Five playoff-bound NHL players who need to be better – and fast

Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

We’re finally in the last week of the NHL regular season.

It’s been a long road, as it is every year. This is especially true for the fanbases whose teams locked up a playoff spot early and are just putting around as much as they can before things really start to matter.

But when you’re locked in, you can’t get complacent. Teams will experiment and sit guys if needed to keep them rested, but the teams riding the most momentum heading into the playoffs typically do better – just ask the Florida Panthers last year after finishing in the final Wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

These players below have found themselves needing to play better down the stretch. Whether it be flatlining long-term or just recent struggles, here’s a look at five NHLers needing to find a spark heading into the most important time of the season:

William Nylander, RW (Toronto Maple Leafs)

No matter what happens the rest of the way, this has been Nylander’s best NHL season to date, no doubt. He has 40 goals and a career-best 97 points, helping him earn a massive eight-year deal worth $11.5 million until 2032. He’s been playing at a point-per-game in the 43 outings since the new deal, but he still sits one point behind Mitch Marner for second – and Marner has played 13 fewer games. Nylander has no goals and just two assists in seven games in April, while his brother, Alex, has two goals and three points with Columbus in that same time frame. With just three points to go until he cracks 100, there’s extra motivation for Nylander to figure things out before Game 1. The good news? He has typically done quite well for himself in the postseason, even when the others haven’t.

James van Riemsdyk, LW (Boston Bruins)

For a while, JVR was looking like one of the best bargain contracts in the league on a one-year, $1 million deal. But since Feb. 1, van Riemsdyk has just three goals and six points in 26 games, good for 15th on the Bruins’ roster. He hasn’t registered a point in 12 games and has been a healthy scratch on occasion down the stretch. van Riemsdyk felt like the perfect top-six fit early on, giving the team some legitimate scoring help while playing some of his best hockey since the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. It helped that he had 15 points in his first 20 games while getting significant power play and 5-on-5 ice time. Boston needs JVR to find his game again this spring to avoid having scoring depth issues again.

Quinton Byfield, LW (Los Angeles Kings)

Byfield is currently in the midst of an eight-game pointless streak and has just seven points in his past 22 games dating back to March 1. It’s a shame because the first three-quarters of the season saw him playing some of his best hockey to date, and he was on pace for more than 60 points at one time. It’s still a breakout season for Byfield, who cracked 50 points for the first time in his NHL career last month, but despite still getting significant ice time and still shooting as frequently as ever, it’s just not working for him right now. The 6-foot-5 and 225-pound forward has still found ways to make himself difficult to play against with his size and skating – something the Kings will need more of in the playoffs.

Alexandar Georgiev, G (Colorado Avalanche)

Georgiev was one of the top goaltenders in the NHL early on – so much so that he was starting nearly every game at one point. He could register 40 wins for a second consecutive year, but he has a .897 save percentage throughout the season and just a .909 at 5-on-5. His -6.67 GSAA at 5-on-5 is 11th out of 13 goalies with at least 50 games played, so he needs to be significantly better if he’s going to beat out Vezina Trophy favorite Connor Hellebuyck in the first round. Georgiev’s recent stretch has been downright ugly, allowing four or more goals in six of his past 10 games – including four goals in 15 minutes on Saturday and blowing a 3-0 lead to Vegas on Sunday. With backup Justus Annunen looking like the real deal in Colorado, how short is Georgiev’s leash in Round 1?

Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C (Carolina Hurricanes)

Sometimes, you’re hot, then you’re cold, you’re yes, then you’re no. So much of Kotkaniemi’s career has been spent talking about his struggles to produce, but it felt like that was finally done after he put up 18 goals and 43 points in the regular season last year. But once again, he’s going to fall short of 30 points, with just one goal and four points in his past 18 games. That includes a recent seven-game stretch with nothing on the board, which, with a $4.82 million cap hit until 2030, isn’t exactly ideal. It’s a shame because the Finnish forward always has one of the biggest smiles on the ice, and his teammates love him. But the Hurricanes desperately need him to harness some magic over the next weeks if they’re going to edge out the top teams in the East.