With 20 games or fewer remaining for every NHL team, it's less about what players have done this season in sum, and more about what they've done for fantasy owners lately.
Twenty games is a reasonable time frame for just about any NHL player to get hot and stay that way. And more than a few players are guilty of doing very little all season long and turning things on at the right moment. A change in lines, a change in health or a change in deployment -- there are plenty of reasons why a player can go from ice cold to red hot in a matter of games.
The key here is not to look at the season as a whole while updating your roster for the stretch run. Plenty of these "what have you done for me lately?" players are widely available on the free-agent pile in fantasy leagues.
Jason Pominville, RW, Minnesota Wild: Through Dec. 31, Pominville had accumulated a total of five goals and 14 points in his first 35 games of the season. That's not even close to the fantasy radar. Since then, Pominville has accrued another five goals and 20 assists in just 24 games. Back from a bout with the mumps to find himself on the fourth line, Pominville still found a way to get an assist on the power play on Sunday. Adding Martin Hanzal to the mix gave the Wild too many quality forwards, but leaving a guy who has been scoring at higher than a point-per-game pace for more than two months on the fourth line isn't going to continue for very long. Look for Pominville to get back onto a scoring line soon and continue to bet on his unexpected, yet welcome hot streak. The three-game mumps absence knocked him back to the waiver wire in 68 percent of ESPN leagues.
Tanner Pearson, LW, Los Angeles Kings: At the end of 2016, Pearson had collected 16 points in 34 games to begin the season. Certainly not anything to write home about. But his pace picked up in January and was then accelerated by the return of linemate Tyler Toffoli in February. Since Jan. 1, Pearson has collected 13 goals and 22 points in just 28 games. He has been a different player in calendar year 2017, and is seemingly always in the right spot to finish plays started by Jeff Carter or Toffoli in the offensive zone. Still available in 58 percent of ESPN leagues, Pearson is a near-point-per-game player who should be on your roster for the final month of the campaign.
Oscar Klefbom, D, Edmonton Oilers: Through Dec. 23, Andrej Sekera had been leading Oilers defensemen in ice time. With Adam Larsson not proving to be any kind of force on offense, Sekera had been passable as the top option for the first three months of the season. But Sekera missed a couple games at the end of December and it was the opening Klefbom needed. Since then, he easily outpaced all other Oilers defensemen for time on ice and has turned in fantasy numbers worth mentioning as well. For the first three months of the season, Klefbom had five goals and 12 points in 37 games. Since Jan. 1, Klefbom has six goals and 16 points in 27 games. Available in 49 percent of ESPN leagues, he might be the answer to your problems on defense.
Richard Panik, RW, and Nick Schmaltz, C/RW, Chicago Blackhawks: There's little point in spending too much more time talking up Jonathan Toews' wingers at this point; you know the essentials. Panik is available in 47 percent of ESPN league sand Schmaltz is available in 79 percent. Through the end of December, they combined for 10 goals and 19 points in a combined 65 games played. Since then, they have 13 goals and 36 points in a combined 44 game splayed. Almost double the production in about 20 fewer games played.
Ryan Strome, RW, New York Islanders: Strome's split is even more extreme than the players already listed. Through the first 44 games of the season, he had a mere six goals and 14 points. In just 16 games since then, he has managed five goals and 13 points. Something has clicked into place for the former No. 5 overall pick (2011), and he has even been making up for mini slumps with multipoint efforts. Owned in only eight percent of ESPN leagues, Strome might be a fit for your medium- to deep-league fantasy squad.
Forwards rising and falling
Jamie Benn, LW, Dallas Stars (up five spots to No. 11): This is a dangerous move for fantasy hockey rankings. Coach Lindy Ruff is among the most notorious coaches in the NHL for not sticking with lines. So when we see something we like, it is oftentimes fleeting. But Ruff has to see the spark that Benn, Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza have produced once they were united on the top line for the Stars, right? Here's hoping he sticks with it, because this trio is about as dangerous a combination any you can cobble together in the NHL. Only together for two games now, they've combined for 11 points.
Nikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning (up four spots to No. 24): I'd like to think I'm immune from trick shots influencing the rankings, and thankfully there are other factors at play to justify moving Kucherov up this week. His shootout winner against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday was a thing of nightmares for goaltenders. That said, for the past month, Kucherov has paced all skaters for ESPN Player Rater value. Playing with his Triplets linemates, Kucherov has fired a ridiculous number of shots on goal -- including one stretch of 35 in just six games.
Henrik Zetterberg, C, Detroit Red Wings (up 31 spots to No. 103): Hank is finally dialed in. Similar to our intro with the "what have you done for me lately?" players, Zetterberg has scored more points (26) in 27 games since Jan. 1 than he scored in the first 36 games of the season (25). Zetterberg got Gustav Nyquist back on his wing this weekend, and coach Jeff Blashill may have been inadvertently referring to fantasy owners and the fantasy playoffs when he said Zetterberg will carry the Red Wings to the postseason.
Defensemen rising and falling
P.K. Subban, D, Nashville Predators (up 14 spots to No. 58): Perhaps he just needed time to acclimate or perhaps the Predators just needed to get healthy; either way, Subban is finally putting up the numbers we expected from him despite the change of uniform this season. Just look at his power-play numbers: Subban had seven power-play points in October and November. He had zero in December and January, which included an injury. Now he has notched six power-play points in February and March. Subban had 12 points in 13 games last month, as he focused less on shooting the puck and more on supplying it to his talented forwards. He only had one more shot on goal in February than he did in five games in January. While it may not be the same Subban we are used to, we'll certainly take any uptick in production.
Goaltenders rising and falling
Pekka Rinne, G, Nashville Predators (down nine spots to No. 66): The mercurial roller coaster of value produced by Rinne marches on this season. It's getting downright scary just how clockwork his season has been. Here are Rinne's goals-against averages by month this season from October to February: 3.22, 1.49, 3.44, 2.07 and 3.16. He's alternating between "awesome" and "horrible" with precision. The good news is that it's now March and Rinne started the month with a 2.03 GAA in a loss last Thursday. Hopefully he can continue his wave and help you between now and the end of the season. But with the way things have gone, you shouldn't be counting on him, and should be working the goaltender market.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Tampa Bay Lightning (up 25 spots to No. 137): We are now getting signs of the Vasilevskiy we expected to show up when he was given the reins as the club's franchise goalie. With Ben Bishop gone, this time for good, Vasilevskiy has looked like the No. 1 starter he is expected to become for the long haul. In three games since Bishop left, Vasilevskiy has posted three wins and allowed a total of four goals. Available in 52 percent of ESPN leagues, he's worth a shot for those who need help in nets.
Quick Hits
It's suggested that Steven Stamkos could start practicing this week and may yet get some games in before the regular season is over. If you see him available -- as he is in 20 percent of ESPN leagues -- and have room to add him, make the move now.
Considered week-to-week with a rib injury, Kyle Okposo's absence should spike Evander Kane's short-term value. Without Okposo, coach Dan Bylsma shortened up his scoring lines. That landed Ryan O'Reilly alongside Kane. The result on the weekend was a ridiculous 11 shots on goal for Kane against the Lightning.
Back from an extended absence for an upper-body injury, Conor Sheary needed only one game to find his legs for the Pittsburgh Penguins. In his second contest back, skating with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, Sheary had a goal and assist. Get him back in your lineups.
Sven Baertschi has three points in three games since returning to the Vancouver Canucks' lineup following a concussion. He's playing regularly with Bo Horvat, who -- somewhat surprisingly -- leads the Canucks in scoring this season.
Top 250 rankings
Here are the updated rest-of-season top-250 rankings of forwards, defensemen and goalies, including position ranks.
Note: Sean Allen's top 250 players are ranked for their expected performance in ESPN standard leagues from this point on. ESPN standard stats include goals, assists, power-play points, shots on goal, plus/minus, penalty minutes and average time on ice for skaters, and wins, goals-against average and save percentage for goalies.
