Blue Line Buzz: Wu-Letang Clan

The holidays are here, and the New Year is quickly approaching. It's three months into the NHL season, and by now fantasy owners have had their fair share of the highest highs and the lowest lows.

But it's also the season for bargains. The usual suspects have remained at the top of the list, but a few players have failed to live up to expectations or otherwise completely fallen off the map. That's normal, but it's also normal for some underperformers to turn it around in the second half. The injury bug seems to have hit the league a little early this year as well, but traditionally, January and February are tough months too, as wear and tear start to add up and travel fatigue sets in.

Here are some blueliners to target for 2016:

Mark Giordano, CGY – His stock is probably as low as it's going to go. Despite the disappointment of just 15 points and a minus-13 rating on the season, he's already starting to turn it around, with 10 points over his past 11 games. Don't expect the Flames to be much better than they are right now until that goaltending gets fixed, but Giordano should remain the alpha dog in Calgary.

Kris Letang, PIT – Can Mike Sullivan turn this ship around? I have my doubts, but perhaps a coaching change will help Letang turn the corner. His upper-body injury has kept him off the ice since Dec. 9, but he's back at practice and will return to his top-pairing role with a clean slate soon. There's just no way the Pens can keep underperforming. Either that or their window really has closed.

Olli Maatta, PIT – If Letang returns to form, that's even better for Maatta, who's still flying under the radar a little despite returning to the lineup. He's probably still available on the waiver wire, but if he's already owned, it's because someone else has already pounced.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI – He's been off the pace recently, no multi-point games since Oct. 26, and there's always the risk that super rookies Max Domi and Anthony Duclair will start slowing down, but the Coyotes are a surprisingly resilient team. Dave Tippett is leaning on OEL on defense a lot, which might explain the drop in scoring, but he's an elite defenseman; any time you can grab someone like that, you go for it.

Travis Hamonic, NYI – Maybe he'll leave Brooklyn this year and maybe he won't, but wherever he plays, Hamonic will be a top-four defenseman. He hasn't been a big offensive contributor this season, with a goal and six points, but that could change if he's moved to a new team. He's an excellent source of peripherals otherwise.

And a handful who could make a difference in 2016-17:

Brandon Montour, ANA
Shea Theodore, ANA
Ville Pokka, CHI
Nikita Zadorov, COL
Julius Honka, DAL
Esa Lindell, DAL
Robbie Russo, DET
Brady Skjei, NYR
Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI
Derrick Pouliot, PIT

Last week's top five performers:

John Carlson, WSH – He's the piece the Caps have been missing since the advent of the Alex Ovechkin era, a do-it-all defenseman who's excellent in all facets of the game. Carlson's recorded a point in each of his past five games, all wins for the Caps, as Barry Trotz's squad continues to position themselves as early favorites for the division title. He finished the past week with five points, 15 shots on goal and 10 blocked shots. The guy's a top-20 defenseman in every format.

Victor Hedman, TB – He's another guy that will be very valuable going forward, and if for whatever reason Steven Stamkos isn't wearing a Lightning uniform next year, Hedman will be the player the franchise builds around. Despite a largely up-and-down season, he was very good this past week, collecting three assists and 12 blocked shots in four games.

Justin Braun, SJ – Since coming off injured reserve, Braun has been excellent for the Sharks, averaging well over 20 minutes a game and registering seven points in 10 games. Though the Sharks are in a freefall, with two wins over their past 10 games, Braun clearly isn't the one at fault. He won't keep this up for the rest of the year, but it's worth noting that Braun is yet another late-round home run for the Sharks, joining a pretty decent group that includes Tommy Wingels, Jason Demers, Nick Bonino, and of course, Joe Pavelski.

Tyson Barrie, COL – He scored three points despite putting up just five shots on goal this past week, but more importantly, the Avs are winning when Barrie is scoring. It's been a rather disappointing showing by the Avs so far, but rattling off five straight wins recently has put them in contention for a playoff spot once again. They're the hottest team in the West right now.

Erik Karlsson, OTT – A one-week absence from this space feels like an eternity for this perennial All-Star. After going four games without a point, Karlsson is back on track with five points in his past four games, including 36:34 (!) against Tampa Bay after defenseman-turned-forward Mark Borowiecki was tossed and Cody Ceci left with an upper-body injury. That's the most by a player in regulation time since Dan Boyle in 2008. Amazing… until you watch the game tape and realize that he was exhausted by the third period. As I've said in previous weeks, Karlsson's ice time will be something to watch as the season continues. Dave Cameron can't do this all year without a red hot Andrew Hammond (or Craig Anderson).

