Dallas winger Jason Robertson and Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev liked being a part of last week’s “Who’s Hot” list so much that they have returned after another impressive week on the ice.
The Boston Bruins, who lead the NHL with 34 points, might have seen their seven-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday with a road loss to Florida, but defenseman Charlie McAvoy’s strong offensive play continued. The Bruins are priced at +700 in the odds to win the Stanley Cup, trailing defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado according to the NHL playoff odds.
Five players who joined new teams in the offseason have made it onto the “Who’s Not” list.
Keep on reading for information on the hottest forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders in the NHL, as well as those players struggling in recent games.
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
- Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins: Crosby had three straight games with at least two points, including four-point efforts in wins over Minnesota and Chicago.
The Penguins are 6-1 this season when he has at least two points. His numbers have been accomplished mostly at even strength, with just one goal and four assists on the power play.
He has four goals and seven assists over the last 11 games but has an even plus/minus rating over that stretch. - Timo Meier, San Jose Sharks: It has been a tough season for the Sharks, with one of the few constants being Meier’s ability to light the lamp.
He is tied for eighth in the NHL with 12 goals with five of them, including a pair of game-winners, coming over the last six games. Meier had three goals in San Jose’s last game, but the Sharks fell 8-5 to Seattle on Wednesday.
Meier has at least one point in 10 of 11 games he has played in November. He began the month with five straight games with at least one goal. He has five goals and two assists over the last five games. - Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars: Robertson is making himself comfortable on this list thanks to his sustained scoring prowess.
Robertson has back-to-back games with two goals and has five goals over the last three contests. Robertson has at least a point in every game played in November, with 12 goals and nine assists in 11 games.
Dallas is 5-1-2 in the last eight games when Robertson has at least two points. He is tied for second in the NHL with 31 points and his three game-winning goals are one off the NHL lead.
Defensemen
- Filip Hronek, Detroit Red Wings: Hronek began the season by playing 14 games without scoring a goal. He is certainly making up for lost time with five goals in his last five contests.
Hronek has scored in each of the last three games, an impressive run considering that he had scored goals in consecutive games just once in his first four NHL seasons.
Hronek not only has the most points among defensemen over the last 10 days, but he is also +6 during that time. Hronek has been on the ice for eight goals scored at even strength and just two allowed over the last four games. He has four goals, an assist, and a +6 defensive rating during the Red Wings’ three-game winning streak. - Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins: McAvoy missed 13 of the first 20 games and is still second among Boston defensemen with 10 points this season.
McAvoy has points in each of his last four games, including a four-assist performance in a win over Chicago.
He hasn’t had a negative defensive rating since making his season debut and already has five points on the power play for the Atlantic Division-leading Bruins. - Mikhail Sergachev, Tampa Bay Lightning: Sergachev returns to the list with two goals and six assists over his last five games. All of those points came during a four-game winning streak. He had a part of eight of the 18 goals scored during the streak.
Something to consider for those who bet online, Tampa Bay is 2-6-0 when Sergachev has been held scoreless this season and 9-1-1 when he has a point.
Sergachev is second on the Lightning with 14 assists and third with 18 points. He is tied for sixth among defensemen in scoring in the NHL this season.
Goalies
- Vitek Vanecek, New Jersey Devils: One of the keys to New Jersey’s surprising rise to the top of the Metropolitan Division is the play of the veteran goalie.
Vanecek is 6-1 with a 2.13 goals-against average and a save percentage of .923. His lone loss came when the former Washington Capitals goalie allowed only two goals in a loss to Toronto. - Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins: Jarry has won each of his last three starts. In his last two appearances, Jarry has stopped 65 of 66 shots as he shut out Winnipeg and led Pittsburgh to an overtime win against Calgary. He also won his 100th career game during his hot streak.
💯 wins for @tjarry35! 👏 pic.twitter.com/rZg8uEtKeN
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 24, 2022
It was quite the turnaround after Jarry went 0-3-2 in his previous five games and allowed 24 goals during that span.
- Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers: Shesterkin is 4-0-1 in his last five starts, with four of those appearances coming on the road.
Shesterkin had a .931 save percentage in those games. He is tied for the NHL lead with six road wins. After back-to-back games with four goals allowed, Shesterkin has allowed two goals or less in three of the last five games.
According to the Las Vegas odds, Shesterkin (+2500) has the best odds of winning the Hart Trophy among the goalies.
Who’s Not
Forwards
- Phil Kessel, Vegas Golden Knights: Kessel is a 12-time 20-goal scorer and has scored 30 goals or more six times. However, he is on pace to score just 12 times during his first season in Vegas.
Kessel has been held scoreless in his last five games and has gone without a point on the power play in eight games. - Paul Stastny, Carolina Hurricanes: Yet another proven NHL scorer who is off to a slow start with a new team.
The seven-time 20-goal scorer has at least 10 goals in 15 of his 16 NHL seasons. However, Stastny has not scored in his first 19 games with Carolina.
Stastny doesn’t have a point in any of his last nine games. He has played less than 10 minutes in three of the last four games. - Frank Vatrano, Anaheim Ducks: Vatrano made a strong first impression with his new team with three goals in his first five games. But most recently, Vatrano has a goal and two assists over his last 15 games.
Vatrano hasn’t scored in his last 10 games with the Ducks, going 3-7 in those contests. He is also -6 during that stretch.
Defensemen
- Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers: Bouchard is one of the defensemen being called upon to make Edmonton known for more than just having the high-scoring duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the team.
It has been a tough stretch for Bouchard as he has not been on the ice for an even-strength goal in the last four games. The Oilers have been outscored 14-7 in those contests.
After scoring 12 times last season, Bouchard has yet to score in 20 games. - Brady Skjei, Carolina Hurricanes: Skjei has a negative plus/minus rating in each of his last four games and a -5 rating during Carolina’s four-game losing streak.
Skjei is coming off career highs of nine goals and 39 points during the 2021-22 season. However, he has yet to record a point in each of the last matches, going 10 games without a goal. - Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche: Toews has a -4 defensive rating over the last five games for the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Toews does have a pair of assists during that time.
Over the last five games, Toews has been on the ice for two goals for and six goals against at even strength.
Goalies
- Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks: Coming off a 33-win season, Demko has had a hard time finding wins with Vancouver.
He is just 2-9-2 with a 3.87 goals-against average and .883 save percentage. Those are the worst numbers since Demko became a regular presence between the pipes.
Demko has allowed 22 goals while going 1-4-1 in six starts in November. - Darcy Kuemper, Washington Capitals: Kuemper was a key offseason acquisition for Washington after helping Colorado win the Stanley Cup in his only season with the Avalanche.
However, Kuemper is just 2-6 in November. He allowed four goals in three straight games before snapping his personal three-game losing streak by stopping 21 of 23 shots in an overtime win against Philadelphia. - Cam Talbot, Ottawa Senators: Talbot, in his first season in Ottawa after spending the last two with the Minnesota Wild, is 1-5 with a goals-against average of 2.83 in November.
The low point came when Talbot stopped just four of seven shots before being pulled in a loss to San Jose.
