On the Fly, theScore's NHL roundtable series, will be published every Friday throughout the season. This week, we look at those producing at a high level, but flying under the radar.
The forgotten superstar
O'Leary: Claude Giroux is no stranger to going unnoticed.
Over the past five seasons combined, the Flyers' captain ranks fifth league-wide in overall points, trailing a who's who of NHL superstars.
This season - so far at least - it's much of the same, as the 28-year-old sits tied for second in scoring with 13 points in 12 games.
Giroux has topped 70 points four times in his career, yet hardly garners much of the notoriety or superstardom that comes with being one of the league's top offensive threats.
His underappreciation is a common trend, even on the international scale. After finally cracking a best-on-best Team Canada roster at the World Cup, Giroux was scratched for all but one game.
If Giroux keeps up his current pace - his career mark of 0.9 points per game suggests that's quite possible - maybe, just maybe, he'll finally be recognized for what he's capable of.
The Hurricane
Wilkins: It's easy to fly under the radar in Raleigh, and former Calder Trophy winner Jeff Skinner has done exactly that.
Earlier this year, Skinner scored a pair of goals and nearly added a third versus the New York Rangers. He then added two more points against the Philadelphia Flyers.
All in all, Skinner has 11 points in eight games. That leads the Hurricanes, as does his five goals. In fact, Skinner sits tied for fourth in NHL scoring, three points behind Artem Anisimov.
It's a nice rebound for Skinner, who'd become somewhat of a forgotten man in recent years. After winning rookie honors in 2010-11 - during which he notched 31 goals and 32 assists in 82 games as an 18-year-old - Skinner's production has never been the same.
That's changed this year, as he's recorded 1.38 points per game. It's more than double last year's per game total, and he's already more than a third of the way to reaching the lowly 31 points he finished with in 2014-15.
Jeff Skinner is back.
The Capitals' latest attraction
Gold-Smith: The Washington Capitals' big sleeper entering the season was Andre Burakovsky, but it's Marcus Johansson who's played a more important early role in the nation's capital.
Johansson started modestly with four points in six games, but he turned it on after that, exploding for five goals and two assists over the next three contests.
The Swedish winger has never recorded more than 20 goals or 47 points in a season, but those totals should be within reach if he keeps playing alongside Evgeny Kuznetsov, and continues getting time on the Capitals' top power-play unit.
Boston's next big thing
McLaren: Brad Marchand has stolen headlines in Boston, but the Bruins have benefited greatly from David Pastrnak's breakout performance thus far.
The 20-year-old Czech forward has scored six goals and added three assists through eight games, and ranks 13th among all players (with at least five appearances) in points per game (1.13).
Pastrnak - nicknamed "Pasta" - recently missed two games due to suspension, but still sits only one goal back of the NHL lead. He's on pace to far exceed the career-high 15 goals he recorded in 51 games last season, and is becoming an integral part of the Bruins' success.
Not bad for a player drafted 25th overall in 2014.
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