This article is part of our NHL Barometer series.
This week's article includes Hertl the Turtle, Bratt playing well, Sanderson on fire, Talbot leading the way, Nico sidelined and Cirelli regressing to the mean.
First Liners (Risers)
Tomas Hertl, C, LV: Hertl the Turtle extended his point streak to 11 games with a goal Thursday. His chemistry with Pavel Dorofeyev is palpable, aiding his point streak, which ended Sunday. During this span, Hertl has nine tallies and six assists, upping his season marks to 20 markers and 21 apples in 53 games, Hertl, dealt to Vegas at the trade deadline last season, was limited to just 54 games due to mid-February knee surgery and played just six contests with the Knights. He is thriving as Vegas' second-line pivot.
Martin Necas, RW, COL: Necas has seamlessly fit into the Colorado lineup since arriving from Carolina in the Mikko Rantanen deal. He notched his first goal as a member of the Avalanche and has added four assists in his five games there. Necas has meshed well with Nathan MacKinnon while skating as the right wing on the team's top line both at even strength and on the man advantage. He is already up to 60 points in 54 games, and, barring injury, should exceed the career-high 71 points he tallied in 2022-23.
Nick Schmaltz, RW, UTAH: Schmaltz, after a slow start, got back on the beam. He capped his hot streak with a strong January, racking up five goals and seven assists over his last 11 outings.
This week's article includes Hertl the Turtle, Bratt playing well, Sanderson on fire, Talbot leading the way, Nico sidelined and Cirelli regressing to the mean.
First Liners (Risers)
Tomas Hertl, C, LV: Hertl the Turtle extended his point streak to 11 games with a goal Thursday. His chemistry with Pavel Dorofeyev is palpable, aiding his point streak, which ended Sunday. During this span, Hertl has nine tallies and six assists, upping his season marks to 20 markers and 21 apples in 53 games, Hertl, dealt to Vegas at the trade deadline last season, was limited to just 54 games due to mid-February knee surgery and played just six contests with the Knights. He is thriving as Vegas' second-line pivot.
Martin Necas, RW, COL: Necas has seamlessly fit into the Colorado lineup since arriving from Carolina in the Mikko Rantanen deal. He notched his first goal as a member of the Avalanche and has added four assists in his five games there. Necas has meshed well with Nathan MacKinnon while skating as the right wing on the team's top line both at even strength and on the man advantage. He is already up to 60 points in 54 games, and, barring injury, should exceed the career-high 71 points he tallied in 2022-23.
Nick Schmaltz, RW, UTAH: Schmaltz, after a slow start, got back on the beam. He capped his hot streak with a strong January, racking up five goals and seven assists over his last 11 outings. The winger is at 11 goals, 41 points (16 on the power play), 111 shots on net and a minus-9 rating through 52 appearances. Schmaltz notched at least 22 goals in each of the last three seasons, so he is a little below that pace this season. But he has a strong chance to set a new career-high in points with a strong finish.
Jesper Bratt, LW, NJ: Bratt is once again on fire. After scoring between 30 and 35 points each of his first four seasons in the league, Bratt upped his production to at least 73 points each of the last three campaigns. Bratt set a new career-high with 83 points last seasons and is on pace to exceed that total this season. Over the last 13 contests, Bratt has racked up two goals and 12 points and is up to 16 goals and 43 assists in 54 contests.
Jake Sanderson, D, OTT: Sanderson is on a major roll, capping his recent fine streak with a goal and three assists Saturday. This was Sanderson's second multipoint effort in a row, and he's earned three goals and 10 assists over his last 16 appearances. Sanderson is up to five goals, 34 points (four shorthanded, 20 on the power play), 117 shots on net, 109 blocked shots and a minus-13 rating through 52 appearances and should top 40 points for the first time in his career, barring injury. He is starting to fulfill his vast potential.
Seth Jones, G, CHI: Jones has been on fire since returning after missing 16 games. Following his return on December 21, Jones has three goals and 11 assists in 18 games. Recently Jones has been even better, reeling off points in seven straight contests. Jones is up to five goals and 19 assists in 35 games, his best scoring pace since he scored 57 points in 2017-18 as a member of the Blue Jackets. After two subpar seasons in a row, Jones has clearly turned back the clock this season in Chicago.
Ilya Sorokin, G, NYI: Sorokin is rolling, carrying the Islanders to the verge of a playoff spot. Saturday was his sixth straight win, during which he has surrendered just one goal while also posting a shutout. Sorokin is now 19-14-4 with a 2.64 goals-against average and .908 save percentage. After a poor 2023-24 campaign, Sorokin entered this season with some questions, which were exacerbated by his slow start to this season. But he has completely turned it around, looking like an elite netminder on the Island.
