This article is part of our NHL Barometer series.
This week's article includes Strome rolling in DC, Hagel hot in Tampa, Harley stepping up in Big Z, Zegras finally finding his game in SoCal, several key players sidelined and Cozens having another rough campaign.
First Liners (Risers)
Dylan Strome, C, WSH: Strome, taken third overall by Arizona in 2015, finished the pre-4 Nations Faceoff part of the schedule on a six-game, eight-point scoring streak that includes four goals and as many assists. His move from the Coyotes to the Blackhawks jump started his career, and coming to the Capitals has certainly taken Strome to the next step. Strome posted 65 points in 2023-23 and 67 last season. With 54 points in 55 contests, Strome is on pace to far exceed both totals and set career-highs in assists and points for the Eastern Conference leading Capitals.
Alex DeBrincat, RW, DET: DeBrincat goes into the Four Nations Faceoff break on a flat-out roll. He notched a goal and a pair of assists Saturday, upping his point streak to four games and seven points, including three goals. That output gives DeBrincat 24 goals, three shy of his total from each of the last two seasons, and 22 helpers in 55 games, putting the talented winger on pace to notch 30 goals for the fourth time and 60-plus points for the fifth time in his career. At 27 years old, DeBrincat has already scored 238 goals in his career.
Brandon Hagel, LW, TB: Hagel, who will suit up for Team
This week's article includes Strome rolling in DC, Hagel hot in Tampa, Harley stepping up in Big Z, Zegras finally finding his game in SoCal, several key players sidelined and Cozens having another rough campaign.
First Liners (Risers)
Dylan Strome, C, WSH: Strome, taken third overall by Arizona in 2015, finished the pre-4 Nations Faceoff part of the schedule on a six-game, eight-point scoring streak that includes four goals and as many assists. His move from the Coyotes to the Blackhawks jump started his career, and coming to the Capitals has certainly taken Strome to the next step. Strome posted 65 points in 2023-23 and 67 last season. With 54 points in 55 contests, Strome is on pace to far exceed both totals and set career-highs in assists and points for the Eastern Conference leading Capitals.
Alex DeBrincat, RW, DET: DeBrincat goes into the Four Nations Faceoff break on a flat-out roll. He notched a goal and a pair of assists Saturday, upping his point streak to four games and seven points, including three goals. That output gives DeBrincat 24 goals, three shy of his total from each of the last two seasons, and 22 helpers in 55 games, putting the talented winger on pace to notch 30 goals for the fourth time and 60-plus points for the fifth time in his career. At 27 years old, DeBrincat has already scored 238 goals in his career.
Brandon Hagel, LW, TB: Hagel, who will suit up for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off, goes into the break on an absolute heater. He is on a four-game point streak (four goals, four assists), and he has six goals and five assists in his last six contests. For the year, Hagel is up to 26 tallies and 36 helpers in 55 games, and is on pace to exceed the 30 goals he scored in 2022-23, and the 49 assists and 75 points he notched last season. Hagel may not get the publicity some of his more well-known teammates receive but he is a huge part of the Lightning's success.
Matthew Coronato, RW, CGY: Coronato looked like he hit a wall starting in mid-January, putting up just one point in a seven-game stretch. He has found another gear, posting three goals and three helpers over his next six games, three of which came on the man-advantage. Despite the rough patch, Coronato has 14 markers and 16 helpers in 50 games as he skates as Calgary's first-line right winger. Taken 13th overall in 2021, Coronato is a big part of the Flames' future, and he is living up to his draft status.
Logan Mailloux, D, MTL: Taken with the next to last pick in the first in 2021, Mailloux opened the season with the Canadiens, registering three points, seven shots and seven blocks in five contests. He was sent down at the end of October, making the most of his demotion, as Mailloux represented the Laval Rocket at the AHL All-Star Classic this past week. He notched a goal in his first game after his call up, dressing with Kaiden Guhle (quadriceps) sidelined. Keep an eye on Mailloux after the break to see if he remains with the Habs or remains in Laval where he was sent Sunday after being a healthy scratch.
Thomas Harley, D, DAL: Harley is being counted on by the Stars to raise his game while Miro Heiskanen (knee) is sidelined. So far, he has, as over the six games since Heiskanen exited the lineup, Harley has a pair of goal and four assists, doubling his point total from the prior nine contests. Harley showed last year that he can produce offensively while still being solid defensively, notching 15 goals and 32 assists with a plus-28 rating in 79 contests. With his increased output, Harley is at nine goals, 29 points, 112 shots on net, 77 blocked shots and a plus-26 rating through 53 appearances.
Charlie Lindgren, G, WSH: Most of the focus between the pipes in DC has rightly been on Logan Thompson. Lindgren, so good last year in helping the Caps makes the playoffs, has been relegated to second status. He and Thompson have basically been alternating starts with Lindgren 2-1-1 with a shutout, 10 goals allowed and a .903 save percentage in four starts since returning from his upper-body injury. On the year, Lindgren is 12-9-3 with a 2.63 goals-against average (GAA) and .900 save percentage.
