Who's hot in the NHL?

October 30, 2:32 PMNHL ExaminerChris Morgan

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Stastny was one of the best this week. (AP Photo)

For starters, I can tell you somebody who isn't going to be on this list anytime soon: Valtteri Filppula, who is out six to eight weeks with a broken wrist. Sure, he's not a huge name, but this is another terrible blow to a Wings team that is already hurting. They had overcome a four goal deficit just to lose in a shootout in Edmonton last night. A mess in Detroit right now.

However, this is an article about which players have been playing well recently (besides Anze Kopitar, who I think is now well established). I'll start with those crazy Colorado Avalanche and Paul Stastny. I've been a Stastny backer for a couple of years. I always draft him in fantasy and I still believe one of these days he'll be healthy for a full season and score 100 points. Well, he scored seven points this past week (3G, 4A) so he's on his way. He's one of the more talented players in the league. It's a shame injuries have left him under the radar.

While Anze Kopitar has been on fire this season, teammate Alex Frolov got off to a slow start. Well, he picked it up this week with three goals and two assists. He still only has 12 points on the season (4G, 8A) but he's got a lot of talent and if he gets into form, look out for those Los Angeles Kings. Speaking of the Kings, Drew Doughty had five assists this week. He's a star in the making.

You know who's not a star in the making? Niklas Hagman, but he still had a decent week, scoring four goals. Since he plays in Toronto, he also was a minus-4, but somebody has to score goals fo the Leafs, right? At least, in theory.

David Perron got off to a terribly slow start, but he score six points (3G, 3A) this week. That gives him... six points on the season. I told you he started off slow. A player who didn't start off slow is Brooks Laich, and he continues to take advantage of having great teammates in Washington as he scored a goal and tallied four assists. Alex Goligoski scored four points from the blueline for the Pens. With Gonchar out, he could be the guy who gets a chance to step up.

Lastly, for forwards at least, your update on the Dustin Penner replicant. He continues to function properly, as he scored two goals and three assists this week. I'm not really a fan of running jokes or going to the well too many times, but that isn't relevant here as this isn't a joke. Dustin Penner has genuinely been replaced by a replicant.

Now, for the goaltenders. Craig Anderson continues to be on fire, and to be the only goalie in Colorado. He won four games this past week, posting a 1.75 GAA and a .951 SV%. He has to rest sometime, but he has the makings of a workhorse. Cristobal Huet has played well in his last three starts, only letting up two goals and posting a .973 SV%. Ryan Miller also continued his strong start to the season. He's currently leading the league in goals against average and save percentage.

Now, as for the goalies who are still have tough seasons. This week I've got three guys for you, one grizzled veteran and two young guys. First, Chris Osgood. He struggled last season, and he hasn't been much better this year. Eight games, a 3.40 GAA, and a .882 SV%. I just dropped him in one of my fantasy leagues for Ilya Bryzgalov. No, really. Somebody worried about Bryzgalov having a couple off starts and dropped him. Never fail to capitalize on the mistakes of your opponents. The other two goalies are Carey Price and Steve Mason. It may surprise you to know that last season's Calder winner has a 3.57 GAA and a .877 SV%. He's closer to Vesa (Toskala) than Vezina. Hi-O! Perhaps at the end of the year I'll "award" the Vesa Trophy to the worst goaltender in the league. Aside from the man himself, of course.

Unfortunately, finding forwards and defenseman who are struggling this season is more difficult, since there are so many stats to sort through. I'll catch as catch can for you, for example Alex Tanguay and David Backes are off to bad starts, but the info would be as substantial as with the other categories. However, you can always check out the NHL Teams at 10 articles I've been writing. A lot of notes on struggling players in there.

Lastly, unrelated to hockey and barely related to Halloween, I'll send you into a weekend of hockey action with this video. Apologies if you also read my Detroit Lions column and saw this video already. However, feel free to watch it again (and again). I know I will.