This week's article includes Zib setting a Winter Classic record, Hyman rolling again in Edmonton, a pair of backup netminders vying for extra time, Fox-y back on Broadway and Dostal scuffling.
Discover who's been filling up the scoresheet with RotoWire's NHL Trending Players page!
First Liners (Risers)
Mika Zibanejad, C, NYR: Win the Cocoa Cup as the Winter Classic MVP, get the bold treatment. Zibanejad notched the first hat trick in Winter Classic history Friday, and the 32-year-old center has notched 12 points over his last eight outings (four goals, eight helpers). Zibanejad, who was named to the Swedish Olympic Hockey team, is now up to 37 points in 43 games. His 15 goals leave Zib just five shy of his 2024-25 total and 11 away from what he posted in 2023-24 after he tallied 39 the prior campaign.
Sidney Crosby, C, PIT: Crosby just keeps rolling on. He extended his point streak to six games and 10 points (four goals, six assists), with a pair of helpers Saturday. The two assists give Crosby 45 points in 40 games, as he looks to extend his NHL best streak of a point-per game in a season to 20 campaigns. Speculation that Crosby would be asked to be dealt elsewhere if the Penguins were out of the race has become moot with Pittsburgh remaining in the wild-card hunt in the Eastern Conference.
Zach Hyman, RW, EDM: Hyman, who suffered a broken wrist in the 2025 playoffs, missed the
This week's article includes Zib setting a Winter Classic record, Hyman rolling again in Edmonton, a pair of backup netminders vying for extra time, Fox-y back on Broadway and Dostal scuffling.
Discover who's been filling up the scoresheet with RotoWire's NHL Trending Players page!
First Liners (Risers)
Mika Zibanejad, C, NYR: Win the Cocoa Cup as the Winter Classic MVP, get the bold treatment. Zibanejad notched the first hat trick in Winter Classic history Friday, and the 32-year-old center has notched 12 points over his last eight outings (four goals, eight helpers). Zibanejad, who was named to the Swedish Olympic Hockey team, is now up to 37 points in 43 games. His 15 goals leave Zib just five shy of his 2024-25 total and 11 away from what he posted in 2023-24 after he tallied 39 the prior campaign.
Sidney Crosby, C, PIT: Crosby just keeps rolling on. He extended his point streak to six games and 10 points (four goals, six assists), with a pair of helpers Saturday. The two assists give Crosby 45 points in 40 games, as he looks to extend his NHL best streak of a point-per game in a season to 20 campaigns. Speculation that Crosby would be asked to be dealt elsewhere if the Penguins were out of the race has become moot with Pittsburgh remaining in the wild-card hunt in the Eastern Conference.
Zach Hyman, RW, EDM: Hyman, who suffered a broken wrist in the 2025 playoffs, missed the first five weeks of the 2025-26 playoffs. He started a little slow following his return to action but has more than found his form lately. Hyman notched his 10th goal and 16th point over the last 11 games on New Year's Eve as he skates next to Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He is up to 12 goals, 22 points, 67 shots on net, 32 hits and a plus-3 rating across 23 appearances this season with his point total half of what he produced last season in 73 contests after notching 54 goals the prior season.
Dylan Guenther, RW, UTAH: Guenther lit the lamp three times New Year's Day, his first hat trick of the 2025-26 season. After taking a significant step forward last season, supplying 27 goals and 60 points across 70 appearances with Utah, Guenther got off to a bit of a slow start this season. That is now but a faded memory, as over his last 12 games, Guenther has tallied 10 goals and 14 points, upping his season totals to 20 markers and 16 helpers in 43 contests, as he trends towards setting new career-highs across the board.
Darren Raddysh, D, TB: It's Raddysh's world and we are just living in it. He became the third defensemen in Tampa history to notch a hat trick, potting three goals Saturday. With the effort, Raddysh is up to 12 goals and 22 assists in 35 contests as he continues to help the Lightning withstand the absence of Victor Hedman. Signed to a two-year, $1.95 million contract extension by the Lightning in August of 2023, Raddysh will be a free agent after the season and is set up for a big pay as a future UFA.
Damon Severson, D, CLM: Severson's hot streak did not abate Saturday. He notched a pair of helpers in Columbus' win, getting onto the scoresheet in five of the last six games and racking up a goal and eight points over that stretch. Severson's production has declined each of the past three seasons after he posted 46 points in 2021-233 with the Devils. But with the 17 points in 40 contests, Severson is on pace to break that negative streak this season, his third with the Blue Jackets.