Connor Ingram, G, UTAH: Ingram headed into Sunday's contest versus the Capitals on a bit of a roll. He was 3-3-1 with a 2.40 GAA and .910 save percentage in the seven contests he has played since returning from an upper-body injury. After notching 23 wins last season, Ingram has tallied only nine victories this season as he missed six weeks with the injury. Karel Vejmelka has held down the fort in Utah, but he may have worn down a bit due to the increased workload and should benefit from the upcoming break. The break also comes at a good time for Ingram, who was injured during a high shot from Alex Ovechkin on Sunday.
Others include Nazem Kadri, Alex Newhook, Quinton Byfield, Brayden Point, Tomas Hertl, Tyler Toffoli, Matthew Knies, Eeli Tolvanen, Artturi Lehkonen, Yegor Sharangovich, Jesper Bratt, Martin Necas, Ryan McDonagh, Brady Skjei, MacKenzie Weegar, Ivan Provorov, Cale Makar, Adam Fox, Jake Allen, Ilya Sorokin, Jonathan Quick and Spencer Knight.
Buy Low
Trevor Zegras, C, ANA: Zegras finally looks like he is turning around his season. After a slow start to the season, Zegras missed six weeks due to a knee injury. The time off seems to have rejuvenated his game, as Zegras had a pair of goals and three assists in his last seven contests, benefitting from a move from center to left wing. Zegras has been prominently mentioned in trade rumors, which could increase during the two-week break, but if he sticks in Anaheim, look for him to continue his recent fine play.
Training Room (Injuries)
Anthony Stolarz, G, TOR: Stolarz, out since December 14 and missing close to two months following knee surgery, made a successful return to action Thursday, stopping 26 shots in a 3-1 win. Joseph Woll had seen most of the time between the pipes while Stolarz was sidelined, but the two should now split time in net. With the victory, Stolarz improved to 10-5-2 with a 2.08 GAA and a .929 save percentage over 18 appearances, building off the success he had last season with the Panthers.
Others include Mathew Barzal (procedure on knee, will miss at least six weeks), Sidney Crosby (upper body, missed Friday's and Saturday's contests, playing in 4 Nations), Boone Jenner (shoulder, has been out all season, expected to return to the lineup after the 4 Nations Face-Off), William Karlsson (lower body, out since Jan. 20, placed on long-term injured reserve Thursday), Kirill Marchenko (surgery for broken jaw, out indefinitely, likely to miss at least a month), Bryan Rust (lower body, placed on injured reserve Saturday), Miro Heiskanen (underwent successful knee surgery last Tuesday, labeled month-to-month), Sean Durzi (shoulder, out since Oct. 14, could return right after 4 Nations Face-Off break), Igor Shesterkin (upper body, injured Friday, will miss one to two weeks) and Thatcher Demko (undisclosed, left Saturday's game).
Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)
Viktor Arvidsson, LW, EDM: I must admit that I was vastly wrong about Arvidsson. When he signed with Edmonton, I thought the Oilers made a great move based on Arvidsson's 5x5 metrics. To date, Arvidsson must be viewed as a major disappointment. His goal Wednesday broke an eight-game drought and moved his season totals to seven goals, 18 points, 97 shots on net and a plus-7 rating through 40 appearances. Arvidsson occasionally sees top six minutes but mainly has been deployed on the third line.
Jamie Drysdale, D, PHI: If there is one positive from Drysdale's season, it's that he has been able to stay healthy, an issue in the past. Unfortunately, that's about it. Drysdale has gone through long stretches without much production and really hasn't taken the step forward expected of him this season. He has notched 12 points, 40 shots on net, 63 blocked shots and a minus-22 rating over 45 appearances. At 22, Drysdale still has room to grow, though others in the system could surpass him.
Alexandar Georgiev, G, SJ: Georgiev scuffled with the Avalanche, resulting in his trade to the Sharks. That move – as expected – has certainly not been a positive. He is winless in his last six outings (0-5-0), and he's given up at least four goals in four of those games. Georgiev is now 2-11-0 with a 4.01 goals-against average and a .874 save percentage over 14 outings with the Sharks. Stay away, stay very far away, especially as Yaroslav Askarov is the future top netminder by the Bay.
Others include Casey Mittelstadt, Kevin Hayes, Ivan Barbashev, Victor Olofsson, Justin Faulk, Alex Vlasic, Joel Hofer and Juuse Saros.
Sell High
Dylan Cozens, C, BUF: Prior to Saturday's contest, Cozens hadn't scored since January 15, a span of nine games. During that stretch, Cosens notched just four assists, but he finally lit the lamp Saturday. With that tally, the 23-year-old center is up to 11 goals, 27 points (four on the power play), 121 shots on net, 121 hits, 51 PIM and a minus-18 rating over 54 appearances. He could still get to the 40-point mark this season, but he may not be able to match the 47 he had in 2023-24, which was a drop of 21 points from the prior year.
