In this week's Eastern Edge, we'll discuss players who have surprised us with their goal-scoring ability this season.

Chris Kreider

Across the league, Leon Draisaitl and Alex Ovechkin are currently the only players with more goals than Chris Kreider. The Rangers winger is off to a red-hot start this year with 11 goals in his first 15 appearances. This impressive production has been fueled by a higher volume of opportunity this season. He's averaging a career-high 19 minutes per game while seeing a 75-percent share of New York's total power-play time. Kreider set a career-high in power-play production last year with 14 PPPs in 50 outings. He's on track to shatter that mark this season, with seven power-play goals to his name already. Kreider's also shooting the puck more this year than he has in the past, averaging nearly three shots per game. He's scored on 25% of his attempts so far, which is an unsustainable rate for a full season. While we'll probably see that success-rate drop as the season progresses, it's worth noting that Kreider has been a relatively efficient shooter in recent years, finishing with a shooting percentage above 13-percent in five of his last six seasons. The 30-year-old forward provides an extra bit of value in banger leagues, contributing roughly two hits per game so far this year.

With all that being said, I'd sell high on Kreider right now if I had the opportunity to do so.  It's certainly possible that he finishes the season as a 70-point player. Heck, he may even realize the 77-point-pace he's currently on. I'm just wary of the fact that so much of his production this season has come with the man advantage. The way I see it, offense doesn't have to continue flowing through him when New York's power-play unit also includes stars like Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox. In addition, power-play production tends to be less reliable than even-strength production. There will be stretches where a team doesn't get as many opportunities with the man advantage. There will also be stretches where even the best power-play units start struggling, prompting the coach to change personnel or strategies. Given those realities, I have to rein in my optimism for Kreider's fantasy outlook this year. Now, I'm not saying that he's going to crash and burn as the season progresses. However, I think it's unlikely that he maintains his current scoring pace. Right now, you can sell Kreider as a 75-point player, convincing other managers that he'll achieve career highs thanks to an increased role. The reasoning there is valid, because it's quite likely he achieves career-high production as long as he stays healthy. However, you're selling others on his potential to be a 75-point player, when a more realistic outcome probably sees him finish around the 65-point mark.

Tyler Bertuzzi

The 26-year-old winger is off to a strong start this year with nine goals and eight assists through 14 games. As I write this, he sits in the top-10 for both goal-scoring and overall point production. While some will argue that Bertuzzi's goal total is inflated by his 4-goal debut against Tampa Bay, I don't think you can discredit a player for beating the league's best goalie four times in one game. With that being said, he's currently scoring on 27% of his shots, which isn't sustainable over the course of a full season. However, he's proven to be an efficient shooter in years past, sporting a 16% success rate through 144 games between the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 campaigns.

Heading into the season, most were optimistic about Bertuzzi's fantasy potential. Although he was limited to just nine games last year due to a back injury, he managed an impressive five goals and two assists when healthy. Our optimism took a hit when we realized one of his projected linemates Jakub Vrana would be sidelined for over four months while recovering from shoulder surgery. Another blow was dealt to Bertuzzi's fantasy value when we learned he wasn't vaccinated and would therefore be ineligible to cross the border into Canada – forcing him to miss at least nine games this season. His questionable decision not to get vaccinated has been discussed at length already, so I'll just say that from a fantasy perspective, his mandatory absences become easier to stomach if he can be this productive when he is in the lineup. It helps that rookie Lucas Raymond has been outstanding on a line with Bertuzzi and Dylan Larkin this year, doing more than just filling the void created by Vrana's absence. Looking at Detroit's schedule, the team's next visit to Canada isn't until February 26^th, so Bertuzzi's vaccination status shouldn't cause him to miss any games for the next few months. I wouldn't bet on Bertuzzi maintaining his current scoring pace, but it's worth noting that we've only seen him play 222 games in the NHL. We often see players breakout after their first 200-300 games, so it wouldn't surprise me if Bertuzzi achieves a career-high point total this year.

Honourable Mentions

Pavel Zacha

The 24-year-old forward has seven goals and four assists through 14 outings this season. He had somewhat of a breakout showing last year, tallying 35 points in 50 appearances, which translates to 57 points in 82 games. He's building on that performance and it's encouraging to see him skating over 18 minutes a night, up about a minute from last season. Zacha has been skating with Nico Hischier and Tomas Tatar recently, forming a trio that comfortably out-shoots and out-chances the opposition. 

Alex Killorn

Killorn has seven goals and seven assists through his first 14 appearances of the season. He's averaging nearly 19 minutes per game – about a minute more than last year. With Nikita Kucherov injured, Killorn has seen lots of time in the top-six, skating beside either Brayden Point or Steven Stamkos. I hate to rain on the parade, but the way I see it, Killorn is 32 years old and has over 650 regular season games under his belt. He's been a 40-point player for the vast majority of his career, with the main exception being 2019-2020 when he paced for 59 points. I don't think his situation with the team has improved dramatically enough to justify such a significant change in production. Ultimately, I don't see any reason why he'd suddenly be a point-per-game, or even 70-point player this year, so I'm definitely selling high if I can.