We will look at a few players in the West that had very good Octobers but have fallen off a little since or vice versa, with poor Octobers and done well since. Some of these players are reverting to where they should be in terms of historical production, but others are pushing for career highs.

Kevin Shattenkirk – Anaheim Ducks – Down Swing

I think most people knew that Shattenkirk's October where he had three goals and 10 points in 10 games and was a plus-six, was on borrowed time. Since then, he has had two goals and six points in 15 games and is a minus five.  He is still having a very good season with 16 points in 25 games, but his production is slowing as expected.

Jamie Drysdale – Anaheim Ducks – Up Swing

Drysdale had a shaky start his rookie season with three points and a minus 12 in his first 10 games. Since then he has been very good the past 15 games with two goals and 10 points and a plus seven. Overall he has three goals and 10 assists and is now minus five. His overall power-play time is still at about 43.3 percent so there could be more growth as the season progresses. The big improvement has been away from the puck.

Trevor Zegras – Anaheim Ducks – UP

Zegras had a slow start to the season as the most popular pick to win the Calder Trophy this season. In his first 10 games, he had two goals and three assists on 26 shots on goal. In the past 13 games, he has had four goals and 10 assists on 35 SOG. He is back on pace with 19 points in 23 games, which is a 0.83 pts/game pace which translates to 67-72 points.

Clayton Keller – Arizona Coyotes – UP

It's a good thing seeing Keller produce at an overall pts/game rate of 0.67 after 24 games as that is his highest rate since his 65-point rookie season in 2017-18 where he had 0.79 pts/game and I thought he would be above that for the next 10 seasons. He had another slow start (with the rest of the Coyotes) with only three goals and four points in his first nine games, so another disappointing season appeared to be on the horizon. He seems to have found his groove again with 12 points in the past 15 games (0.8/g) and his average ice time of 19:36 is the highest of his career and almost three minutes more per game than the past two seasons.

Jakob Chychrun – Arizona Coyotes – Slightly UP

There is hope for Chychrun even though he is a minus 28 after only 24 games. After his first nine games in October, he was pointless and a minus 15 and on the power play about 46 percent of the time. Since November, he has played 15 games and has two goals and five assists but was a minus 13. The most encouraging thing is that his power-play time has increased to 70.9 percent of the time and there might be points in the future. His plus-minus might increase slightly, but his zone starts are at 43 percent, so it will be a challenge for him on a weaker team this season.

Blake Coleman – Calgary Flames – Down

Coleman had a fine start with his new team the Flames and came out of the blocks running in his first seven games in October where he had three goals and four points along with 29 SOG, 20 hits and six blocked shots. In the 17 games since he only has one goal and two assists, 40 SOG, 32 hits and 13 blocks. He had a goal against Anaheim on the weekend and had seven SOG. Those are the types of nights, the team and his fantasy owners are looking for more often than once a month. His overall 0.29/game point rate would be the lowest of his five prior seasons.

Brandon Hagel – Chicago Blackhawks – UP

Hagel had a pretty good rookie season last year with 24 points in 52 games (0.46) and I thought he would duplicate if not improve upon his pts/game. He had a concerning slow start with only a goal and three points in his first nine games while being a minus five. He has elevated his play over the past 12 games with seven goals and one assist on 26 SOG while seeing his ice time increase to over 16 minutes/game. Overall he has 12 points in 21 games (0.52/g) which is slightly ahead of last season now.

Nazem Kadri – Colorado Avalanche – UP but soon to be Down

Kadri had a good October with three goals and six points in eight games. He has had insane success over his past 12 games with six goals and 24 points while playing just over 18 minutes per game and about 66 percent of the power play. With 30 points in his first 20 games, he has put himself in a great position to shatter his career-high of 61 points from 2016-17. The return of Nathan MacKinnon will cost him ice time and opportunity, but he could still see a point per game with no problem by the end of the year.

Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche – UP

Makar had two games in October that tarnished his otherwise fine start where he had two goals and six points in his first eight games. He was minus eight over back-to-back games with no points. Since the beginning of November, he has played 10 games and has eight goals and seven assists and is a plus-nine. Overall he now has ten goals and 11 assists in 18 games. The scary thing is that only one of his 10 goals has been on the power play. Colorado has yet to be 100 percent healthy, but watch out when they are.

Jason Robertson – Dallas Stars – UP

The surprising rookie from last year has carried forward this season with 17 points in 15 games. He was injured for most of October and only saw two games with one assist. His power-play time has increased slightly this season to 53.7 percent and he has four PPP after only six all of last season where he saw 48.9 percent of the time there.

