Quadrelli: Who’s hot and who’s not; Boeser cold as ever
Welcome to Quadrelli: Who’s hot and who’s not — a column in which David Quadrelli will break down who’s trending in the right direction around the league and who’s on the downswing.
Who’s Hot
Alex Ovechkin
After getting off to a hot start and not really cooling down much at all, Alex Ovechkin has found a way to heat up even more.
Over his last five games, Ovechkin has six goals and four assists. Three of those goals were scored in Washington’s 4-3 win over the Panthers on Friday night, in a game in which the Capitals’ captain put his team on his back in every sense of the phrase.
Ovechkin is currently 148 goals away from Waynt Gretzky’s illustrious goals record of 894, and nearly everyone in the hockey world — including Gretzky himself — are rooting for Ovechkin to break the record.
And if he keeps up this torrid pace, he just might do it.
That's an @Enterprise hat trick for Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8)! 🙌
Add another one to the books. pic.twitter.com/iMc3qSmNOG
Cale Makar
There are few defensemen in the league who are as offensively gifted as Cale Makar, and the young Colorado Avalanche rearguard reminded everyone why that’s the case with his recent performances.
Over his last six games, Makar has 12 points and an absolutely ridiculous six goals during that stretch, which includes two separate two-goal games against Ottawa and Seattle.
At 23 years of age, Makar is one of the game’s bright young stars and is putting the league on notice even more with these performances.
Cale Makar going for a ride pic.twitter.com/qEaJUshWig
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) November 27, 2021Dylan Larkin
Currently riding a seven-game point streak, Dylan Larkin is leading the way for the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings by example this season.
The Red Wings captain has 10 goals on the season and trails only likely Calder Trophy winner Lucas Raymond for the team lead in points.
Over his last seven games, Larkin has found the back of the net six times and has added four assists in the process.
The Red Wings currently sit above .500 on the season and are just one point out of a wild card spot, and will certainly be looking to their young captain to help lead them back to the promised land.
DYLAN. LARKIN.#LGRW pic.twitter.com/I5oIXRdDfO
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 21, 2021Who’s Not
Brock Boeser
Although he made this very column last week in the “who’s not” category, Brock Boeser finds himself right back here this week, because it simply cannot be understated how cold the Canucks’ sharpshooter has gone.
In his last eight games, Boeser has zero points. Zero.
And in that same stretch of time, Boeser is wearing a plus-minus rating of -8.
The losses are continuing to pile up in Vancouver and not having Boeser firing on all cylinders is certainly a contributing factor.
Cole Sillinger
It feels weird putting a rookie in this category, but after turning in some exceptional performances so early into his young career, Columbus Blue Jackets rookie Cole Sillinger has gone a bit quiet recently.
He has just one assist over his last six games, and has a plus/minus rating of -5 in that time. Through his first 13 games in the league, Sillinger had four goals and four assists, so his recent output is a tad disappointing for Jackets fans.
At just 18 years old, there’s plenty of time for the first-round pick to turn things around this season and we certainly wouldn’t bet against that being exactly what happens.
Mat Barzal
With just one goal in his last seven games, Mat Barzal isn’t helping the New York Islanders win games right now.
Currenty dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak, the Islanders obviously have bigger fish to fry than worrying about being losers of their last eight games.
Barzal has got just one goal in his last seven games, and the Islanders are certainly hoping he can turn things around when they eventually return to play, presumably next week.