NHL Who’s Hot and Who’s Not: MacKinnon-Rantanten Connection on a Roll

San Jose defenseman Erik Karlsson has continued his sizzling start as he joins MacKinnon among the players on the Who’s Hot list this week.

A pair of players from the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators find their way into the players in the “Who’s Not” category.

Keep on reading for information on the hottest forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders in the NHL, as well as those players trending in the other direction.

Let’s check the latest NHL picks, stats, injury reports, and NHL predictions. We’ve plenty of NHL expert picks for you to consider.

Who’s Hot

Forwards

• Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers: Perhaps it is time to just leave a spot for McDavid on this list every week.
  McDavid has six goals and seven assists over his last six games. McDavid has played in six games in November and had at least two points in five of them. With 31 points, the four-time NHL scoring champion is sitting atop the NHL leaderboard once again as he is four points ahead of his closest pursuer – teammate Leon Draisaitl.
  Unfortunately, after winning the first five games when he has at least two points, the Oilers are just 1-3 the last four times he has multi-point efforts. Still, the sportsbook listed McDavid (+150) as the favorite for the Hart Trophy.
• Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche: It could either be MacKinnon or linemate Mikko Rantanen making this list. MacKinnon has nine assists over the last three games and five of them came on goals by Rantanen. The defending Stanley Cup champions have won three games in a row and are +9 in goal differential in the month of November.

Take another look at Mikko’s goal, and then let us know who’s up next 👀

📺: @AltitudeTV#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/QRHjZL8byK

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) November 11, 2022

MacKinnon has scored more than 30 goals in three of the last four seasons and he has just three in the first 12 games. However, he is tied for the NHL lead with 18 assists and has four games in a row with multiple assists.

• Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars: It wasn’t that long ago when Robertson was held scoreless three times in a span of four games. He certainly seems like he has found his game with six goals and five assists over his last five games as Dallas moved into a tie for first place in the Central Division.
  Robertson has scored goals in each of his last six games with four of those goals coming at even strength. The Stars are 5-1 when he has at least two points.

Defensemen

• Erik Karlsson, San Jose Sharks: Karlsson shows no signs of slowing down.
  Karlsson has four goals and six assists over his last four games. With 10 goals in 15 games, he has already matched his output in the 50 games he played last season.
  His 10 goals are tied for fourth in the NHL and three more than any other defenseman. Karlsson has at least two points in five of his last six games. However, the Sharks are just 1-2-2 in those contests.
• Cal Makar, Colorado Avalanche: Makar not only has a goal and five assists over his last three games, but when he is on the ice in even-strength situations, Colorado is +7 in goal differential.
  He is fourth in the NHL in scoring among defensemen with 14 points with his 13 assists the most of any blue-liner. Makar is also fourth in the NHL in time on ice per game as he is playing more than 26 minutes per contest.
• Brandon Montour, Florida Panthers: Montour is coming off a career-best 11-goal season and he is proving that was no fluke.
  Montour has factored into seven of Florida’s eight goals over the last two games as he had a goal and three assists in a 5-3 win over Anaheim followed by assisting on all three goals in a 3-0 win against Carolina.
  With four goals and 11 assists, he is second on the Panthers in scoring. He is also +5 over the last six games.

Goalies

• Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets: Hellebuyck is 3-0-0 with a goals-against average of 0.99 in his three starts in November.
  Hellebuyck has found his game after allowing at least three goals in four of his first six starts to lead Winnipeg to the top of the Central Division standings. He is among the NHL leaders with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage.
• Martin Jones, Seattle Kraken: The well-traveled Jones is playing for his third team in the last three seasons and is playing a huge role in the surprising Kraken.
  Jones has won his last four starts and has stopped 113 of 117 shots in those four contests. The highlight was a 22-save shutout against Minnesota.
  Jones is 7-3-1 with a 2.45 goals-against average as Seattle, in its second NHL season, is sitting in third place in the Pacific Division.
• Karel Vejmelka, Arizona Coyotes: Vejmelka has won his last four starts and has stopped 131 of 135 shots during that stretch.
  Vejmelka is coming off a 24-save shutout against the New York Islanders for his second career NHL shutout and first this season.

Who’s Not

Forwards

• Tanner Jeannot, Nashville Predators: Jeannot was one of the surprises of the 2021-22 season with 24 goals and 17 assists as a rookie. However, he has been held without a point in each of his last six games after beginning the season with no points over the first four games.
  Jeannot has played less than 15 minutes three times over the last six games and that hasn’t helped in the point-producing department. Jeannot’s struggles is just one reason why Nashviille is just 4-9 against the NHL betting lines.
• Milan Lucic, Calgary Flames: Lucic isn’t expected to carry the offensive load as much as he was earlier in his career when he scored at least 20 goals five times in a span of seven seasons. However, more is expected from Lucic than no goals and three assists over the first 13 games.
  Lucic also has a defensive rating of -5 after having three goals and three assists in the first five games of the season,
• Tanner Pearson, Vancouver Canucks: Pearson has no goals and no assists over his last six games. Making matters worse, Vancouver has been outscored by six goals at even strength when Pearson is on the ice over the last six games. Only one player in the NHL has a worse number.
  Pearson has just one goal over his last 14 games and has a -9 defensive rating.

Defensemen

• Thomas Chabot, Ottawa Senators: One of the top puck-moving defensemen in the NHL does not have a point in his last six games and has only five points in 13 games. That would be fine for many NHL defensemen, but Chabot had 14 goals and 55 points in 70 games just a few seasons ago.
  Chabot is -6 during the Senators’ seven-game losing streak. The last Ottawa win came on Oct. 24, when Chabot had his only multi-point game of the season.
• Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers: There is nothing wrong with putting up a goal and three assists over his last six games. However, no player in the NHL has been on ice for more goals against at even strength during that stretch than Nurse.
  Edmonton has allowed 28 goals during that time and with Nurse leading the Oilers in time on ice, more will be needed from the former first-round pick for the high-scoring Oilers to become a contender in the Western Conference.
• Jacob Trouba, New York Rangers: Trouba has just one assist over the last five games and when he has been on the ice in even-strength situations, the Rangers have been outscored 7-2.
  Trouba has no goals and four assists in the first 14 games, after posting a +25 rating a season ago, Trouba is currently at -3 as the Rangers are fourth in the Metropolitan Division standings.

Goalies

• Jack Campbell, Edmonton Oilers: After three impressive seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Campbell was thought to be the answer to Edmonton’s goaltending issues.
  Things haven’t gone as well as expected. Campbell is 6-4 but has a goals-against average of 4.27.
  Campbell has allowed 19 goals over his last four starts with a .852 save percentage.
• Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators: Saros’ difficult start to the season hit a new low when he stopped just two of six shots in Tuesday’s loss to Seattle and he was pulled after playing just 16:25.
  In three appearances in November, Saros is 1-2 with a 5.56 GAA and a save percentage of .851.
• Anton Forsberg, Ottawa Senators: Forsberg has allowed at least four goals in each of his last four starts. He has allowed 17 goals on 151 shots over that span. Forsberg is 0-4-1 over his last five starts for the slumping Senators.
  Forsberg won 22 games with a 2.84 GAA for Ottawa last season so the hope is that he will turn things around sooner rather than later.