Roope Hintz – Dallas Stars – UP

Injured while playing last season, he had an unbelievable year with 43 points in 41 games. His injury more than likely seeped into this season where his ice time was down at the start and he had one assist in his first eight games. Since then he has had 10 goals and four assists in his past 13 games and he has seen his minutes elevate to over 17 per game once again. He might struggle to get back to a point-per-game again but he should come close once again.

Joe Pavelski – Dallas Stars – UP

I keep wanting to close the door on Pavelski at 37-years of age and after his first eight games with only three points, I was closing it once again. Since November 1st, Pavelski has played 13 games and has five goals and 16 points, which overall puts him with seven goals and 19 points in 21 games (0.90) which is right where he was last season where he had 51 points in 56 games (0.91). This line has been impressive and if healthy, should be productive all year.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Edmonton Oilers – Down

Nugent-Hopkins has slowed down slightly since his hot October where he had 10 assists in seven games. Since then he has had two goals and 11 assists in his past 16 games. Overall he is still at a point-per-game with 23 points in 23 games but as the Oilers scoring comes down a little, with it Nugent-Hopkins production to a more normal level for him. His career-high is 69 points in 82 games in 2018-19.

Jesse Puljujarvi – Edmonton Oilers – Down

Puljujarvi had a great October with two goals and nine points in seven games. Since then, he has played 16 games and has five goals and nine points. Overall he is still having a fine year with seven goals and 18 points in 23 games (0.78). I doubt he can maintain this pace over 82 games, but anything above 45-50 points has to be considered a very good year for him.

Anze Kopitar – Los Angeles Kings – Down

Kopitar had an unbelievable October with seven goals and 13 points in nine games on 28 SOG. Since then he has played 14 games and has one goal and 10 assists and is a minus eight with 38 SOG. His shot rate is coming down as it was uncharacteristically high over 3.5/game. He still has 24 points in 23 games, but he could struggle to maintain that going forward.

Alexander Edler – Los Angeles Kings – UP

Edler had no goals and eight assists in 52 games last season with the Canucks. He shouldn't even be in this conversation at the age of 35 and at this stage of his career. He had a typical start to his season with his new team, the Kings with two assists in nine games, but since then he has a goal (his 100th in his career) and seven assists and is a plus-nine over that period along with 28 hits and 26 blocks. He has become a multi-category defenseman once again. So far the Kings have kept his minutes down to about 19 per game and they will need to do this throughout the season to get the most from Edler.

Kirill Kaprizov – Minnesota Wild – UP

It's not that Kaprizov had a slow start with six points in eight games, it is that he has had such great production since. In the 16 games since he has nine goals and 14 assists and a plus 13 with 57 SOG. His shot rate of 3.5/game is higher than last season's 2.9 and currently, he has 29 points in 24 games which are 1.21/game which is about a 95-100 point season.

Ryan Hartman – Minnesota Wild – UP

I've been waiting for Hartman to slow down a little but he keeps on getting more ice time and producing game in game out. In his first eight games in October, he had four goals on 26 SOG, but since then he has played 16 games and has nine goals and eight assists on 60 SOG. His overall production is 13 goals and eight assists in 24 games (0.88), which should put to shame his career-highs in goals of 19 and points of 31. His shot rate is through the roof at 3.6/g after 365 games in the NHL at around 1.9. I'm still skeptical but I do think he has a career year in him this season, but there will be a large reversion sooner than later. 

Matt Duchene – Nashville Predators – UP

In an injury-riddled season, Duchene had six goals and 13 points in 34 games last season (0.38) after a season of 13 goals and 42 points in 66 games the year before (0.64). He had what should be considered a very good start with two goals and three assists in his first eight games in October. Since then he has exploded for 11 goals and eight assists over his past 16 games on 50 SOG and averaging 18:47. His career-high is 31 goals and 39 assists in 73 games from 2018-19. He looks capable of duplicating that this season as he appears to be healthy for the first time in a while.

Mikael Granlund – Nashville Predators – UP

Perhaps the trade that sent Kevin Fiala to Minnesota for Granlund isn't a slam dunk win for the Wild just yet? After a disappointing two and a half years in Nashville where Granlund averaged about 0.5 pts/game, he has taken his good start in October of six points in eight games and elevated his game (with the help of Duchene) over the past 16 games with three goals and 17 assists, while averaging over 20 minutes per night. With five goals and 26 points in his first 24 games will his career-high of 69 points in 81 games with Minnesota in 2016-17 be in jeopardy? If he can stay healthy along with Duchene and Filip Forsberg, yes.

