Scoring is up in the first few games since Christmas, but that shouldn’t have been much of a surprise.

With numerous games postponed, many teams had at least a week off, which gave players the chance to rest up. It is almost like a new start to the season as players seem refreshed and full of energy while forgetting the grind ’em down systems.

There’s been an influx in goals as well. In the 35 games since Christmas, there have been at least seven goals (combined between the two teams) in 21 of those games, or 58.3 per cent of all games. For comparison, in the 133 December games before Christmas, only 55 saw a minimum of seven goals, for a percentage of 41.3 per cent.

This offensive spurt won’t last long as teams start getting back into a mid-season groove and coaches tighten the reins on creativity, which will make John Tortorella absolutely giddy.

Because of these high-scoring games, some players have seen their scoring rates rapidly increase this past week. We’re dealing with a small sample size by only looking at a week of action, but it gives us an opportunity to see who might be in a situation for their scoring pace continue.

10. Anton Lundell

It may seem as if the Panthers rookie is trending in the right direction as he has picked up a point in all three games since the Christmas break and is starting to get a little bit more power-play time on the second unit. However, these points are a bit of an illusion. He’s not playing with any of the top-six players and he doesn’t produce much in any other fantasy category. Plus, in Lundell’s case, you need to look at the quality of competition. He picked up two points against Tampa’s third-string goalie in a 9-3 rout, and another point against a Montreal team that was forced to play with 10 forwards, five defensemen and their third-string netminder.

9. Sami Niku

Don’t look at Niku’s three points in his last three games and go rushing out to grab him off the waiver wire. Because of postponements, the Habs don’t play again until January 12, so you’re stuck waiting too long for him to get back into game action. Niku also was given the opportunity because so many of the Habs have wound up in Covid protocol. Don’t count on the points continuing once everyone is back in the lineup more than a week from now.

8. Devin Shore

His production hasn’t been great, just one point in three games since the break, but I’m adding him to this list due to the circumstances around that third game. He went pointless, but he took Ryan Nugent-Hopkins‘ spot on the second line with the latter out with an injury. It sounds like RNH will not be able to play for at least the next two games, so Shore finds himself in a great opportunity.

7. Laurent Brossoit

With Robin Lehner out of the lineup and no timeline on when he might return, rolling with Brossoit doesn’t seem like much of a gamble. He has three wins in his last four starts and eight wins out of 14 games on the season. Since Christmas, he is 2-0-1, so he may look like a great pickup. However, in those three games, he has a 2.98 GAA and 0.888 SV %. Vegas has a ton of players out of the lineup, but the team keeps winning. Brossoit is a must-start until Lehner gets back into game action, but you have to live with poorer peripherals.

6. Seth Jarvis

Jarvis is a bit of an underrated rookie, as he hasn’t played as many games as many of the other league’s newcomers. He does have 14 points in 22 games, which is a 52-point pace over 82 games, and he should be on your radar. He has three points in two games since Christmas and seven in his last eight dating back to December 2. What’s interesting is that in each of the two games, he’s been with different linemates but is still on the second power-play unit.

5. Calle Jarnkrok

Jarnkrok has 10 points on the season, and five of them have come in the Kraken’s three games since Christmas. If you want to look further back, Jarnkrok has eight points in his last seven games. He is playing on the second line with Yanni Gourde and is getting a little bit of power-play time. While it’s not as much an illusion as Lundell, there’s nothing that points towards this hot streak becoming sustainable. Enjoy it while you can.

4. Noah Dobson

Oftentimes, a lengthy break can take a player out of his streak, but that hasn’t been the case here. Dobson had six points in eight games before Christmas and four points in two games since. It’s probably no coincidence that Dobson’s production started increasing when he started taking over the top power-play duties. Since December 3, Dobson has been on the ice for 73.1 per cent of all of the Islanders’ power plays, the seventh-highest percentage among defensemen in that span.

3. Tage Thompson

You may not have realized it, but Thompson is tops on the Sabres when it comes to offense. His 12 goals, 22 points and 100 shots are all tops on the Sabres, while his 162 faceoff wins are second. You may have dropped him from your lineup at Christmas when he had zero points in eight December games, but he now has four points in three games since Santa visited. Thompson was moved up to the top power-play unit on Saturday and has played almost exclusively with Alex Tuch since the latter came off the IR at Christmas.

2. Jesper Bratt

Bratt had a pretty good start to the season and seemed to have excellent chemistry with Dawson Mercer and Andreas Johnsson. For some reason, the coaching staff split up that line, but it took until after the Christmas break before Bratt was lined up alongside Jack Hughes and Yegor Sharangovich. In the three games since then, Bratt has five points and is playing on the top power-play unit (which he wasn’t before Christmas). Note that Sharangovich should also be considered, but he has 27 seconds of power-play time in his last five games combined.

1. Jordan Kyrou

Some fantasy general managers may have been concerned that Kyrou’s hot start may have been derailed by his upper-body injury in December. Through his first 27 games, he had 25 points before missing four games prior to the Christmas break. In two games since, he has an impressive seven points. He has chemistry with Vladimir Tarasenko and Robert Thomas, on the quote-unquote second line, and Kyrou is also a mainstay on the second power-play unit. He’s somehow available in 29 per cent of Yahoo leagues as of Sunday night, so take a quick gander to see if he’s available in yours.