Fantasy Friday: Kopitar, Crosby turning corner

Early on in the season we talked a lot about typically strong-performing players struggling out of the gate. I even wrote a story back in October about players like Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry (Anaheim Ducks), Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles Kings) and Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets) who had gotten off to slow starts.

Now it's time to revisit that list and find out who's turned the corner since then.

Here's a look at players that were expected to be solid fantasy contributors but started the season poorly, and how they're doing now, just past the midway point of the 2015-16 season.

Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks

Getzlaf had one point in his first eight games of the season while Perry had no goals and three assists in his first 10. At that time, Getzlaf was ranked outside the top 500 fantasy players in Yahoo leagues while Perry was outside the top 350.

Fast forward and Getzlaf now has 26 points in 38 games and is ranked 112th overall. This is still a far cry from what his owners expected when they drafted him, but he's certainly improved since his slow start. Getzlaf has averaged 0.95 points per game over his career after the All-Star break, so look for him to have a big second half as the Ducks try to rebound from their disappointing first half.

Perry has done even better since his rough start. The 30-year-old forward now has 16 goals and 27 points in 42 games and ranks as the 60th-best player in fantasy leagues. With 37 penalty minutes, 11 power-play points and 121 shots on goal, Perry continues to be one of the best all-around fantasy players in the game.

Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins

Crosby started the season with five points in 10 games and was the 137th-best fantasy player. Kessel had six points during that time and Letang had four. They were not living up to expectations.

I wrote on Dec. 18 about whether Crosby would be able to turn his season around. Crosby was still struggling with 19 points through 30 games at that time. Since then, he's gone on to produce six goals and eight assists in 11 games. As I pointed out, Crosby needed to shoot the puck more, and he has. In those past 11 games Crosby is averaging 3.27 shots on goal, up from the 2.87 shots he averaged in his first 30 games. Crosby has started to look like his old self again and is now ranked 53rd among all fantasy players. If he can turn his minus-5 rating into a plus, he'll move up even more.

As for Kessel, he hasn't quite found his rhythm in Pittsburgh. He had a nice stretch in November with nine points in 12 games, but has nine points in 19 games since then and only seven power-play points all season (42 games). Kessel ranks as the 141st-best fantasy player and could be in line for his worst overall season since 2007-08 when he was with the Boston Bruins.

Letang, much like Crosby, seems to have turned the corner. He has 26 points in 33 games and is the No. 1 overall fantasy player over the past two weeks with four goals, six assists, a plus-2 and 14 penalty minutes. He currently ranks as the 15th-best fantasy defenseman overall and should creep back into the top 10 if he continues to perform at the high level we've come to expect over the years, assuming he can stay healthy.

Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings

Anze Kopitar

Center - LAK

GOALS: 12 | ASST: 23 | PTS: 35
SOG: 88 | +/-: 17

Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets

By the time October ended, Bobrovsky was 2-8-0 with a 3.97 goals-against average and .865 save percentage. It was a different story after that. In 15 post-October-games, Bobrovsky went 9-4-1 with a 1.67 GAA and .945 save percentage. Bobrovsky hasn't appeared in an NHL game since Dec. 8 because of a groin injury, but he was activated off injured reserve on Friday and should return to the lineup soon.

Here's a quick glance at a more players that got off to slow starts and how they've performed of late:

Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames -- Giordano had eight points and a minus-15 rating in his first 24 games. In 18 games since, he has five goals and 13 assists with a plus-10 rating.

Rick Nash, New York Rangers -- Nash had one goal and six points in his first 11 games. He has 11 goals and 12 assists in 30 games since.

Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers -- Voracek had no goals and three assists in his first 10 games and one goal in his first 24 games overall. He has four goals and 12 assists in his past 17 games and is a plus-4 during that stretch.

Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche -- Duchene had two points in his first 10 games and then went off for 11 goals and 20 points in 14 games during the month of November. Overall he has 22 goals and 16 assists in 45 games and is the 50th-ranked player in Yahoo leagues.

---