Luke Kunin – Nashville Predators – UP

After his first eight games in October, Kunin had one assist and had seen his ice-time down to about 11 minutes per game. He has turned things around since even after losing his spot with Granlund and Duchene while Forsberg was injured. His new linemates are Ryan Johansen and Eeli Tolvanen and in his past 16 games, he has shown some moderate success with four goals and four assists on 27 SOG and averaged just over 15 minutes per game. Overall he is back up to nine points in 24 games (0.38 pts/g) and should get back to his level of 0.5 from the prior two seasons at the very least.

Mario Ferraro – San Jose Sharks – UP

Ferraro has evolved even more in his third season and after a slow start in October where he had one assist, 17 hits and 18 blocked shots in eight games, he has hit his stride in the past 17 games with two goals and seven assists, 35 hits and 54 blocked shots. He has become a multi-category potential beast. Overall he has 10 points in 25 games (0.40 pts/g) and almost 3 blocked shots per game after averaging about 1.4/game in his first two seasons ( Blocked shots will more than likely come down a little).

Logan Couture – San Jose Sharks – Down

Couture had a great start along with Timo Meier, where he had three goals and nine points on 18 SOG in his seven games in October. Since then he has had six points in his past six games but over his past 17 games, he has four goals and 11 points on 36 SOG. Overall he has 20 points in 24 games (0.83), which puts him at roughly the pace of his best seasons of around 65-70 points, which he has done three times in his 11 seasons.

Jonathan Dahlen – San Jose Sharks – Down

Dahlen has slowed down since October where he had five points in his first seven games on three goals and two assists on 20 SOG. Since then he has played 14 games and has four goals and two assists on 17 SOG while averaging 14:29 per game. His shot rate has come down substantially and he now has 11 points on seven goals and four assists (0.52 pts/g) after 21 games.

Jaden Schwartz – Seattle Kraken – UP

After struggling last year with St. Louis, Schwartz appeared in October to continue his struggles with no goals and four assists on 13 SOG in nine games. In his 13 games since he has had five goals and eight assists on 43 SOG and 17:51 minutes/game. With 17 points in 22 games (0.77/g) and his shot rate increasing, we should be optimistic that Schwartz can get back to 50-55 points this year.

Vasili Podkolzin – Vancouver Canucks – UP

Podkolzin is starting to look more comfortable in the NHL. In his first seven games, he had one goal on five SOG with four hits while averaging under 10 minutes/game. Since the end of October, he has played 16 games and has four goals and one assist on 27 SOG with 25 hits while averaging about 13 minutes/game. With Travis Green no longer coaching in Vancouver and Bruce Boudreau in charge, it will be interesting to see how Podkolzin fares the rest of the season.

Reilly Smith – Vegas Golden Knights – UP

Smith began the season with four points in his first eight games (0.5/g) but has flourished of late with eight goals and 14 points since on 46 SOG. Overall he has 10 goals and nine assists in 24 games (0.79), which is back to his pace with Vegas from 2018-19 and 2019-20. His shot rate of 3.1/game is probably a little high as his career-high is 2.4.

Alex Pietrangelo – Vegas Golden Knights – UP

After a very quiet start for Pietrangelo with one assist and a minus eight in eight games, he has four goals and nine assists in his past 16 games with a plus-eight while averaging just under 24 minutes per game. He has levelled out overall and now has 14 points in 24 games (0.58/g) and he is now on pace for 45-50 points.

Neal Pionk – Winnipeg Jets – Down

Pionk started the season, like most Jets well. He had eight assists in his first eight games on 21 SOG, with 30 hits and 10 blocked shots. Since then he has played 16 games with two goals and six assists (0.5 pts/g) on 32 SOG, 38 hits and 19 blocked shots. His production decreased along with his shot rate and hit rate. Overall he has 16 points in 24 games (0.67/g) which translates to about 50-55 points which would be a career-high. He will more than likely slow down a little more to about 45-50 points.

Big news out of Vancouver on Sunday night as Bruce Boudreau replaces Travis Green and it appears that Jim Benning was let go as well. That is a whole other topic and if you feel like reading an old article of mine where I rated the Western GMs, here is the one on Jim Benning from July 2020 (it did not get better from here, unfortunately).

Thanks for reading, and let me know if you want me to focus on any players or topics by messaging me below or following me on Twitter @gampbler15.