NHL Barometer: Risers & Fallers

This week's article includes Sid the Kid, an Islander excelling, a hot Hank, the return of Price and a Calder Trophy winner struggling to score.

First Liners (Risers)

Sidney Crosby, C, PIT – Slump? Wat slump? After a rough go of it for 10 games, Crosby has put any concerns about his play to rest since then. Sid's two goals and assist Saturday against the Lightning gave him nine points, including four goals, in his last six games. Six of those nine have come on the power play. What's more encouraging is that Crosby's shooting percentage (9.1) remains a fraction of his 14.6-percent career average, so this current hot streak may just be the tip of the iceberg.

Sean Monahan, C, CGY – After tallying 62 and 63 points the prior two seasons, Monahan "fell" to 58 last year. That mild decline sure looks like an aberration right now, as Monahan has been on fire. His two goals Friday gave Calgary's top center 14 on the year — more than halfway to last season's total. In addition, with 26 points in 23 games, Monahan is on early pace to far exceed his prior career high in points, as he continues to make sweet music paired with Johnny Gaudreau.

Taylor Hall, LW, NJ – The Devils have been one of the surprise teams through the first quarter, led offensively by Hall. His production waned in his first year in New Jersey, but he has regained his form this season. Hall's goal and assist Saturday leaves the left-winger with nine points in his last seven games and 26 in 23 games on the season. That production puts Hall on pace to tally over 80 points, which would be the first he hit that mark since his 80-point campaign in 2013-14.

Jordan Eberle, RW, NYI – It's a quarter into the season and the Eberle for Ryan Strome deal looks like a fleecing by GM Garth Snow and New York. While Strome has picked up his play lately in Edmonton, notching a pair of goals and seven points in his last eight contests, Eberle has meshed nicely into the Islanders' attack. Skating on the second line with Mathew Barzal and Andrew Ladd, Eberle has notched nine goals, including three game-winners, and eight assists in 23 games. Eberle likely needed a change of scenery, but Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli didn't come close to getting fair value in return.

Kyle Okposo, RW, BUF – Okposo struggled his first year in Buffalo, dropping from 64 to 49 points while also dealing with a serious ailment late in the season. Moving off John Tavares' line had a bigger impact than most expected or predicted, even though the majority of experts felt a decline was likely. That poor season carried into this year, as the St. Paul native posted just four points in his first 13 games. Okposo has turned it around lately, tallying seven points over his last nine, though it hasn't helped the Sabres much, as they languish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Mattias Ekholm, D, NAS – The absence of Ryan Ellis on the Nashville blue line has been minimized by the play of Ekholm, especially lately. Ekholm has been on fire lately, with five goals and three assists over his last five games, with four of those five goals coming on the power play. Ellis was to be sidelined until January, though it looks possible that he will beat that time frame. Ekholm has benefitted from his first-pairing assignment opposite Roman Josi and is now on pace for a breakout 55-point season after tallying just 23 a year ago.

Tyler Myers, D, WPG – Myers' production from 2013-14 to 2015-16 ranged from 22-28, a far cry from the 48 he posted as a rookie in 2009-10 and sophomore in 2010-11. The 27-year-old looked to be on his way to a better campaign, with two goals and three assists through the first 11 contests before suffering a lower-body injury that eventually required surgery. The former Calder Trophy winner finally looks to be rounding into offensive form, notching a pair of goals and eight assists over the past 14 games.

Henrik Lundqvist, G, NYR – Lundqvist started his 12th straight game Sunday, backstopping New York to a 4-2 shootout win over the Canucks. After a horrific start by Hank and the Rangers, both sides have turned it around, winning eight straight at home and four in general. Lundqvist's overall numbers still leave something to be desired, but his save percentage continues to rise while his GAA drops thanks to his stellar play in net. Lundqvist, barring injury, should be good for 30-plus wins for the 12th consecutive year (excluding the lockout-shortened campaign).

Anton Khudobin, G, BOS – With Tuukka Rask struggling and Boston desperate, the Bruins turned to Khudobin between the pipes. The Russian goalie didn't disappoint, winning his first three starts by allowing just four goals on 107 shots. He wasn't quite as good in his fourth start, but beat Pittsburgh thanks to his defense. Rask got the nod Sunday and allowed three goals on 35 shots while falling to the Oilers. That defeat might result in the B's giving Khudobin additional chances in net.

