Ah the NHL season is in full swing and hockey pool fanatics are watching the highlights nightly to see how their players are performing. For the record, this hockey fanatic is leading every hockey pool that he has entered this season. Let’s hope the injuries are few and that the production remains consistent. So how are you doing in your fantasy hockey pools? Here is a look at the best and worst performers during month one of the NHL season.
NHL: Who’s Hot & Who’s Not – October 2013
Top Scorers
Of course Sid the Kid is at the top of the list, but how many of you took Alex Steen in your pools?
| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM |
| 1 | Sidney Crosby | PIT | C | 12 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | Steven Stamkos | TBL | C | 11 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 8 | 6 |
| 3 | Henrik Sedin | VAN | C | 14 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 8 | 12 |
| 4 | Alex Ovechkin | WSH | L | 12 | 10 | 5 | 15 | -6 | 12 |
| 5 | Alexander Steen | STL | C | 9 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 7 | 4 |
| 6 | Frans Nielsen | NYI | C | 11 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 3 | 4 |
| 7 | Patrick Marleau | SJS | C | 12 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | Phil Kessel | TOR | C | 12 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 2 |
| 9 | Martin St Louis | TBL | R | 11 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 9 | 2 |
| 10 | Logan Couture | SJS | C | 12 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 0 |
| 11 | Daniel Sedin | VAN | L | 14 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 5 | 20 |
| 12 | Matt Duchene | COL | C | 11 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 0 |
| 13 | Corey Perry | ANA | R | 12 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 14 |
| 14 | Jiri Hudler | CGY | C | 11 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | Joe Pavelski | SJS | C | 12 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 6 |
| 16 | John Tavares | NYI | C | 11 | 4 | 9 | 13 | -2 | 6 |
| 17 | Joe Thornton | SJS | C | 12 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 2 |
| 18 | Henrik Zetterberg | DET | L | 12 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 5 | 4 |
| 19 | Pavel Datsyuk | DET | C | 12 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 2 |
| 20 | Ryan Getzlaf | ANA | C | 12 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 9 |
| 21 | Chris Kunitz | PIT | L | 12 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 8 |
| 22 | Radim Vrbata | PHX | R | 12 | 5 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 4 |
| 23 | Tyler Seguin | DAL | C | 11 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 2 |
| 24 | Kyle Okposo | NYI | R | 11 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 8 |
| 25 | Jamie Benn | DAL | C | 11 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 5 |
| 26 | Nicklas Backstrom | WSH | C | 12 | 2 | 10 | 12 | -4 | 4 |
| 27 | David Krejci | BOS | C | 10 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 12 |
| 28 | Ryan Kesler | VAN | C | 14 | 8 | 3 | 11 | -1 | 11 |
| 29 | Matt Moulson | NYI, BUF | L | 12 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 6 |
| 30 | Tomas Hertl | SJS | C | 12 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 0 |
Under Achievers – Scorers
Well the early season is seeing some players struggle, here is a look at some of the players who just are not performing at the level that they should be. From a points perspective here are some players to avoid in your fantasy hockey pools:
| Player | Team | Pos | GP | G | A | P | +/- | |
| 1 | Tom Sestito | VAN | L | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| 2 | Zenon Konopka | MIN | C | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 |
| 3 | James Wright | WPG | C | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Tom Wilson | WSH | R | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 |
| 5 | Colton Orr | TOR | R | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 6 | Kevin Klein | NSH | D | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| 7 | Tomas Kopecky | FLA | R | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| 8 | Trevor Lewis | LAK | C | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 9 | Victor Bartley | NSH | D | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 10 | Matt Hendricks | NSH | C | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 11 | Johan Larsson | BUF | L | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 |
| 12 | Chris Butler | CGY | D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| 13 | Mike Weber | BUF | D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -12 |
| 14 | Nick Schultz | EDM | D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Jay McClement | TOR | C | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| 16 | Derek MacKenzie | CBJ | C | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| 17 | Ryan White | MTL | C | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | Brett Sutter | CAR | C | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 |
| 19 | Stephane Veilleux | MIN | L | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| 20 | Mike Brown | EDM, SJS | R | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
I we look at the players with the worst plus/minus stats we get these fellows (and yes there are a few Edmonton Oilers on this list). We were surprised to see the Hawks Patrick Kane within the top ten players with the worst plus/minus in the NHL.
| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | GP | G | A | P | +/- |
| 1 | Mike Weber | BUF | D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -12 |
| 2 | Ales Hemsky | EDM | R | 13 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -9 |
| 3 | Richard Panik | TBL | R | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -9 |
| 4 | Marc Staal | NYR | D | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -9 |
| 5 | Alex Goligoski | DAL | D | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -9 |
| 6 | Brendan Smith | DET | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -9 |
| 7 | Patrick Kane | CHI | R | 12 | 7 | 4 | 11 | -8 |
| 8 | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | EDM | C | 11 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -8 |
| 9 | Eric Staal | CAR | C | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -8 |
| 10 | Justin Schultz | EDM | D | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7 | -8 |
| 11 | Derek Stepan | NYR | C | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -8 |
| 12 | Marcel Goc | FLA | C | 12 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -8 |
| 13 | Eric Fehr | WSH | R | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -8 |
| 14 | Steve Bernier | NJD | R | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -8 |
| 15 | Kyle Quincey | DET | D | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -8 |
| 16 | Mike Weaver | FLA | D | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -8 |
| 17 | Ron Hainsey | CAR | D | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -7 |
| 18 | Brooks Laich | WSH | C | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -7 |
| 19 | Grant Clitsome | WPG | D | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -7 |
| 20 | Wayne Simmonds | PHI | R | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -7 |
| 21 | Erik Gudbranson | FLA | D | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -7 |
| 22 | Kyle Chipchura | PHX | C | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -7 |
| 23 | Colin McDonald | NYI | R | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -7 |
| 24 | Dan Girardi | NYR | D | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -7 |
| 25 | Taylor Pyatt | NYR | L | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -7 |
Top Goaltenders
There has been some great performances from the masked men in the nets. Antii Niemi is off to an amazing start in San Jose as is Semyon Varlamov in Colorado. Here is a look at the top goaltenders over the fist month.
| Rank | Goalie | Team | GP | W | L | OT | SA | GA | GAA | Sv% | SO |
| 1 | Antti Niemi | SJS | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 254 | 17 | 1.53 | 0.933 | 2 |
| 2 | Marc-Andre Fleury | PIT | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 250 | 18 | 1.79 | 0.928 | 1 |
| 3 | Semyon Varlamov | COL | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 256 | 14 | 1.76 | 0.945 | 0 |
| 4 | Ben Bishop | TBL | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 222 | 19 | 2.47 | 0.914 | 0 |
| 5 | Roberto Luongo | VAN | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 303 | 28 | 2.5 | 0.908 | 1 |
| 6 | Jonathan Quick | LAK | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 289 | 27 | 2.53 | 0.907 | 0 |
| 7 | Tuukka Rask | BOS | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 265 | 14 | 1.56 | 0.947 | 1 |
| 8 | Jaroslav Halak | STL | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 205 | 17 | 2.17 | 0.917 | 1 |
| 9 | Corey Crawford | CHI | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 270 | 23 | 2.24 | 0.915 | 0 |
| 10 | Mike Smith | PHX | 11 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 331 | 32 | 3.17 | 0.903 | 0 |
| 11 | Josh Harding | MIN | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 171 | 8 | 1 | 0.953 | 1 |
| 12 | Carey Price | MTL | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 333 | 21 | 2.12 | 0.937 | 1 |
| 13 | Jonathan Bernier | TOR | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 284 | 20 | 2.34 | 0.93 | 1 |
| 14 | Kari Lehtonen | DAL | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 177 | 9 | 1.6 | 0.949 | 0 |
| 15 | Pekka Rinne | NSH | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 229 | 19 | 2.31 | 0.917 | 0 |
| 16 | Sergei Bobrovsky | CBJ | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 310 | 26 | 2.6 | 0.916 | 0 |
| 17 | Jonas Hiller | ANA | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 190 | 17 | 2.64 | 0.911 | 1 |
| 18 | Craig Anderson | OTT | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 286 | 23 | 2.81 | 0.92 | 1 |
| 19 | Evgeni Nabokov | NYI | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 284 | 26 | 2.82 | 0.908 | 0 |
| 20 | Ondrej Pavelec | WPG | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 352 | 32 | 2.85 | 0.909 | 0 |
Under Achievers – Goaltenders
We looked at Save percentage to identify the goalies that are simply not performing at a level that they should be. The Edmonton Oilers are giving up four goals per game. Where do you think their tenders are on our list? (minimum 5 games played).
