NHL Barometer: Risers and Fallers

This week's article includes a hot Zib, Vilardi filling in nicely for Connor, Kane settling in quickly in Detroit, Juice flowing for the Preds, Zegras back for Anaheim and Korpisalo scuffling in Ottawa. 

First Liners (Risers) 

Mika Zibanejad, C, NYR – Zibanejad continued his hot play Saturday, notching a goal and a pair of assists. Those three points extended New York's top-line center's scoring streak to seven games, during which he has notched seven goals and 13 points. After a slow start to the season, Zibanejad has failed to find the scoresheet only once in the last 16 contests, delivering 11 goals and 23 points with almost half of that production (five goals, five helpers) coming on the power play. On the year, he's up to 13 markers and 20 apples in 32 contests after scoring 91 points last season. 

Nick Suzuki, C, MTL – Suzuki extended his point streak to five games Friday, during which he has lit the lamp twice and added six assists. On the year, Suzuki is up 10 goals and 30 points in 33 outings. He posted 61 and 66 points the last two seasons, respectively, but is on early pace to far exceed both totals. Suzuki has Cole Caufield, who has re-found his game lately, to his left and Juraj Slafkovsky, also back on the beam slightly recently, to his right, adding to his point potential for the Habs. 

Gabriel Vilardi, RW, WPG – Winnipeg lost their best scoring winger when Kyle Connor went down with a knee injury. Stepping in to fill that breach very ably has been Vilardi. Acquired from LA in the Pierre-Luc Dubois deal, Vilardi extended his goal streak to five games Friday, giving him six goals and as many assists in that stretch. A six-week absence due to a knee injury continued a theme for him, as staying healthy has been an issue for him throughout his career. But the 11th-overall pick in the 2017 draft showed his talent last season when he had 41 points in 63 games and could have a breakout season this season. 

Patrick Kane, RW, DET – Kane is doing his best to show that his surgically repaired hip is 100 percent. He lit the lamp again Saturday, the third straight game that Kane has scored a goal. Kane is up to five goals and as many helpers in the 10 games since he joined the Red Wings. After posting a minus-seven rating his first six games wearing the Winged Wheel, Kane has been a plus-four since while playing 19+ minutes a game, including four on the man-advantage. Kane could end up on the move again at the trade deadline if Detroit falls out of contention, but the team has won three of their last four to end of cold spell.

Zach Werenski, D, CLM – Werenski only has one goal on the year, which came on October 20, but that has yet to slow his point production. He's been racking up helpers, notching 10 assists in the last 12 contests, with four of them coming on the power play. For the year, Werenski has dished out 24 apples in 33 games to go along with that solitary lamp lighter. The 25 points puts the former eighth-overall pick in 2015 on early pace to exceed the career-high 48 points he posted two seasons ago. In addition, with 53 blocked shots already, Werenski could exceed the century mark in that category for the first time in his career. 

Jakob Chychrun, D, OTT – Chychrun continues to roll, helping to make up for the absence of Thomas Chabot. He has a goal and 11 assists over his last nine games, including three power-play helpers. Chychrun is up to 24 points, 67 shots on net, 49 blocked shots and a minus-1 rating through 29 outings overall while seeing almost 23 minutes a night. His career-high of 41 points, set in 2020-21 in 56 games, looks to be in severe danger of being exceeded, making the Senators look even smarter for acquiring Chychrun from Arizona last season. 

Filip Gustavsson, G, MIN – The Gus bus is operating at full efficiency lately after a rough first three weeks in November. He has gone 7-2-0 with a 1.75 goals-against average (GAA) and .936 save percentage over his past nine appearances. Gustavsson is now 9-8-2 with a .904 save percentage and 2.90 GAA on the season, numbers that evidence just how broad his prior struggles were. Now back on the beam, Gustavsson has paired with Marc-Andre Fleury to help the Wild get back in contention in the Central Division. 

Juuse Saros, G, NASH – Heading into Saturday's contest against the Stars, Saros had won seven of his last eight starts, sporting an excellent .936 save percentage and 2.06 goals-against average in that span. On the year, he was 15-11-0 with a 2.81 GAA and .909 SV%, numbers that reflect the impact of his slow start. Nashville and Saros allowed two goals in the last 15 seconds of the game Saturday to lose, the first time that has happened in NHL history. The Predators are in the middle of the pack offensively, adding to the pressure on Saros to be on top of his game nightly. Recently, he has been on the beam and looks likely to exceed 30 wins for the third straight season. 

