The theme for this week's Eastern Edge is low-profile players who have been playing well recently. The main focus will be Tage Thompson, but I'll also touch upon New Jersey's second line.

Tage Thompson

The 6-foot-7 center has been on a tear in the month of November, posting eight goals and four assists through 14 appearances. After he was drafted 26^th overall in 2016, Thompson never really saw a substantial opportunity in the NHL. That changed this year, when head coach Don Granato moved Thompson from wing to center and trusted him with 17 and a half minutes of action per game. Now that he's playing in the middle of the ice, Thompson can leverage his size and agility to find open space and produce more offense. Coach Granato summed up the benefit of Thompson's position change in the following quote:

“That was a big [reason] why I was excited to move him off the wall, […] he can use more of his agility because he’s such a great athlete and [can go] either way, […] he’s so much more unpredictable if you’re trying to defend him. He can roll right, left; he doesn’t have to just go one direction. I think it’s complemented the area of his skill set, but he’s done the job (Source)."

From a fantasy perspective, there's a lot to like about Thompson. His increased role this year extends to the power play, where he's seeing 61% of Buffalo's total time with the man advantage. He only has three power-play points through 22 games, but that's a step forward from last season, when he finished with three PPPs in 38 outings. In addition, Thompson's triple-position eligibility in Yahoo leagues makes him easier to incorporate into fantasy lineups. As we established earlier, he mostly plays center in real life. So, if your league tracks face-off wins, you can play him as a winger on your fantasy team, supplementing the face-off wins tallied by your centers. He also provides good value in leagues that track shots, averaging nearly three per game. Speaking of shots, Thompson's current shooting percentage of 15.6% may seem slightly high. However, efficient shooters have maintained similar rates over the course of a full season, so I'm not too concerned about a drastic correction.

In recent games, Thompson has primarily played between Jeff Skinner and Victor Olofsson – two offensively gifted players. While the trio has outscored opponents 5-4, they've been outshot and outchanced by a wide margin during their time together. In contrast, the advanced stats seem to endorse a line of Thompson and Rasmus Asplund, with one of Skinner or Olofsson. Both of those combinations (Skinner-Thompson-Asplund & Olofsson-Thompson-Asplund) boast strong possession numbers this year. With center Casey Mittelstadt nearing a return to the lineup after a seven-week absence, it'll be interesting to see what Buffalo's line combinations look line going forward.

I know fantasy playoff schedules vary from league to league, but Buffalo will be seeing a lot of action down the stretch. The Sabres play 12 games between March 28^th and April 17^th, which should be an important three-week span for most fantasy leagues. In addition, seven of those 12 games are scheduled for 'off-nights', when there aren't as many other teams playing. I know it's a long way away, but it's never too early to start planning for your fantasy playoffs.

Jesper Bratt – Dawson Mercer – Andreas Johnsson

Although a slow start saw him go pointless in his first five appearances of the year, Bratt has been on fire lately with 17 points in his last 14 games. He's a key member of a strong second line in New Jersey, which also features Dawson Mercer and Andreas Johnsson. Mercer is tied for second in rookie scoring with 14 points in 19 appearances, while Johnsson has nine goals and eight assists for 17 points through 19 outings. The three players have performed extremely well together, controlling 58.6% of the shot-share and outscoring opponents 11-4 through 120-plus minutes of action (via NaturalStatTrick). They've also dominated the opposition in high danger scoring chances by a margin of 40-16. Their deployment reflects a scoring-focused role as they've started 46 shifts in the offensive zone and just 17 in the defensive end.

Although the line has been excellent so far, I'm hesitant to endorse any one of them for the rest of the year. I'm most apprehensive about Andreas Johnsson, who's currently scoring on 26.5% of his shots – a conversion rate he won't sustain for a full season. Nothing about his past production suggests he'll be able to realize the 73-point-pace he's currently on. Although he's found chemistry with Mercer and Bratt, his ice time and power-play role haven't increased significantly from past years, so there isn't enough evidence to support a massive increase in production this season. I think he finishes with around 50 points, so you'd be wise to sell high if you can convince someone of his potential for anything more.

Compared to Johnsson, Mercer and Bratt see more ice time and play more prominent roles with the man advantage – so there's already more room for optimism. They're also younger than Johnsson, so it's more likely that their ongoing development facilitates significantly more production than past years. That's more applicable for Bratt than Mercer, since the rookie center doesn't have any previous NHL experience.

As a result of his rookie status, it's hard to predict Mercer's offensive output. Maybe you can sell others on the high-end of his potential and acquire a player with more predictable production – or maybe you just hold onto Mercer and hope for the best. I'd lean towards trading Mercer in one-year leagues, but I'd probably hold onto him in dynasty or keeper leagues. He's received rave reviews from hockey experts who are much more intelligent than I am. Based on their evaluations, he's already adjusted well to the NHL and should be a great player in this league for years to come.

With Bratt, I'm optimistic he can break the 60-point mark this year if his current situation stays the same. However, his offensive ceiling increases if he cracks the top power-play unit and sees more time beside Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton.