NHL Barometer: Zeev Receives Reprieve

This week's article includes Tage shining for the Sabres, Gauthier still hot in Anaheim, Buium getting a bounce in his value from a big trade, Bedard getting sidelined for weeks and Wright skating on the third line in Seattle.

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First Liners (Risers)

Tage Thompson, C/RW, BUF: Thompson has shifted from center to wing but likely retains his prior position eligibility. He lit the lamp Sunday and has now scored in four straight games with a total of seven points in that span. Thompson is up to 16 goals, 29 points, 117 shots on net, 36 hits, 17 PIM and a minus-11 rating over 32 appearances in a top-line role this season as he tries to prove that he deserves a spot on the US Olympic Hockey team. Another 30-plus goal season certainly seems within reach.

Filip Forsberg, RW, NSH: The Predators have shown signs of life lately, driven by the play of Forsberg. The talented winger extended his point streak to five games with his hat trick Monday, his first of the season, and has recorded eight points (five goals, three assists) in seven appearances this month. Forsberg, aided by his hot streak, is up to 14 tallies and 11 helpers in 32 contests, helping him recover from his extremely slow start to the season.

Carter Verhaeghe, LW, FLA: Verhaeghe remained hot Monday, notching a goal and assist. He has five multi-point performances in his last 10 games, a sizzling stretch in which he's racked up eight goals and 16 points. Verhaeghe got off to a slow start; his recent fine play has the winger up to 10 tallies and 16 helpers in 31 contests. His production fell off significantly in 2024-25, as he went from 73 and 72 points the prior two campaigns to just 53 last season. He is back on 60-point pace.

Cutter Gauthier, LW, ANA: Gauthier lit the lamp twice Monday, bolstering his breakout campaign. Through 34 games the 21-year-old winger has 18 goals and 36 points after notching 20 and 44, respectively, as a rookie last season with most of his production from March forward. Drafted in the first round, fifth overall by the Flyers in 2022, Gauthier was traded to the Ducks for a package including Jamie Drysdale. A 30-goal season certainly is in reach for the Swedish native. 

Zeev Buium, D, MIN: Last week, the young blueliner was on the Fallers side of the list. This week, after Buium was part of the package heading to the Canucks in exchange for Quinn Hughes, he ends up on the plus side of the ledger. Buium scored a power-play goal and recorded a power-play assist in his Vancouver debut Sunday. He is set to take over his new team's quarterback role on the top power-play unit, giving him a shot to join this season's race for the Calder Trophy.

Axel Sandin-Pellikka, D, DET: ASP, who played in the Swedish Hockey League last season, came to the NHL this season. He has not looked out of place at all and has points in six of his last seven contests (two goals, five assists). Sandin-Pellikka is skating on the Red Wings' second defensive pair, seeing 18:28 of ice time a game, including 1:51 with the man advantage. The future is very bright for the first-round pick, who went 17th in the 2023 draft. 

Brandon Bussi, G, CAR: Bussi is locked in as the Hurricanes' top goalie after helping Carolina more than ably survive the absence of Pyotr Kochetkov. Bussi has won nine straight games during which he owns a 1.95 GAA and .911 save percentage. Kochetkov has returned to action, but Bussi is not ceding his spot, forcing Frederik Andersen, who has struggled, into the No. 3 goalie position. Roll with Bussi while he is hot.

Mackenzie Blackwood, G, COL: Blackwood came into Tuesday's contest having won his last three outings while stopping 71 of 77 shots. After missing the first month or so of the season due to an injury, Blackwood has posted a 9-1-1 record with two shutouts, a 2.19 GAA and a .920 save percentage through 11 appearances. Scott Wedgewood did yeoman's work between the pipes while Blackwood was sidelined, but after another win Tuesday, Blackwood has regained his spot atop the depth chart in net. 