Cam Talbot, G, DET: The Red Wings have been rolling, and much of it is occurring with Talbot between the pipes. Detroit won their fifth straight game Saturday with Talbot in net for four of those victories. Talbot has allowed just five goals on 115 shots in this span and is now 15-10-2 with a 2.84 GAA and .908 save percentage. The Winged Wheel sit just outside the second Wild Card spot with Talbot playing a major roll in the team's resurgence. Roll with Talbot when he is between the pipes.
Others include Thomas Novak, Josh Norris, Adam Fantilli, Will Smith, Bo Horvat, Barrett Hayton, Pavel Dorofeyev, Jonathan Drouin, Eeli Tolvanen, David Pastrnak, Seth Jarvis, Cale Makar, Luke Hughes, Jackson LaCombe, Evan Bouchard, Leevi Merilainen, Pyotr Kochetkov, Joey Daccord and Connor Hellebuyck.
Buy Low
Chandler Stephenson, C, SEA: Stephenson got off to a slow start in this his first season in Seattle, but he has righted the ship recently. He took a major step forward with six goals and nine assists across 15 January appearances, especially when you consider that he now has nine goals and 29 helpers in 53 games this season, The Kraken inked Stephenson to a seven-year, $43.75 million contract this past July to serve as the team's second-line center. Lately, he has been fitting the bill in that position.
Training Room (Injuries)
Nico Hischier, C, NJD: Hischier, injured January 25, is listed as week-to-week. New Jersey may opt to shut down the 26-year-old center until after the 4 Nations Face-Off. Prior to getting hurt, Hischier was rolling offensively with goals in four of his last six games for a total of five goals and two assists, including five power-play points. Overall, the first selection in the 2017 draft was up to 24 goals and 19 helpers in 51 games before being sidelined. His absence leaves a big hole in the middle of the Devils' lineup.
Others include J.T. Compher (upper body, missed third straight game Saturday, out indefinitely), Logan Cooley (lower body, injured last Thursday, out indefinitely), Kirill Kaprizov (lower body, underwent surgery Friday, placed on LTIR, out a minimum of four weeks), Matthew Knies (upper body, missed two games, played and scored Saturday), Miro Heiskanen (lower body, injured on questionable hit from Mark Done, out indefinitely), Drew Doughty (fractured ankle, returned to action January 29) and Vitek Vanecek (fractured cheekbone, injured Dec. 17, activated Sunday)
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Jake DeBrusk, LW, VAN: DeBrusk, after a brutal January, opened February in fine fashion lighting the lamp. He had just four points and a minus-8 rating over 15 contests in January after a fairly strong start to the 2024-25 campaign. For the season, the 28-year-old is at 18 goals, 31 points (11 on the power play), 102 shots on net, 76 hits and a minus-8 rating across 52 appearances. DeBrusk may be in line for a rise in output, as following the J.T. Miller trade, he is skating on the top line with Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson.
Brandon Montour, D, SEA: Montour ended a 20-game goal drought with a pair of tallies Thursday. In that stretch, Montour posted just five assists with a minus-13 rating. Despite this rough patch, Montour still has good numbers overall. He's at 10 goals, 27 points, 155 shots on net, 63 blocked shots, 57 hits, 37 PIM and a minus-4 rating through 54 appearances. That output is on par with the 33 points he notched last season, though a far cry from the 73 he notched in what was an aberration of a campaign in 2022-23. Montour signed a seven-year, $49.98 million contract with the Kraken last July, which looked like an overpayment then and now.
Filip Gustavsson, G, MIN: Gustavsson appeared to have reversed the negative tide, winning his prior two starts, but was left out to dry by his defense Saturday, allowing six goals on 52 shots. Prior to those two victories, the Gus Bus had hit a few potholes, allowing four goals in five straight games. Minnesota is limping a little bit without Kaprizov and may be looking forward to the two-week break that will come with the 4 Nations Faceoff. This is just a little bump in the road for Gustavsson.
Others include Jack McBain, Quinton Byfield, Vladimir Tarasenko, Viktor Arvidsson, Morgan Rielly, Kris Letang, Philipp Grubauer and Igor Shesterkin.
Sell High
Anthony Cirelli, C, TB: Cirelli's production has regressed to the mean lately, though you can argue that he is experiencing a bit of an overcorrection. In Cirelli's last 16 games, he has just four goals and a pair of assists. For the year, Cirelli still has 19 goals and 20 helpers in 50 contests, so he still is very much more than likely to exceed the career-high 45 points he posted in 79 games last season. But his recent downturn shows just how hot he was prior to the calendar flipping to 2025 and how ice-cold he has been since.