Others include Derek Stepan, Logan Couture, Tyler Seguin, Craig Smith, Brayden Schenn, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Brayden Point, Mikael Granlund, Nicklas Backstrom, John Tavares, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Clayton Keller, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Derek Grant, Teuvo Teravainen, Brock Boeser, Justin Abdelkader, Alexander Steen, Jake DeBrusk, Brian Gibbons, Evander Kane, Viktor Arvidsson, William Karlsson, Sven Baertschi, Alexander Ovechkin, Jake Guentzel, Nino Niederreiter, Jakub Voracek, Johnny Gaudreau, Daniel Sedin, Michael Ferland, Jaden Schwartz, Thomas Vanek, Ron Hainsey, Colton Parayko, Tyson Barrie, P.K. Subban, Kevin Shattenkirk, John Klingberg, Josh Manson, Will Butcher, Nick Leddy, Pekka Rinne, Sergei Bobrovsky, Frederik Andersen, Braden Holtby, Jake Allen and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Training Room (Injuries)

Carey Price, G, MON – I profiled Price last week and said, right now, your guess is as good as ours as to when he'd return to action. That date turned out to be Friday, and Price made as solid as a return as possible, stopping all 36 shots in a 3-0 win over the Sabres. Prior to the lower-body injury that sidelined him from Nov. 2, Price had posted an ugly 3-7-1 record while registering a 3.77 GAA and .877 save percentage in 11 appearances. Maybe the time off followed by the shutout win will be what he and the Canadiens need to right the ship.

Others include Alexander Wennberg (upper body, missed five straight games, traveling to Montreal, will be a game-time decision for Monday's tilt), Anders Bjork (undisclosed), week-to-week), Rickard Rakell (upper-body, missed Saturday's contest), Evgeni Malkin (upper-body, has missed three straight games), Kyle Palmieri (broken foot, will miss 4-6 weeks), Radim Vrbata (undisclosed, placed on IR), David Perron (upper-body, suffered injury Saturday), Evgenii Dadonov (shoulder, underwent MRI), Shea Weber (lower-body, may play Monday), Ryan McDonagh (mild ab strain, has missed last three games), Semyon Varlamov (illness, has missed four straight games), Antti Raanta (upper body, missed last two games) and Steve Mason (upper-body injury in Saturday's game).

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)

Jason Spezza, C, DAL – Spezza took 16 games to score his first goal of the season and then added his second and third tallies five and six games later. With three goals and six assists on the year, the decline that began last season, his third in Big D, is in full force this year. Spezza still has one more full year left on the four-year, $30 million deal he signed with the Stars in 2014, making it difficult to move him. If Spezza doesn't turn it around, he could be a buyout candidate after the season.

Nick Foligno, LW, CLM – Foligno notched an assist Wednesday and a goal Friday, ending a 12-game scoreless streak. With four goals and six assists in 23 games, the season has not gone as expected for Foligno. But if you strip that scoreless streak, Foligno has 10 points in 11 games, which looks markedly better. Maybe the points in consecutive games will get Foligno going, or else, last year's resurgence will be viewed as an aberration.

Aaron Ekblad, D, FLA – After suffering through a nightmarish 2016-17 season, during which he scored just 21 points and had a minus-23 rating, Ekblad came to camp healthy and seemingly primed for a big year. He started off this year well, but has no goals his last seven games and just one assist in his past 11 contests. The former Calder Trophy winner from 2014-15, Ekblad is still peppering goalies with shots, but has had little to show for it, despite a fairly solid offense around him.

Brian Elliott, G, PHI – Signed to provide Philly with a better option between the pipes, Elliott has failed to excel through the first quarter of the season. After several excellent seasons in St. Louis, Elliott has a disappointing campaign in Calgary last year, yet still finished with 26 wins. He inked a two-year, $5.5 million deal this offseason with the Flyers but Elliott has now lost six straight starts and carries a disappointing .905 save percentage and 2.85 GAA for the campaign. Michal Neuvirth should see additional starts in net in place of Elliott.

Others include Joe Pavelski, Ryan O'Reilly, Adrian Kempe, Jesper Bratt, Colin Wilson, Richard Panik, Adam Larsson, Brayden McNabb, Ian Cole, Craig Anderson, Scott Darling and Tuukka Rask.