Frozen Tools Forensics

Lancione takes a look at Nazem Kadri's incredibly 2013 campaign.

It is amazing what can transpire over the course of two months in hockey. Often times, athletes struggle to combine their natural gifts with the polish, the effort, the discipline, the defensive awareness and sense of responsibility at the same time.

Can Mike Cammalleri get his groove back? Anthony Lancione takes a look.

Former top line sniper Mike Cammalleri is really vying to remove that prefix these days. Cammalleri, once a point-a-game player, netted close to 40 goals in two separate seasons. The peak of his powers were enjoyed back in the 2008-2009 campaign (below) where he finished a hair under 40 goals while putting up points with regularity.

Anthony Lancione takes a look at Myers' struggles in Buffalo.

Tyler Myers has certainly been humbled one month into the 2013 season, seeing himself healthy-scratched (for the first time in his NHL career) on consecutive evenings.  To say his star value has fallen from his Calder Trophy-winning year over fellow rookies John Tavares, Matt Duchene and Jimmy Howard would be premature. However, one cannot discount that he has not come even close to fulfilling the lofty expectations after he signed a seven year, $38.5 million extension before last season.

Now that he has entered the first year of the new $5.7 peryear deal, there’s no doubt he’s felt the pressure. We can’t forget that Tyler is a very young man, only having turned 23 this month. Learning the hard way at times is the best way to improve, playing to the “take a step backward in order to take two steps forward cliché”.

Anthony Lancione breaks down Giroux's slow start.

Claude Giroux, who blossomed into a 90+ point producer last season, has struggled out of the gate in 2013. Why? His PPG (points per game) last season of 1.21 put him up with the likes of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby with regards to offensive production. However, four weeks into 2013, his underwhelming 0.57 PPG drop-off marks less than half the rate of production he was accumulating last season.

Why the Kings would even consider trading heart and soul player and team captain Dustin Brown is beyond me.  Ultimately the Kings made the right move by keeping him and were still able to add Jeff Carter in the process.  Some fans may be upset that they weren’t able to also deal for Rick Nash, but over time I think they will realize that was one desperate move not worth making.

Once again the Phoenix Coyotes find themselves firmly entrenched in a playoff spot in the Western Conference despite having an average roster. Much of that credit can be attributed to the strong play of goalie Mike Smith.  A career backup, Smith has found a home in Phoenix and is putting together an incredible season.  There must be something in the water over there, or could it be someone behind the bench?

Dan Girardi isn’t going to be challenging for any scoring titles, but he certainly has plenty of fantasy value.  The all-star was never drafted and has now become one of the league’s best shutdown defenders.

The Devils are enjoying a rebound season and a big reason for that is the play of left winger Patrik Elias.  One of the quieter superstars in the league, Elias continues to get it done at the age of 35.  With 55 points in 57 games, one could argue that this has been Elias’ most impressive season to date.

The lowdown on - Viktor Stalberg - If I had a nickel for every Toronto Maple Leafs cast-off that started to blossom for another team, well I’d have a lot of nickels. Viktor Stalberg is one of those players now starting to emerge for the Chicago Blackhawks. After finishing with just 24 points last season, Stalberg is on pace to post 48 this season.

Forensics - Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott - Many teams have employed a two goalie system in the past, but the tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott are taking it to a new level this season.  With most tandems there is always a clear number one, meaning that one guy is always going to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to starting big games, as long as he doesn't turn into Andre "Red Light" Racicot.