Charlie Lindgren, G, WSH: Lindgren splits time with Logan Thompson in the Capitals' net, which downgrades his value somewhat. But if he keeps winning nearly every time he starts, he still has solid fantasy value, even in season-long leagues. Lindgren has found his game the past six weeks, going 5-1-1 with a 2.72 goals-against average (GAA) and .894 save percentage since Nov. 17 (eight appearances). His overall numbers still a lot to be desired, but a deeper look shows a goalie whose value risen in the above-noted span.
Philipp Grubauer, G, SEA: Remember when Grubauer won 30 games for the Avalanche in 2020-21 and signed a six-year, $35.4 million contract with the Kraken in July of 2021. When that deal was signed, most felt that Seattle vastly overpaid, which was proven to be accurate each of the next four seasons. Joey Daccord grabbed a firm hold on the goaltending job, relegating Grubauer to backup status. This season, an injury sidelined Daccord for a period of time, allowing Grubauer to see additional playing time in net, and he's made the most of his chance to carve out an almost equal timeshare between the pipes.
Others include Brayden Point, Charlie Coyle, Nathan MacKinnon, Justin Sourdif, Trevor Zegras, Teuvo Teravainen, Matthew Knies, Brandon Hagel, Bryan Rust, Nikita Kucherov, Ivan Demidov, Matthew Schaefer, Artyom Levshunov, Erik Karlsson, MacKenzie Weegar, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Arturs Silovs, Scott Wedgewood, and Spencer Knight.
Buy Low
Andrei Kuzmenko, LW, LA: Kuzmenko, looking washed up and left on the side of the fantasy road, has risen like Lazarus to have some value. He has five points, including three goals, in his last six games, and three of those points (one goal, two helpers) have come on the team's second unit power play. The five-man grouping has drawn significant praise from head coach Jim Hiller Prior to this hot streak, Kuzmenko had just nine points (five goals, four assists) in his previous 29 games, which is why he was put in the discard pile.
Training Room (Injuries)
Adam Fox, D, NYR: Fox returned New Year's Eve after a 14-game absence for a shoulder injury. In the two games following his activation, New York, which had struggled mightily on the power play, went 3-for-4 on the man-advantage, evidencing how much the team's power play quarterback was missed. Fox notched a goal – his first since the third game of the season - and an assist in his first game back, giving the blueliner four tallies and 24 helpers in 30 contests played.
Others include Bo Horvat (lower body, injured Jan. 1, will miss at least one week), Tom Wilson (lower body, injured Saturday), Frank Vatrano (shoulder, will miss six weeks), Seth Jones (collarbone, injured when his by a shot Friday, sat Sunday), Devon Toews (lower body, left Saturday's game after sliding into boards), Igor Shesterkin (lower body, left Monday's game) and Mackenzie Blackwood (lower body, place on IR on Friday).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Adam Lowry, C, WPG: Lowry, Winnipeg's third line center, missed the first 12 games of the season following offseason hip surgery. The Jets showed their commitment to Lowry, signing him to a five-year, $25 million contract extension in November. Lowry has posted pedestrian numbers with just three goals and five assists in 28 games, but he has shown some signs of life lately, notching a pair of goals and an assist in his past four games. He has tallied between 34 and 36 points each of the past four seasons, so don't expect much from him offensively.
Brock Boeser, RW, VAN: Boeser dropped from 73 to 50 points last season and in on pace for another precipitous fall this season. He has just two helpers over 14 games since the start of December and sits with nine goals and as many assists in 39 contests along with an unsightly minus-19 rating. Vancouver's offense has struggled, especially since the trade of Quinn Hughes to the Wild, with Boeser's decline in production as well as that of Elias Pettersson's playing a key role.
Dougie Hamilton, D, NJ: I considered making D-Ham a buy-low candidate seeing how long his point drought lasted but I need to see him string together a few productive games before I move up in the article. Hamilton ended a 17-game point drought and a 26-game goal drought when he lit the lamp Saturday. Normally a highly productive blueliner, Hamilton has only five goals and nine points in 37 contests. His numbers should rise, though the presence of Luke Hughes could impact just how much.
Others include Christian Dvorak, Dalibor Dvorsky, Connor McMichael, Cole Perfetti, Hampus Lindholm, Brayden McNabb, Samuel Ersson and Sergei Bobrovsky.
Sell High
Lukas Dostal, G, ANA: Dostal has hit a bit of a pothole in the road lately. He has gone 0-3-1 over his last five outings, allowing at least four goals in four straight contests. Anaheim remains in playoff position, though they have dropped down to a Wild Card spot and San Jose plus others are nipping at their webbed feet. Following a brilliant start to the 2025-26 season, the 25-year-old is now 13-10-2 record with a 3.22 GAA and an .887 save percentage across 26 appearances. The Ducks need a return to form by Dostal to earn a postseason berth.
