Welcome to the fantasy hockey stock market. Each week we will look at three players trending up and three players trending down.
Three Up
James Reimer – G – Panthers – 11 Wins, 13 Losses, 68 Goals Against, 25 Games
A troublesome start to the season for Reimer behind a porous Panthers defence has left his overall numbers at unappealing levels. However, Reimer is on the rise with wins in five straight games and a save percentage above .920 in seven straight. He has turned the corner and is now offering consistent goaltending for those in need.
Pierre-Luc Dubois – C/LW – Blue Jackets – 8 Goals, 11 Assists, 76 Shots, 39 Games
It took until Nov. 20 for Dubois to get moved onto the top line as the Blue Jackets No. 1 centreman. Since that time, he has skated less than 15 minutes just once in 20 games. The top line with Dubois, Artemi Panarin and Josh Anderson is running over opponents on the shot counter controlling nearly 60 per cent of the shots, an elite rate that puts them at the top of the heap in possession metrics. Dubois has six goals, nine assists and 51 shots in these 20 games, which prorates to a 20-goal/60-point/200-shot season. Everyone could use that type of production. Look for Dubois to put up a big second half.
Adam Lowry – C/LW – Jets – 8 Goals, 5 Assists, 49 Shots, 30 Games
Another Jets superstar is on the shelf with Mark Scheifele sidelined for six to eight weeks. The fallout has had quite the domino effect with Marko Dano finally getting ice time, Jack Roslovic getting recalled and Mathieu Perreault jumping from the fourth line to the second line. Lowry, however, may benefit the most moving onto the top power play unit. The big forward has seven points in the last seven games, including four on the power play.
Three Down
Jonathan Drouin – C/W – Canadiens – 5 Goals, 13 Assists, 86 Shots, 34 Games
Struggling through injury and failing to find chemistry or a foothold as the Canadiens No. 1 centreman it has been a rough start for Drouin in Montreal. He still boasts tremendous talent and has a history of scoring at a high rate in a depth role. Fantasy owners have no more time to waste waiting for Drouin to grow accustomed to a top role. He’ll be a strong scorer at some point, but perhaps not this season.
Brandon Saad – LW – Blackhawks – 12 Goals, 7 Assists, 110 Shots, 38 Games
There’s a lot to like about Saad’s profile. He has historically been an elite producer at 5-on-5, who piles up big time shot rates. This season he got a shot on Chicago’s top PP unit, but it has struggled in this phase despite boasting high-end talent. Saad has been particularly unproductive here and we may have to accept that he just won’t be a power-play producer. Saad has recently been bumped from the Blackhawks top power play unit, which lowers his ceiling. Saad will still provide over 200 shots and his 5-on-5 offence should turn around, but there’s no sense in waiting on an eruption of points.
Dustin Brown – LW/RW – Kings – 13 Goals, 16 Assists, 96 Shots, 39 Games
After a sizzling start that saw Brown score 12 points in 12 October games, I have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. We’re coming into range. Brown continues to see big minutes alongside Anze Kopitar at even strength and on the power play. He’ll linger as a fantasy option as long as that is the case, but he is trending downward. His ice time dropped a full minute per game in December and it was almost entirely power play time that was lost thanks to a tightening of the whistle back to normal rates after an early spike. Brown’s shot rate has also dropped from an elite 3.5 shots per game in October to just 1.8 shots per game in December. He has only 10 points in his last 18 games. Sell high on Brown before everyone catches on to his downward trends.
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Steve Laidlaw is the Managing Editor of DobberHockey. Follow him on Twitter @SteveLaidlaw.
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