0 in the first week of the season, though expectations for the team remain low.

Jonathan Quick, G, LA – Like Howard, Quick saw his 2016-17 campaign impacted by injury. Quick injured his groin on Opening Night and didn't return until Feb. 25. That extended absence limited Quick to just 17 games, but his .917 save percentage and 2.26 GAA were right in line with his .917 and 2.18 marks over the previous three campaigns. Expectations are somewhat low in LA, but Quick showed in his first two games, that as long as he is between the pipes, the Kings have a fighting chance each night. The American-born goalie shut down the Flyers on Opening Night and then stopped 24 of 25 shots to defeat the Sharks on Saturday.

Others include Mattias Janmark, Alexander Wennberg, Brayden Schenn, Nicklas Backstrom, Sidney Crosby, Paul Stastny, David Krejci, Nazem Kadri, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Rickard Rakell, Jakub Vrana, Patrick Marleau, Richard Panik, Jaden Schwartz, Corey Perry, Anders Bjork, Evander Kane, Ryan Hartman, Martin Frk, Mats Zuccarello, James Neal, Brandon Saad, Bryan Rust, Vladislav Namestnikov, Charlie McAvoy, Alex Goligoski, Alex Pietrangelo, Mike Green, T.J. Brodie, Jake Gardiner, Kevin Shattenkirk, Marc-Andre Fleury, Antti Raanta, Jacob Markstrom, Braden Holtby, Jaroslav Halak and Cory Schneider.

Training Room (Injuries)

David Backes, RW, BOS – Backes was diagnosed with diverticulitis and is likely to miss 3-4 weeks. The physical right winger signed a five-year, $30 million deal with Boston in July 2016 after spending a decade in St. Louis. Backes racked up 226 hits last season as a Bruin, though his offensive production fell for the second straight year. When he does return, look for Backes to resume his role on the team's third line.

Others include Ryan Getzlaf (lower-body injury, missed first two games of the season), Mikael Granlund (undisclosed injury, missed Saturday's game), Patrice Bergeron (upper-body injury, likely out Monday) Martin Hanzal (lower-body injury, DTD), Nick Schmaltz (upper-body injury, out Monday and Tuesday), Patric Hornqvist (hand, possibly back in action Saturday), Alexander Steen (hand, progressing, could join Blues on their upcoming road trip), Erik Karlsson (foot surgery, not yet ready to return), Ian Cole (mouth, out indefinitely). Torey Krug (jaw, game-time decision Monday) and Ben Bishop (concussion, clear for action, should play Tuesday against Detroit).

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)

Vadim Shipachyov, C, LV – Shipachyov, who was among the KHL scoring leaders with 76 points in 50 games last season, signed a two-year, $9 million contract with the Golden Knights in May. At that time, the belief and expectation was that that 30-year old center would be Vegas' top line center. Shipachyov was left off Vegas' Opening night roster and started the season with Chicago of the AHL. It's probably this is just a temporary move, but if you drafted him, as I did late in my league, this is not a positive development.

Daniel Sedin, LW, VAN – Sedin was held without a point his three preseason games and failed to register on the score sheet Saturday against the Oilers. After undergoing a resurgence, notching 20 goals and 56 assists in 2014-15, Sedin fell to 61 points the following season and 44 points last year. Sedin sits just 14 points shy of 1,000 for his career, a mark he should reach during the season with the Canucks. But the four-year, $28 million extension he signed in November 2013 expires at the end of the year, creating speculation that he and his brother, Henrik, who signed a similar deal, could be traded by the deadline.

Kris Letang, D, PIT – Pittsburgh opened the season 1-1-1, falling in overtime the first game, getting blown out by Chicago in game two and them rebounding to shut out Nashville the third game of the season. Letang, who sat out the playoffs due to injury, was thrown right into the fire, averaging 25:16 of ice, including 3:10 on the man-advantage, with 12 shots during those three contests. Whatever rust he had should be rubbed off now, though he failed to score and was a minus-five in those three games. Play up that slow start and see if you can acquire him from a disenfranchised owner, though that possibility seems remote.

Martin Jones, G, SJ – It was a tough decision deciding whether Jones or Henrik Lundqvist (who redeemed himself with a shutout Sunday after getting chased after just one period Saturday) deserved to be the one highlighted in bold, as each have played poorly. Jones' numbers dropped a tick last year, as his goals-against average rose from 2.27 to 2.40 and save percentage fell from .918 to .912 for the season. The fall in each and questions as to how good San Jose would be this season resulted in some downgrading Jones in their rankings. Initially, that decline seems right on point, as Jones' has allowed eight goals in just 58 shots and was chased from the net Saturday night.

Others include Kevin Hayes, Andreas Athanasiou, Filip Chytil, Kailer Yamamoto, Brent Burns, Jacob Trouba, Thomas Greiss, Kari Lehtonen and Henrik Lundqvist.