Who’s hot and who’s not in the NHL? William Nylander carried strong play into the new year

One player who’s been consistently good this season and has really turned up the heat lately is J.T. Miller.

The forward has nine assists and three goals over his last eight games.

In other words, Miller has 12 points since Bruce Boudreau took over behind the Canucks’ bench.

He’s been an absolute horse for the Canucks at both ends of the ice, and his recent surge has him sitting in ninth place among point leaders in the NHL.

William Nylander

The pressure always seems to be high on William Nylander and lately he’s been every bit as good as advertised.

Over his last six games, the Toronto Maple Leafs forward has five goals and five assists. This includes the two goals he scored on New Year’s Day when the Leafs blew out the Ottawa Senators, 6-0.

Jordan Kyrou

It’s a bit of a smaller sample size, but over his last two games, St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou has been on a tear.

In the Blues’ win over the Oilers on Dec. 29, Kyrou picked up a goal and added two assists. Then, with more eyes on him than usual during the Winter Classic against the Minnesota Wild, Kyrou scored two goals and tallied two assists.

Bonus points for rocking the eye black.

Who’s Not

Joonas Donskoi

There have been many disappointments for the Seattle Kraken in their inaugural season, but one of the most prominent has to be the play of Joonas Donskoi.

After scoring a career-high 17 goals with the Colorado Avalanche last season, Donskoi has yet to find the back of the net for Seattle. That’s right, Donskoi doesn’t have a single goal since joining the Kraken. Not one.

With just two assists through his last nine games, this is certainly a disappointing cold streak for both the club and player to go through.

Matt Murray

It’s been all kinds of bad for Matt Murray and the Ottawa Senators this season.

After signing a four-year deal with the Senators before last season that raised some eyebrows around the league, Matt Murray hasn’t exactly worked out for the club. 

In fact, it’s been quite the opposite. 

The 27-year-old goaltender has stumbled to an .883 save percentage and was even placed on waivers and sent down to the AHL to make a couple of starts before being called by Ottawa when goalie Anton Forsberg was placed in COVID protocols.