NHL Fantasy Hockey: Why Patrick Kane is a stud, James Neal a dud

Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website DobberHockey back in 2005 and has been Puck Daddy's resident fantasy hockey 'expert' since 2009.

Here are the top 25 performing players between November 9 and December 2 (in the given categories). The report is courtesy of our pals over at FantasyHockeyGeek.com:

• Alex Ovechkin owners may be frustrated with the numbers as of late, but the bottom line is that he's still been providing value thanks to his shots and hits total. That's exactly why he was the top player to draft back in September in this type of league - because even during his slumps, he's providing value.

• Everyone's still waiting for Tyler "not a first-line center" Bozak to stop being so first-line centery.

• The top goalie during the window given is Jaroslav Halak, who ranked 49th. Corey Crawford (62), Pekka Rinne (64), Kari Lehtonen (72) and Ben Bishop (97) also cracked the top 100.

• Islanders youngster Ryan Strome has been sneaky-good of late. He actually ranked 28th, just missing the list. But he has 10 points in his last 11 games and is shooting the puck a ton.

• The subject of last week's column, John Klingberg, ranked 44th. That's good for 12th among defensemen.

Studs ...

These fellas are wielding a hot stick. Take that into consideration when you go after them in trade talks ...

Shea Weber, Nashville Predators (10-2-7-9, plus-4, 27 Hits, 33 SOG, 2 PPPts) - When Filip Forsberg et al were leading the charge, Weber's offense was surprisingly light. Now that Forsberg has slowed (one point in last six games) Weber's numbers have turned around. 

Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (8-8-7-15, plus-12, 0 PIM, 26 SOG, 4 PPPts) - We've seen Kane do this before and sometimes the streak can continue for 25 or 30 games. Suddenly he's back in the scoring race when a week ago he wasn't even getting a sniff of it.

Ryan Callahan, Tampa Bay Lightning (11-6-4-10, plus-4, 24 Hits, 37 SOG, 3 PPPts) - Callahan has put up goose eggs the last two games, but prior to that he tallied 15 points in 13 games. Now that linemate Steven Stamkos is flying, Callahan is Chris Kunitzing his way up the scoring list.

Duds ...

Somebody wake these guys up – their fantasy owners are counting on them ...

Scott Hartnell, Columbus Blue Jackets (10-0-0-0, minus-5, 10 PIM, 24 SOG, 0 PPPts) - Hartnell started his life in Columbus with 14 points in 14 games. Now that much of the team is finally healthy, he's matching R.J. Umberger point for point.

James Neal, Nashville Predators (7-0-0-0, 2 PIM, minus-1, 26 SOG, 0 PPPts) - The entire top line for Nashville has been shut down lately. You'd think opposing teams have scouted the Preds or something. 

Torey Krug, Boston Bruins (11-1-0-1, minus-1, 7 PIM, 18 SOG, 0 PPPts) - Returning from his finger injury to a Chara-less lineup, Krug has struggled to put points on the board. The slump isn't due to Krug's lack of PP time, since Dougie Hamilton has just one power-play point during those same 11 games. It's more of a team-wide thing that should fix itself when Zdeno Chara returns. But it does lend worry to what Krug (and the Bruins, for that matter) will do when Chara's time in Boston comes to an end. 

The Wire ...

Mostly short-term grabs here, but as always some potential steals ...

Vincent Trocheck, Florida Panthers (11-2-9-11, plus-9, 4 PIM, 29 SOG, 0 PPPts) - Down the stretch last year, forget about being NHL-ready - Trocheck was arguably Florida's best forward. So when the Panthers signed everybody and their mothers in the summer it had me doing a double take. Because it meant that Trocheck, a clear NHLer, would have to be sent down. He's back up now, this time for good. But he's just 1 percent owned!

Brayden McNabb, Los Angeles Kings (7-0-6-6, plus-1, 14 PIM, 10 SOG) - When Alec Martinez was sidelined, the Kings were suddenly without two key blueliners (Slava Voynov being the other) that could move the puck. McNabb did so well filling in that even when Martinez returned, McNabb's ice time remained upwards of 20 minutes. Still only 3 percent owned.

Josh Jooris, Calgary Flames (8-5-2-7, plus-5, 2 PIM, 14 SOG, 4 PPPts) - Jooris is probably going to round into a 35-point player at this level. But right now, as with most of this team, he's playing over his head (48-point pace). Rather than dwell on that point, I'd rather ride the wave. Pick up the Flames while they're hot, pardon the pun. 

Nathan Gerbe, Carolina Hurricanes (7-2-3-5, minus-2, 4 PIM, 23 SOG, 3 PPPts) - Despite the modest output, Gerbe has been a pretty consistent player in that he has only gone three consecutive pointless games once so far. He still hasn't had that 'hot streak' that he tends to get, but at the same time he's been a machine when it comes to shooting the puck. In six of his last 16 games he has fired at least five shots on goal.

Blake Comeau, Pittsburgh Penguins (19-7-7-14, plus-8, 16 PIM, 39 SOG) - This is a pretty impressive stat line and it's the result of playing with Evgeni Malkin. Thing is - this could potentially get even better as the two are given more time to gel together. Remember that Chris Kunitz was once waived and later started slowly on the Crosby line.

Jimmy Hayes, Florida Panthers (14-6-6-12, plus-6, 4 PIM, 33 SOG) - Hayes is slowly playing his way into Florida's top six. Odd that Tomas Fleischmann somehow still hasn't played his way out of said top six. 

Antti Raanta, Chicago Blackhawks (stats irrelevant) - Corey Crawford's foot injury opens up about nine or 10 games that a waiver-wire goaltender will start, be it Raanta or Scott Darling. As solid as Darling was the last time, Raanta will get the chance to start at least three-quarters of the games and possibly more. He boasts a 0.947 SV% on the campaign.

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