Trending Up, Trending Down: Eberle goes silent, Sid evens McDavid
Each week, theScore looks at the teams, players, and other hockey figures trending upward and taking a step back.
▼ Jordan Eberle
The Edmonton Oilers are eagerly awaiting an increase in production from one of their most seasoned forwards.
Eberle has been a non-factor of late, going pointless in his last six games and only recording one goal in his past 15.
The 26-year-old ranks fourth in Oilers scoring with 23 points, and his eight goals have him on pace for his lowest total since his rookie campaign (lockout-shortened season aside).
Edmonton is two points clear of the wild-card-seeded Calgary Flames in the pacific, but someone needs to help take the load off No. 97. Eberle is a good candidate to do so.
▲ Sidney Crosby
There's not much else to say about the guy.
Crosby's yet to cool off this season, and has assumed the NHL's scoring lead alongside Connor McDavid with 42 points - in five fewer games.
The Penguins captain has goals in five straight contests, and is on pace for a blistering 63 tallies on the season.
Crosby continues to compete on a different level from his peers, and first-place Pittsburgh looks the part of a Stanley Cup threat.
▼ Florida Panthers
Tom Rowe's transition to Florida's bench has been anything but seamless.
The Panthers can't find traction, skating a 3-3-4 record over their last 10, and sit three points out of the playoffs with a -10 goal differential. They have two regulation wins since firing Gerard Gallant on Nov. 27.
To make matters worse, the club's leading scorer, Aleksander Barkov, was injured Wednesday versus the Maple Leafs and won't be available for a few games.
▲ Stan Bowman
This upward trend might be temporary.
Bowman ticked the top priority off his to-do list Wednesday in signing Artemi Panarin to a two-year bridge deal, but the Chicago Blackhawks general manager still has plenty of work to do.
Erasing lingering questions around the future of the club's leading scorer gives Bowman a win for now, but he'll need to work some magic to keep Chicago under the salary ceiling. Some big names could become expendable in the Windy City.
Bowman has been in this situation before, but his next move is particularly crucial, as the Blackhawks face a cap crunch worse than ever before.