| Rank | Player | Team | GP | W | L | OT | SA | GA | GAA | Sv% | SO |
| 1 | Jason LaBarbera | EDM | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 112 | 16 | 3.65 | 0.857 | 0 |
| 2 | Martin Brodeur | NJD | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 132 | 17 | 3.32 | 0.871 | 0 |
| 3 | Niklas Backstrom | MIN | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 124 | 16 | 3.42 | 0.871 | 0 |
| 4 | Devan Dubnyk | EDM | 9 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 246 | 30 | 4.01 | 0.878 | 0 |
| 5 | Jacob Markstrom | FLA | 9 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 203 | 23 | 3.19 | 0.887 | 0 |
| 6 | Karri Ramo | CGY | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 166 | 18 | 3.56 | 0.892 | 0 |
| 7 | Henrik Lundqvist | NYR | 8 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 209 | 22 | 3.25 | 0.895 | 1 |
| 8 | Dan Ellis | DAL | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 153 | 16 | 3.6 | 0.895 | 0 |
| 9 | Tim Thomas | FLA | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 158 | 15 | 3.11 | 0.905 | 0 |
| 10 | Cam Ward | CAR | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 216 | 19 | 2.81 | 0.912 | 0 |
| 11 | Ryan Miller | BUF | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 359 | 31 | 3.13 | 0.914 | 0 |
| 12 | Cory Schneider | NJD | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 153 | 13 | 2.14 | 0.915 | 1 |
Some strong performances early in the season along with some slow starts for others. That is why the NHL is so great. It is a long season and things can turn around for some of these players. Of course we should look at the players who, shall we say will not vie for the Lady Byng trophy anytime soon.
Most Penalized Players
| Rank | Player | Team | Pos | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM |
| 1 | Radko Gudas | TBL | D | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 53 |
| 2 | Derek Dorsett | NYR | R | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 47 |
| 3 | Antoine Roussel | DAL | L | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 45 |
| 4 | Erik Gudbranson | FLA | D | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -7 | 40 |
| 5 | Chris Stewart | STL | R | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 38 |
| 6 | Ryan Reaves | STL | R | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 38 |
| 7 | Steve Downie | COL | R | 11 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 36 |
| 8 | Zenon Konopka | MIN | C | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 32 |
| 9 | David Backes | STL | C | 9 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 30 |
| 10 | Brandon Dubinsky | CBJ | C | 11 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 30 |
| 11 | Ryan Malone | TBL | L | 11 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 28 |
| 12 | Luke Gazdic | EDM | L | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 28 |
| 13 | Dmitry Kulikov | FLA | D | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 27 |
| 14 | Cody McLeod | COL | L | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 27 |
| 15 | Colton Orr | TOR | R | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 26 |
| 16 | Benoit Pouliot | NYR | L | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 25 |
| 17 | Brandon Bollig | CHI | L | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 25 |
| 18 | Tom Wilson | WSH | R | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 25 |
| 19 | Steve Ott | BUF | C | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 24 |
| 20 | Adam McQuaid | BOS | D | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 24 |
| 21 | Matt Hendricks | NSH | C | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 24 |
| 22 | Mike Fisher | NSH | C | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 23 |
| 23 | Kyle Clifford | LAK | L | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
| 24 | Cody McCormick | BUF | C | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 22 |
| 25 | Zac Rinaldo | PHI | C | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 22 |
| 26 | Matt Pelech | SJS | R | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| 27 | Maxim Lapierre | STL | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 |
| 28 | Andrew Desjardins | SJS | C | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 21 |
| 29 | Eric Nystrom | NSH | L | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -5 | 21 |
| 30 | Mike Weber | BUF | D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -12 | 21 |