Others include Brayden Point, Nathan MacKinnon, Tim Stutzle, Alexander Wennberg, James van Riemsdyk, Bryan Rust, Gabriel Vilardi, Sam Reinhart, Zach Hyman, Kyle Connor, Roman Josi, Jackson LaCombe, Jake Sanderson, John Klingberg, Tristan Jarry, John Gibson, Logan Thompson and Sergei Bobrovsky. 

Buy Low

Christian Dvorak, C, PHI: Dvorak, centering the Flyers' first line, very quietly has been highly productive. Heading into Tuesday's contest, over the last 16 games, Dvorak's delivered a surprising four goals and 15 points while centering Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny. If he remains with that duo for a while, it would bolster his chances of posting the first 40-point campaign of his career, which began in Arizona in the 2016-17 season. 

Training Room (Injuries) 

Connor Bedard, C, CHI: Bedard, injured Dec. 12 on a faceoff with less than a second remaining in a 3-2 game, Is believed to have suffered a separated shoulder. He is listed as week-to-week, and while he won't need surgery, he will be sidelined until sometime in January. Bedard was off to a monster start, notching 19 goals and 25 assists in 31 appearances this season. While Bedard is on the shelf, Frank Nazar figures to take on the first-line center role for Chicago.

Darcy Kuemper, G, LA: Kuemper, injured Monday in a collision with Mikko Rantanen when the winger's elbow made contact with the netminder's head, was placed on the injured reserve Tuesday. He will miss at least three games and was replaced on the active roster by Pheonix Copley, who will back up Anton Forsberg. Kuemper is 10-6-6 with a 2.19 GAA and .917 save percentage in 23 appearances this season after winning 31 games in 2024-25. 

Others include Bo Horvat (lower body, missed second straight game Tuesday), Tyler Seguin (underwent ACL surgery Tuesday, ruled out for the remainder of the regular season) Brandon Hagel (undisclosed, left Monday's contest), Simon Nemec (lower body, lands on IR on Tuesday), Thomas Chabot (upper body, out since Nov. 22, close to returning) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (undisclosed, activated Tuesday). 

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)

Jackson Blake, RW, CAR: Blake is having a solid second season, though his production has tailed off recently. He posted 17 goals and 17 assists in 2024-25 and has eight tallies and 11 helpers in 32 contests during the current campaign. Recently though, he has just a pair of markers and as many helpers in 12 appearances. This may just be recency bias, as Blake is seeing 18:14 of ice time in that span including 3:36 with the man advantage, so a rebound may be forthcoming.

Darnell Nurse, D, EDM: Nurse's annual output since the 2017-18 season gives us a pretty good idea of his range, as he's posted 41, 33, 36, 35, 43, 32 and 33 points. This season, Nurse has six goals, six helpers, 75 shots on net, 70 blocked shots, 46 hits, 43 PIM and a minus-5 rating over 32 appearances in a top-four role. Another campaign in the low-30s point-wise with 100-plus hits and 150-plus blocked shots appear very likely.

Joel Hofer, G, STL: Hofer, who received a chance to run with the starter's job in St. Louis, failed to make the most of that opportunity. He appeared in four straight games but notched just one win over that stretch (1-2-0), with a 3.34 GAA and .879 save percentage. Jordan Binnington has not been much better, so Hofer will likely to continue to receive regular playing time, though neither are viable fantasy options outside of deeper leagues.

Others include Ryan Strome, Sean Couturier, Brock Boeser, Dawson Mercer, Brandt Clarke, Noah Hanifin, Sam Montembeault and Ville Husso. 

Sell High 

Shane Wright, C, SEA: Any hope that Wright would build on his solid first season offensively seems to be fading. Wright is centering the Kraken's third line and has focused more on his play in his own end and the neutral zone. After posting 19 goals and 25 assists in 79 contests in 2024-25, Wright has just six tallies and seven helpers in 31 games this season. His line placement and defensive responsibilities will continue to cut into his potential production.