In this week's Eastern Edge, we'll discuss a few under-the-radar players that have been performing well recently.

Dawson Mercer

The 21-year-old sophomore has been streaky this season, alternating between point droughts and point streaks. He's currently in a period of prosperity, racking up 10 points in his last six outings. It appears Mercer's current hot streak coincides with a recent change in New Jersey's line combinations, which placed him beside Nico Hischier and Tomas Tatar. In these last five games together, the trio has thoroughly out-chanced their opponents, outscoring the opposition 6 to 1 (via NaturalStatTrick). With the Devils acquiring Timo Meier on Sunday, some are projecting that Mercer will fall out of New Jersey's top-six. Although that's possible, given his strong play and the success of his line, I don't think Dawson's demotion is guaranteed. It'll be worth monitoring the team's lines over these next few games. HMM, perhaps we see a trio of Hischier, Mercer, Meier? Three players ending in -er, sending opponents to the ER. That -er suffix making opponents suffer! Okay I'm done I promise, no more puns, please don't leave.

Mike Matheson

Matheson's first year in Montreal has been a difficult one, riddled with injuries. The 29-year-old defenseman had his season debut delayed by a month because of an abdominal strain. He played well when he finally got in the lineup, tallying six points in his first nine outings – skating over 24 minutes a night. Unfortunately, the injury bug struck again. He missed a week of action, returned for one game, and then went on the shelf for a month. Matheson finally made a more permanent return on January 17^th. It took him some time to settle in as he registered just one point in his first six games back. However, since then, he's been on fire. In his last 10 appearances, Matheson has nine points. Three of those points have come with the man advantage as he's enjoying a 66% share of Montreal's total power-play time. Although Montreal's power-play ranks 29^th overall this season (16.8%), they've been in good form over the past month, sitting in sixth place with a 26% success rate. At this point in the season, most defensemen with prominent power-play roles are already on a fantasy roster. Currently available in 78% of Yahoo leagues, there's a good chance Matheson is just sitting on your league's waiver wire.

Jack Quinn

It's been a streaky season for Sabres' rookie Jack Quinn. After going pointless in his first four games of the year, he caught fire with 17 points in his next 20. During that span, he was skating roughly 14 and a half minutes a night. Unfortunately, he hit a dry spell after that hot streak, posting just three points in his next 21 outings. His average ice time drop to 12 and a half minutes during that period. It seems he's broken out of that slump recently, racking up six points in his last six appearances. With Alex Tuch out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, Quinn is currently skating beside Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner on Buffalo's top line. Drafted

eighth overall in 2020, Quinn certainly has the offensive ability to thrive in this new role.

Anthony Cirelli

The 25-year-old forward started the campaign late as his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery carried into October and November. Although Cirelli got off to a strong start with seven points in his first seven games back, he went on to post just four points in his next 20 outings (0.20 points/game). The difference in production may have been due to a difference in deployment. In those first few games, Cirelli started 56% of his shifts in the offensive zone. During the subsequent dry spell, he started 46% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Perhaps he was deployed in a more sheltered role when he first returned to the lineup, to help him ease his way back into action. Then, once he had a few games under his belt, he went back to the more difficult defensively focused role he usually plays. Now despite his defensive responsibilities, you'd expect more than 0.20 points per game from Cirelli. However, given his delayed start to the season and the fact he'd been recovering from surgery, I think it's plausible he needed some extra time to settle in. Now that he's had that extra time, he's back to producing in a defensive role. He has nine points in his last nine games, starting 40% of his shifts in the offensive zone.

Adam Boqvist

We discussed Boqvist in an article a few weeks ago, so I'll keep this short to avoid repeating myself. Since January 1^st, Boqvist has posted 15 points in 20 games. Five of those points have come with the man advantage as he enjoys a 65% share of Columbus' total power-play time. He's been hindered by injuries all year (currently day-to-day with a lower-body injury), but given his role and recent production, he's definitely someone to keep an eye on. If your fantasy team needs more offense from the blueline, you can probably grab Boqvist from the waiver wire.