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FORWARDS
Trending up: Brad Richardson, Vancouver Canucks: The 29-year-old capped a strong week with a three-point effort in the Canucks' 3-0 shutout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday night. Richardson has six points in the last four games and the Canucks have recorded three wins during that span. Trending down: Paul Stastny, St. Louis Blues: So far, Stastny's first season with the Blues has been disappointing. Hampered by injury and inconsistent with his play, the Blues' most significant acquisition of the summer has only three goals and eight points in 18 games. As Blues coach Ken Hitchcock bluntly stated before Thursday's game: "He needs to play better."  Surprise of the week: Kris Versteeg, Chicago Blackhawks: After last season's struggles, Versteeg is showing naysayers that he can still produce. The 28-year-old is on quite the tear, with six assists and seven points over the last three games.
DEFENSEMEN
Trending up: Dennis Wideman, Calgary Flames: Another key contributor for the Flames in their compelling effort this season, the veteran blue liner has chipped in offensively with five points in the last three games. Wideman tallied twice in the Flames’ 4-3 overtime win against Colorado. Trending down: Michael Del Zotto, Philadelphia Flyers: Despite the Flyers' struggles, Del Zotto appeared to be one of the bright spots (perhaps the lone one) on the blue line, but that ended abruptly this week when Flyers coach Craig Berube benched him Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks along with veteran forward Vincent Lecavalier. At 24, Del Zotto is on his third team. Consistency is king and it's still a work in progress for the young defender. Surprise of the week: John Klingberg, Dallas Stars: Hard to find too many positives for a Stars club that is absolutely floundering, but the young Swede has proved to be a promising talent during an otherwise dismal season for Dallas. Klingberg is earning more and more responsibility from coach Lindy Ruff and is turning heads around the league. Even after a 5-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday night, Klingberg finished with a plus-3.
GOALTENDERS
Trending up: Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders: In perhaps the Islanders' most important move of the offseason, general manager Garth Snow addressed the team's biggest need by signing Halak to a four-year deal. The move has paid dividends for the Islanders, who are now all alone in first place in the Metropolitan Division after a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators Thursday night. Halak made 20 saves to record his 11th straight win to set a franchise record. Trending down: Anders Lindback, Dallas Stars: It's been a bit of a horror show for the Stars' backup this season, so it's no surprise that he was waived Wednesday and subsequently sent to the AHL, with Jussi Rynnas called up in his place. Lindback is 0-5-0 with an .861 save percentage and a 4.64 goals-against average. Surprise of the week: Ilya Bryzgalov, Anaheim Ducks: And a pleasant surprise at that, as the NHL is always much more interesting when the colorful Russian netminder is around. The 34-year-old goaltender joined the Ducks on a tryout and is expected to sign a deal with the team. Let's face it, we all stand to benefit from this.
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