Quadrelli: Who’s hot and who’s not; Kadri steps up for Avs in MacKinnon’s absence
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
Andrew Mangiapane
With his club sitting atop the Pacific Division standings, Andrew Mangiapane has been leading the charge for the Calgary Flames as of late.
Adding two separate two-goal performances this week, Mangiapane has been a goal-scoring machine for the Flames this season.
So far, Mangipane has tallied 14 goals and two assists through 18 games.
His two power-play goals Saturday night against the Islanders were the difference maker for the Flames. And with four goals in his past two games, the 25-year-old appears to be heating up again after a somewhat quiet start to November.
Andrew Mangiapane, ladies and gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/iZJ5fhQjEo
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) November 21, 2021Nazem Kadri
Over the past week, nobody has produced more points in the league than Nazem Kadri.
With two goals and six assists in his last three games, Kadri has certainly done his part in filling the void left in the Colorado Avalanche’s lineup as a result of Nathan MacKinnon’s absence.
Kadri scored this slick go-ahead goal against San Jose after a nifty little give and go:
Nazem Kadri had the goal that was wayyyy too slick to not be our @BallCorpHQ Goal of the Game!
(Also that celly 🔥)#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/Y9191wQ7rX
After starting the season somewhat quietly, Kadri is red-hot, and isn’t showing signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Trevor Zegras
If it’s not one young Anaheim Ducks forward terrorizing opposing goaltenders, it’s another one.
After Troy Terry’s hot streak landed him a spot in this column last week, Ducks rookie Trevor Zegras has cranked it up a notch.
Zegras has four goals and an assist in his last five games, and currently sits tied with New Jersey’s Dawson Mercer for second in goals among all rookies this season.
Zegras also threw his hat into the ring for best stick toss OT celebration after he extended the Ducks’ winning streak to six.
THE STICK TOSS SHOWDOWN
Whose OT celly was better: Trevor Zegras or Jack Hughes? pic.twitter.com/Qfr94jWbYy
The Ducks have put the Pacific Division on watch and their young guys are showing what they’ve got early on.
Who’s Not
Brock Boeser
Last week it was Elias Pettersson, and this week it’s his linemate, Brock Boeser.
The Vancouver Canucks have stumbled hard out of the gate and this is thanks in large part to their top players not producing the way that fans and management have come to expect from them.
This wasn’t necessarily true of Boeser, however, as the American winger appeared to be finding his scoring touch, especially in the early parts of November.
That’s no longer the case, as Boeser has zero points in his last five games.
The Canucks are struggling, and they need both Boeser and Pettersson to come out of their funk if they want. toturn this around.
Jonathan Toews
The Chicago Blackhawks’ captain has been extremely quiet to start the new campaign.
He’s got zero goals on the season and has just two assists in his last seven games.
The Blackhawks have been one of the worst teams in the league to watch both on and off the ice this season, and after firing their head coach, they’re hoping to turn things around soon, at least on the ice.
To do that, they’ll need Toews to start leading by example.
Philipp Grubauer
It sounds harsh, but you’d be hard-pressed to find another goalie in the league struggling as much as Seattle Kraken netminder Phillip Grubauer.
Over his last four starts, Grubauer is 0-4.
In not one of those games did Grubauer have a save percentage above .860.
That’s just not good enough for an NHL starter, full stop.
On the season, Grubauer has an .875 save percentage and a 4-8-1 record.
The Kraken are sitting at dead last in the Pacific Division, and won’t have much chance of coming out from the basement unless Grubauer starts playing like the Vezina-caliber goaltender that Seattle thought it was getting when it signed him in free agency this offseason.