Pittsburgh

Steve Downie (6 pts in 21 GP in 2015, 17 pts in 32 GP in 2014) – After a hot start to the campaign in part due to opportunities created following a rash of injurie in Pittsburgh as well as the mumps epidemic, Downie has come back down to earth. With David Perron acquired via trade and Patric Hornqvist, Blake Comeau and Beau Bennett back from injury, Downie now finds himself on the fourth line. He has also been a healthy scratch on multiple occasions of late. While the hits and PIM will never be lacking for Downie, it looks like the favorable scoring environment is a thing of the past.

Chris Kunitz (11 pts in 23 GP in 2015, 24 pts in 29 GP in 2014) – After being one of the top revelations of the last few years in the fantasy hockey world, Kunitz has clearly taken a step back this year. He is still a very productive winger, primarily when he lines up next to Sidney Crosby, but has suffered at times from being the odd man out in some line-shuffling.  Regardless of what happens to the trios down the stretch, the days of Kunitz, now 34, hitting the point-per-game mark are likely behind him. After two years of inflated shoting percentages, his rate has fallen back to his career average of 13% which could signify that this is the new norm barring a sudden increase in shots on goal.

This does not mean that it is time to abandon ship as a fantasy owner. Rival owners will tend to be afraid to commit to players in their mid-30s regardless of their production. Instead, ride it out and continue to benefit from what Kunitz has left to offer. If you do not own him, now may strangely be a time to buy low is his owner is worried about the age factor.

Tampa Bay

Ryan Callahan (13 pts in 23 GP in 2015, 30 pts in 34 GP in 2014) – Callahan was previously flagged as a candidate for a decline in production down the stretch. This was primarily due to an elevated shooting percentage that resulted from a red-hot start to the season.  Even with the more reasonable production in 2015, his shooting percentage still sits close to 1.5% above his career average. This makes it difficult to classify Callahan as a buy-low candidate for the remainder of the year. One sign of hope is that his frequent centerman, superstar Steven Stamkos, has underperformed this year and could be due for a big surge.

Steven Stamkos (17 pts in 23 GP in 2015, 38 pts in 39 GP in 2014) – The former 60-goal scorer is certainly having a disappointing year. Coincidentally, this happens to be his first full campaign without Martin St. Louis in Tampa Bay. Over the years, Stamkos has not been an elite-level playmaker, with a career-best of just 46 helpers back in 2010-11. Instead, he relies heavily on his goal-scoring abilities. While his shot totals this year have been reasonable, his shooting percentage is 4% below the gaudy 20% he posted both last year and when he hit the 60-goal mark. Those are probably outliers though as his career average sits at 17%, closer to his current pace. More recently, the Bolts' second line of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov has been carrying the team offensively which has deprived Stamkos of the team's hottest wingers. At some point this line will be broken up though which will help Stamkos get his overall point total back on track.

Toronto

Phil Kessel (7 pts in 22 GP in 2015, 41 pts in 38 GP in 2014) – Regardless of what the numbers read, sometimes there are real-life factors that can turn a slump into a never-ending disaster. The Leafs' coaching change was followed by the team's fall in the standings and inability to score goals. Now the team appears to be headed for a major rebuild and Kessel finds himself in the middle of trade rumors. With just seven points in 2015, he has clearly been affected by all of the drama in Toronto. While he will clearly improve upon his recent numbers down the stretch, regardless of which team owns him, getting back to his usual production rate this year is in major doubt. In keeper leagues, it is best to weather the storm for now as Kessel has a long history of elite-level scoring that will serve you well in the years to come.

Leo Komarov (5 pts in 17 GP in 2015, 16 pts in 24 GP in 2014) – Komarov surprised most people returning from the KHL to post some outstanding offensive numbers in the early going. Even though a couple injuries really cut into Komarov's momentum, his early success was not sustainable. Playing in a depth role with limited ice time, he is not shooting enough to score a lot of goals and mostly plays with linemates that are far from scoring machines, thus limiting his ability to chip in assists. Even with his recent decline in production, Komarov remains a strong multi-category player due to his massive hit totals and his role on the penalty-kill allowing for some shorthanded points.

Washington

Andre Burakovsky (8 pts in 18 GP in 2015, 13 pts in 27 GP in 2014) – The inclusion of Burakovsky has a lot less to do with an actual drop in production than it does with constantly being a healthy scratch regardless of his play. After being close to fantasy relevance earlier in the season, it looks like you will have to look elsewhere for help down the stretch. Obviously, his true value lies in keeper leagues due to his immense long-term potential. In some instances he may even be available for cheap if his owner is getting frustrates with his utilization.

Brooks Laich (7 pts in 25 GP in 2015, 7 pts in 21 GP in 2014) – Laich's versatility and past history putting up solid offensive numbers made him worth keeping on the radar after showing signs of life recently. Unfortunately, he has not been able to take the next step and has fallen off the map once again. There is still a lot of room for growth as Laich is shooting quite frequently for a secondary player and his shooting percentage sits at just 6%, down from his career average of 10%. However, even if he could get that part of his game straightened out he would not be relevant outside of select multi-category formats.

Tom Wilson (4 pts in 23 GP in 2015, 9 pts in 25 GP in 2014) – After showing some mild indications of progression in the first half, including many looks on the Capitals' top line, Wilson's production has dried up in 2015. As a result, his ice time is way down and at times he finds himself in the press box. Power forwards like Wilson tend to take longer to develop so it is not unnatural for him to face these challenges. Still, fantasy owners will be frustrated which may open some windows to buy low. It would be a sound idea to invest in Wilson if you are in a multi-category league. Alongside his significant contributions in hits and PIM, it will not take much offense for Wilson to become a major player in some setups.

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