Top five trending up:

Kris Russell, CGY – It's always a bonus when one of the league's highest-volume shot blockers scores a few points. He's grabbed five points over his past five games and – big surprise – was tied for second on the week with 12 blocked shots. At first glance, he's the most obvious piece to move on Calgary's blue line logjam, but coaches love him because he's dependable and a very good shot blocker.

Evgeny Medvedev, PHI – He's a 33-year-old NHL rookie, but a 10-year vet of the KHL, so Medvedev's the type of guy you can throw out for maybe 20 minutes a game and not really worry about it. The Russian's been a regular since returning to the lineup and has five points on the season. He's a defense-first type at this point in his career despite a steady string of solid seasons in the KHL, but who knows, maybe he'll start playing a little looser when he gets more comfortable.

Dmitry Kulikov, FLA – What's this? Kulikov has hit the scoresheet again? He just scored his first goal of the season Thursday against New Jersey, giving him five points in 26 games on the season. Normally, I'd say forget about the former first-round pick, but I've also always been convinced that he has more offense to offer – after all, he did put up 28 points over 58 games in his sophomore season. At age 25, he's entering his prime; given the developing talent on that roster, Kulikov should at least be able to siphon a few second assists here and there to touch 35 or 40 points one day. Either that or he's destined to be a 20-point guy for the rest of his career.

Taylor Chorney, WSH – Another former Penguin who found a home in Washington, Chorney's two assists in his past three games account for half of his season's output and have helped his new team to five straight wins. The minor-league journeyman seems to have found a home on the Caps' third pairing, and while he's not tasked to do much, he's certainly delivering. If the Caps have Cup aspirations, they might need to upgrade the back end just a little bit; should that happen, Chorney will likely become the odd man out.

Dmitry Orlov, WSH – A double-dose of Caps is evidence that this team has gone from a scoring machine to a much more balanced squad. Orlov is a forgotten prospect, an offensive defenseman who missed significant time due to a wrist injury and is just now re-establishing himself on the depth chart. His three assists this past week give him nine helpers and 12 points on the season. Orlov played 19:02 in a 7-3 blowout win against the Rangers, five minutes more than his average, so Trotz obviously sees something in him.

Top five trending down:

Mike Green, DET – The Caps cut him loose at the right time, and he's been a frustrating player for fantasy owners this season. The Wings sorely needed a right-handed puck-moving defenseman, while Green was confident enough in his abilities to agree to a show-me, one-year contract, so the stars were aligned for him to prove everyone wrong. Instead, he has just one goal on the season. He's just too much of a headache and too difficult to predict.

Sami Vatanen, ANA – The Ducks are either impossible to score on or getting lit up like it's Christmas day. With just 16 points on the season and one goal over his past nine games, Vatanen's play is just one of the mysteries in California. As the season approaches the midway point, the Ducks have to make some key decisions soon or otherwise fall too far out of the playoff race. Either Bruce Boudreau goes or a little shakeup is needed. Bob Murray can't stay this patient forever. Until he decides what to do, it's best to stay away from any Ducks defenseman.

Christian Ehrhoff, LA – Since scoring two goals in three games, he's gone five games without a single point; he also failed to register a shot in two of those games. Ehrhoff's no longer the offensive threat he once was, if that hasn't been made clear enough already by his eight points on the season. Brayden McNabb is the better choice in leagues that count peripherals.

Jason Garrison, TB – Does anyone remember when the guy with the supposedly impressive cannon last scored a goal? Okay, yes, Garrison can still shoot it, but he doesn't get set up much and he's not good enough to create his own shot. If you're still rostering him, you need to make some changes.

Alexander Edler, VAN – He hasn't scored a point in five games and the Canucks have lost four of those games. It's not a coincidence. Edler's their undisputed No. 1 defenseman in virtually all situations, but he's not good enough to do it all himself with Dan Hamhuis (jaw) and Luca Sbisa (hand) both in the press box. He puts up peripheral stats, with 13 shots in his past three games and a season-high six hits against Florida on Sunday, but he's just not very good at scoring.

This week's top five recommended pickups:

It's a short week with the NHL going on break over the holidays, with no games slated from Dec. 23-25, so let's just go with the best players.

Dougie Hamilton, CGY – He has two goals in his past three games and is putting shots on net consistently.

Dan Boyle, NYR – He can really shoot the puck (just ask Dan Hamhuis) and has goals in each of his last two games.

Alex Goligoski, DAL – John Klingberg has cooled off a little bit, but Goligoski has picked up some of the slack with two points in his last three games.

Danny DeKeyser, DET – The offense is probably still coming, but he has three points in his past two games. He's a legitimate top-four defenseman, but because of his low-key style, DeKeyser constantly gets overlooked, much like Vancouver's Chris Tanev.

Darnell Nurse, EDM – Feel free to roll the dice with one of the league's best young defensemen; Nurse has obviously already earned much of Todd McLellan's trust.