(4/2/12) With a week left in the season, the battle for the rookie scoring lead is down to a three-horse race.  At the top of the leader board, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sits tied with Gabriel Landeskog at 51 points, while Adam Henrique is one point back at 50.  Nugent-Hopkins and Henrique have a game at hand on Landeskog, as they each have three starts remaining to Landeskog's two, so our money's on the Nuge to take the crown - he has 10-points in his last ten games.  Landeskog has been playing incredibly well, with 25 points in 29 games since the All-star break, but playing one less game puts him behind the eight-ball.  Henrique is hanging right there himself, with 4-points in his last five starts, but he went five straight games without a point before that, and we have to think the other two will find a higher gear.

As for who will win the Calder trophy, considering Landeskog has played a full season, and considering he's played so well in the second half, we believe he'll be the favorite with the voters.  A case can certainly be made for Nugent-Hopkins, but the fact that he missed a quarter of the season will probably be his downfall.

Looking further down the list, we see a couple of players we like a lot as sleepers for playoff pools.  In particular, Matt Read of the Flyers (7 points in his last 10), and Carl Hagelin of the Rangers (only 5 points in his last 10, but 15 in his last 20) are a pair of guys who could make a real impact in the postseason.  Keep their names in mind on draft night.

 

RK	Name	Pos	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
1	Gabriel Landeskog	L	COL	80	22	29	51
2	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	C	EDM	59	18	33	51
3	Adam Henrique	C	NJD	71	16	34	50
4	Matt Read	R	PHI	76	23	23	46
5	Cody Hodgson	C	BUF	80	19	21	40
6	Carl Hagelin	L	NYR	61	14	24	38
7	Colin Greening	L	OTT	79	17	19	36
8	Craig Smith	C	NSH	70	13	20	33
9	Sean Couturier	C	PHI	74	13	14	27
10	Jake Gardiner	D	TOR	72	5	22	27