Others include Alex Kerfoot, Josh Norris, Brayden Point, Bo Horvat, Adam Fantilli, Zach Hyman, Joel Farabee, Tom Wilson, Jordan Kyrou, William Karlsson, Jonathan Drouin, Anthony Mantha, Matias Maccelli, Thomas Harley, Brock Faber, Brayden McNabb, Rasmus Dahlin, Stuart Skinner, Pyotr Kochetkov, Scott Wedgewood, Ilya Sorokin and Samuel Ersson.

Buy Low

Yegor Chinakhov, RW, CLM – Chinakhov was a surprise first-round pick at 21st overall in 2020 by the Blue Jackets. He is doing his best to make that selection look smart. He found the scoresheet in six straight games prior to being shut out Saturday, erupting for six goals and 10 points over that stretch, and Chinakhov has already set new career highs on the season in goals (nine) and points (15) in only 24 contests. The line of Kirill Marchenko, Chinakhov and Dmitri Voronkov has been a revelation for Columbus, as the three young Russians have meshed seamlessly to become a dangerous trio offensively. 

Training Room (Injuries)

Trevor Zegras, C, ANA – Zegras returned to action Saturday after missing 20 games. He tried to go from 0 to 60 after missing most of training camp, as he finally signed a three-year, $17.25 million contract with the Ducks in October just before the season started. Zegras suffered a strained groin muscle, which sidelined him from November 7 forward. He regained his spot on the top line and first power-play unit Saturday. He was off to a slow start with just one goal, one assist and 30 shots on net over 12 appearances after scoring 61 and 65 points the last two years, respectively. Zegras matched Connor Bedard's Michigan goal with one of his own in his return Saturday.

Others include Anton Lundell (illness, rejoined the Panthers' lineup Saturday after missing four straight games), Mason McTavish (upper body, returned to action Thursday missing seven straight games), Leo Carlsson (sprained right MCL, injured Thursday, expected to be out of the lineup approximately 4-6 weeks), Max Pacioretty (Achilles, practicing with the team, could play Wednesday), Damon Severson (oblique, returned to action Saturday after missing 15 games with the injury), Mikhail Sergachev (lower body, injured Tuesday, missed his second straight game Saturday) and Logan Thompson (upper body, missed second straight game Saturday),

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)

Wyatt Johnston, C, DAL – Johnston has hit a bit of a rough patch offensively, notching just four assists his last 13 games. For the season, he's up to 20 points, 72 shots, 16 PIM and a minus-4 rating over 32 appearances in a middle-six role. That middle-six placement will keep his numbers down, as Matt Duchene has thrived in the second-line center role while Roope Hintz is serving as the 1C. Johnston's future is exceedingly bright, but it may take a few years before his production meets his potential. 

Matt Dumba, D, AZ – Dumba had 50 points in 2017-18 in Minnesota. To evidence just how much out of place that was, his second highest point total was the prior year with 34. Other than that, 27 points in 2021-22 in Minnesota. Dumba's value is in blocking shots and dishing out hits, as he topped 100 in each category last year. His point production fell to 14 last year; this year, Dumba has just five points in 32 games. Unless you play in a league that counts time on ice, hits and/or blocks, look elsewhere, as Dumba's move to the Coyotes has not resulted in a rise in point production.

Joonas Korpisalo, G, OTT – Ottawa signed Korpisalo to a five-year, $20 million deal in July to help solidify their goaltending situation. The best laid plans of mice and men has gone awry. Korpisalo has been awful during his current five-game losing streak, giving up 23 tallies in that span. He's at a 6-11-0 record with a 3.62 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage through 19 outings this season. Many felt that Korpisalo's strong numbers in LA were largely due to the defensive structure and blueline in front of him; so far, that view looks completely accurate. 

Others include Nick Bjugstad, Ryan Strome, Anthony Duclair, Anders Lee, Jake Sanderson, Erik Gustafsson, Nils Lundkvist, Lukas Dostal and Akira Schmid. 

Sell High

Jordan Eberle, RW, SEA – Eberle's output so far this season has shown that last year's 63 points were a major aberration. His goal Wednesday, just his fourth of the season, was his first in a month. During that stretch, Eberle posted five assists in 12 games, giving him 12 in 33 contests this season. Compare those numbers to the 20 markers and 43 apples he notched last year, and you can easily see why last year's production looks like an outlier, especially because the last time he had posted more than 44 points in year was 2017-18, his first as an Islander. The sell high is based on finding someone he can turn it around quickly.