Buying or Selling Detroit Red Wings Players' Hot Starts in 2014-15

The Detroit Red Wings are in a good spot with their 5-2-3 record over their last 10 games. Much of that is due to some players who have played well and had hot starts through the first 18 games of the season.

Through almost the quarter pole of the season, the Wings sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and hold the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, just a point back of the Boston Bruins with two games in hand.

But which players have pulled the majority of the load for the Red Wings, and can they continue to keep their hot starts going?

Here are six Red Wings players that will either continue to lead the team in play or simply drop off all together.

All stats from NHL.com.

Justin Abdelkader, Sell

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There was a time about seven games ago when it looked like Justin Abdelkader was going to have an outside shot at 50 or 60 points this season. With 11 games played, Abdelkader had 10 points. 

Since then, the former Spartan has just two points in his past seven games, and the Wings have lost four of those five games in which Abdelkader did not record a point.

Although his offense isn't heavily depended upon normally, Detroit is 7-1-1 when Abdelkader scores and just 2-3-4 when he fails to get a point.

Unfortunately for the Red Wings, Abdelkader has never and likely will never be a bonafide No. 1 scoring winger, and it seems that his offensive struggles contribute to Detroit's losses in a very discernible manner. 

Don't expect Abdelkader to be able to help carry the offense too much this season.

Gustav Nyquist, Buy

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With a power-play goal Tuesday night in Columbus, Gustav Nyquist moved into a tie for first place in the league with five power-play goals.

Although Nyquist isn't really putting up assists, it was his ninth goal of the season, good for seventh place in goal scoring in the NHL.

The thing to like about Nyquist's start is that he is getting plenty of time on the second line and additional time on the power play. With three minutes and 21 seconds of power-play time per contest, there are plenty of opportunities for the young Swede to contribute offensively for Detroit.

Once viewed as a non-roster player in Detroit due to aging players taking up roster spots, Nyquist is now one of the hottest players on the team (and in the NHL, for that matter).

Don't look for that to change any time soon.

Johan Franzen, Buy

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It seems like almost every season there's talk about how great of a player Johan Franzen is, and by the end of the season, it turns to how inconsistent he was.

Well, Franzen has been a point-per-game player this season, and he has only failed to tally in three contests so far.

At 34 years old, time isn't getting any kinder to The Mule, but he does have 12 points in 12 games played to start the season. If he can stay healthy, there's a chance this season could be different for the big Swedish forward.

But what makes this season different than seasons' past? Well for one, coaching has been kinder to Franzen in terms of situations he is playing in.

Instead of going to the net on the power play like he has traditionally (being the heaviest forward on the team has some of that in the job description), Mike Babcock flipped Franzen to the point on the wide side of the ice.

Franzen responded with power-play goals in back-to-back contests and seems to be shooting the puck better than in years' past. In fact, Franzen's 16.1 shooting percentage is no joke, as the bulk of his shots have been coming from places that aren't jam plays right in front of the net.

To put it in perspective, Franzen's highest shooting percentage of his career was 13.8 percent when he put up 34 goals, and the Wings went to the Stanley Cup Final. 

If he can stay healthy, other teams had better game-plan against him.

Henrik Zetterberg, Sell

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

With 17 points in 18 games, Henrik Zetterberg finds himself in the familiar place of leading the Red Wings in scoring.

But Zetterberg has just three points in the month of November (an eight-game span) and hasn't really looked dominant offensively since he was on the same line as Pavel Datsyuk.

Although he is scoring on just seven percent of the shots that he takes, don't look for Zetterberg to turn it around without some massive help in the form of a healthy Datsyuk returning to his line.

While Zetterberg can certainly turn it on at a moment's notice, don't expect him to be a point-per-game player this season, as he is playing with a player that has limited offensive potential in Abdelkader.

Look for the Wings captain to continue to put up offense but on a more reduced level at this rate.

Brendan Smith, Buy

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Sure, blue-line mainstays like Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson have helped Detroit to early-season success, but it is actually Brendan Smith who has helped the Wings turn a corner on defense. 

Smith was a real wild card of sorts for the Red Wings, as they came into the season having struck out on defensemen for the second consecutive offseason. 

But Smith has matured this season in his understanding of play in both ends of his game.

Offensively, Smith has done well in moving the puck around and understanding what to do with the puck when he gets it at the point. He has led the rush well, and his six points have been a direct result of being able to effectively move the puck.

Smith has also the fewest missed shots (five) of any Red Wings defenseman.

Defensively, Smith has pinched in with 18 hits and 19 blocked shots, but the number that really stands out is his giveaway to takeaway ratio of 1-1. Every other Red Wings defenseman who has played in 14 games or more has a ratio of greater than 1-1, but Smith has taken puck responsibility to a whole new level.

This means great things for Babcock, as Smith (paired with Kyle Quincey most nights) can be depended on to get the puck out when called on.

As long as Babcock continues to shelter Smith's minutes (he is fourth in defenseman minutes in Detroit), Smith can continue to grow his confidence and his skill set as well.

Jimmy Howard, Buy

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When a team's goalie is in the top 10 in the NHL in wins, save percentage, GAA and now shutouts, chances are they win more games than not.

While Jimmy Howard's record isn't amazing, with four overtime/shootout losses, his 8-3-4 record means that Detroit has picked up points in 12 of the 15 games that Howard has started.

This hasn't been some fluke either, thus far. While Howard finally gave up four goals in a game for the first time this season Sunday in Montreal, he bounced back Tuesday night and shut out the Columbus Blue Jackets.

That returned his GAA to 1.97 and increased his save percentage to 92.4 percent. Howard's previous career lows are a 2.13 GAA (done twice) and a 92.4 save percentage (done once).

Not only are those numbers outstanding, but despite the Red Wings' tighter defensive play, the Wings netminder has still had to come up with some 10-bell saves to keep his team either in a game with a chance for a point or ahead in a game to close it out.

There have only been a couple games that have been cakewalks for the Red Wings this season, but in those games, Howard had to be good early to keep the Wings in the game.

Assuming there aren't any or many injuries to Howard or his defensemen, this could be a career year for the American goalie.