Marleau and the Sharks Second Line on a Heater

Fred Poulin

2017-02-07

Let's have a look at the hottest lines in the National Hockey League since the beginning of the season, including a few defensemen producing offensively. You will also find below the "Cold as ice" line and duo of the week.

 

Hot forwards

 

Brad MarchandPatrice BergeronDavid Pastrnak (Boston)

The Bruins announced Tuesday morning that they had fired their head coach Claude Julien after almost a decade behind their bench. Well, it's certainly not because of the offensive production of the above three players. Pastrnak has been rock solid all season, notching 11 points in his past six games only. With 22 goals and 22 assists for 44 points in 48 games, Pasta should be able to crack the 70-point plateau for the first time in his young career. With 24 points in 15 games (including 13 goals), Marchand is scoring at a point-per-game pace (55 points in 55 games). While I highly doubt he manages to sustain this pace, a 75-point season is not out of question for the super pest. With eight points in his last five games, Bergeron is trying to find his groove offensively after a very dismal start, recording a measly five points in his first 18 games. Now with 29 points in 52 games, Bergy is on pace for only 45 points, or 23 less than last season.

 

Overall Production = 128 points

PP Production = 38 points

 

Mikkel BoedkerLogan CouturePatrick Marleau (San Jose)

The wily veteran Marleau has been red hot as of late, potting 10 points, including a four-goal game against Colorado, in his last six games. The 37-year-old veteran has a respectable season so far, recording 19 goals and 11 helpers for 30 points in 53 games with the Sharks. He is currently on pace to replicate last year's 48-point production. After a very slow start, Boedker is finally heating up with five assists in his last six games. Signed as a free agent in the off-season, he started with a paltry two points in his first 23 contests. Overall, he now has six goals and 12 assists for 18 points in 52 games. He will definitely not repeat last season's 51-point output. The third member of this trio is Couture, who has nine points in his last eight games. Couture has the exact same production as in 2015-16 where he played only 52 games, recording a measly 36 points. He has been a disappointment for two years in a row after a career-high 67-point campaign two years ago.

 

Overall Production = 84 points

PP Production = 20 points

 

Sebastien Aho – Elias Linholm – Jordan Staal (Carolina)

With nine points in his last 10 games, Staal is hot for the Hurricanes, even if he is still trying to overcome a very slow start. He now has a solid 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points in 44 games despite missing some games with an injury. The younger Aho has been a powerful offensive tool since coming over from the SM-Liiga. With seven points in his last six games, he now has 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points in 51 contests. The rookie could very well crack the 50-point barrier if he can stay en fuego in the last 30 games. Another player who as off to a putrid start (two points in 11 games), is finally heating up, posting seven points in his last six games. The unknown pivot is now back to a respectable 25 points (five goals) in 41 matches for the improving Canes. Expect him to crack the 40-point mark for the first time in his career.

 

Overall Production = 84 points

PP Production = 16 points

 

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Dynamic duo

Josh Morrissey – Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg)

Not known for his offensive skills, Morrissey four points in his last six games and six points in his last 10. The rookie is gaining confidence every game and it shows in his production. On the season he now has two goals and 11 assists for 13 points in 55 games. While he's not on fantasy radars yet, Morrissey used to be an offensive dynamo in junior, regarding 73 points with Prince Albert in 2013-14. As for Big Buff, he has one goal and eight helpers for nine points in his past 10 games. He is having a very solid campaign for the Jets totaling 7 goals and 27 assists for 34 points in 55 games. The veteran blueliner is currently on pace for a 50+ point season, which is his usual offensive output. Expect his goal number to increase until the end of the year as he's only shooting 4.3%, which is about half of his normal efficiency.

 

Overall Production = 47 points

PP Production = 11 points

 

Cold as ice line

Milan LucicRyan Nugent-HopkinsJordan Eberle (Edmonton)

It seems like Nugent-Hopkins' offense has gone missing the past two years. RNG has been blanked the past five games and he's turned into a shutdown pivot rather than an offensive threat. With 11 goals and 15 assists for only 26 points in 55 contests, he is on pace for a mere 40 points in 2016-17… Now off the McDavid line, Lucic is struggling to get his name on the board as he has recorded only four points in his last 17 games. While he has slowed down mightily since a hot start alongside Conor McDavid, Lucic still has a respectable 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points in 55 games for the Oilers. His fantasy owners really hope he will reclaim his spot on the first line as soon as possible! Joining them on this unproductive line is Eberle, who has zero points in his last six games. Save for a four-point game against the Flames, Eberle has been pretty quiet since the beginning of 2017.  On the year, the right winger has 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points in 55 games, including 10 power-play points.

 

EV Strength Production = 88 points

PP Production = 32 points

 

Cold as ice duo

Cody CeciDion Phaneuf (Ottawa)

Coming off a solid third campaign with Ottawa during which he recorded 26 points, Ceci was expected to improve his offensive numbers and help Erik Karlsson on the power play. Yet, Ceci has been mired in a season-long slump, recording only one assist in his last five games. Overall, he has only one goal and seven helpers for eight points in 50 games. Ceci doesn't have a single power play point this year and he is on pace for a ridiculously-low 13 points. His defense partner Phaneuf has been held off the scoresheet in his last five games. He has six goals and 14 assists for 20 points, including 11 points on the man advantage, also in 50 games. He's currently on pace for his usual production of 30 to 35 points.

 

Overall Production = 28 points

PP Production = 11 points

3 Comments

  1. sheepdogged 2017-02-07 at 15:45

    I would recommend putting the Zucker/Koivu/Granlund line into this conversation as well.

    • fredpoulin 2017-02-08 at 09:36

      They are mentioned in this column three weeks ago.

      • sheepdogged 2017-02-08 at 15:55

        Ahh, nice. I missed that article. Thanks!

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