Taking a look at some players who are trending upwards in the second half…

Much like in comedy timing makes a huge difference in fantasy hockey. Brian Savage was a must own for the first 20 games every year and a must drop by mid-November if he was lucky. There are always players that traditionally have a stronger and a weaker half. Knowing who those players are or catching players just as they start to improve makes a huge difference. Finding players as they start to trend upwards is also a good way to find value. Looking for players who are starting to shoot more or who are coming out of prolonged slumps is always a good way to identify a player who is starting to trend upwards. Changing situations, whether as a result of changing teams or changing lines, can also spur a player on. We all saw it last year when Ales Hemsky took off after uniting with Jason Spezza in Ottawa.

Anaheim

Pat Maroon (Pre-January – 15 points in 31 games, January – 11 points in 10 games)

With Perry healthy Maroon is skating on the top line and it is making a big difference. He averaged a point per game in January by shooting 12.9%, which is a little high but warranted given his career shooting percentage. Furthermore, even with Maroon shooting over 12% in January his shooting percentage for the season is still under 5%. Along with scoring on more of his shots Maroon is taking one more shot per game. Maroon looks really good on Getzlaf and Perry.