Week 8 NHL Risers and Fallers for Fantasy Hockey

Hey RotoBallers. Here is my weekly rundown of NHL forwards, defensemen and goaltenders whose fantasy hockey values are rising and falling over the past seven days.

The rising players can be considered fantasy hockey sleepers or waiver wire pickups depending on your league size and format. If you are still holding on to any of the skaters that are trending downward, it might be time to look elsewhere for results.

NHL Players Rising After Week 7 of Fantasy Hockey

Cody Eakin (F, DAL) - 4% Owned

Available in nearly all fantasy hockey formats, Cody Eakin is a player whose stock is on the rise. He has five points over his last four games, but more importantly, Eakin has been skating with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn on the Stars top line. Cody's ice time and point production are both trending upward. Fantasy owners would be wise to grab him now and enjoy what could be a career year for the young forward.

Danny DeKeyser (D, DET) - 4% Owned

Offensive production did not come easy for Danny DeKeyser to start this season. The Red Wings have been looking for more from the young defenseman, and he is starting to show his potential. After posting just four points over his first sixteen games, DeKeyser has an assist in four of his last five. He is now on pace to surpass his 23 points from last season, and he's starting to see more of an opportunity on the Detroit power play. Fantasy owners should take notice of DeKeyser's recent play and be ready to add him off of the waiver wire if his recent scoring touch continues.

Devan Dubnyk (G, ARI) - 16% Owned

Devan Dubnyk has emerged as one of the NHL's best backup goaltenders, but he could be the starter before long. Mike Smith continues to struggle and has now lost seven straight decisions. Dubnyk has won five of the six games he has started, while Smith has just four wins in 16 starts. Devan is sporting a .926 save percentage and a 2.34 goals against average. Sooner or later, Dubnyk is bound to take over the bulk of the work between the pipes.

NHL Players Falling After Week 7 of Fantasy Hockey

Ryan O'Reilly (F, COL) - 67% Owned

After posting career highs in goals (28) and points (64) last season, Ryan O'Reilly is off to a sluggish start in 2014. The young forward has just 10 points and a -12 rating in 21 games. After scoring on a career-high 13.9% of his shots a season ago, O'Reilly's shooting percentage is dreadful 4.1% thus far. His time on ice is still respectable at 18:51, but it's a far cry from the 19:49 he averaged over 80 games last year. Ryan still has loads of potential and might end up with 40-50 points before all is said and done, but for now, owners may want to stash him on the bench and look elsewhere for production.

Trevor Daley (D, DAL) - 55% Owned

Trevor Daley hasn't finished a season with a negative rating since 2007-08 when he posted a -1. While owners shouldn't panic over his -9 rating through 21 games so far this season, it is nevertheless concerning. Daley has just one point and is a -7 over his last nine games. Though he is still averaging over 25:00 minutes per game, he has only topped 24:00 twice over those nine contests. Trevor should get things rolling again, but he doesn't have a whole lot of fantasy value at the moment.

Antti Niemi (G, SJ) - 82% Owned

With just one win in his last seven starts, Antti Niemi is going through quite a rough stretch. The Finnish netminder may not be winning, but his .915 save percentage and 2.58 goals against average are better than his record indicates. Fantasy owners would be wise to hold on to Niemi. Not counting the lockout-shortened season in 2012-13, Antti has posted at least 34 wins each year for the San Jose Sharks. So despite his recent struggles, he'll continue to get the majority of the starts in net. San Jose is too good of a team to continue losing, and the wins will start to pile up sooner rather than later.