Struggling NHL Stars on the Verge of Breaking Out

As the calendar flips from November to December, NHL teams have played roughly 25 games of their 82-game schedules. This is the point in the season when early-season statistical blips hover on the verge of becoming season-defining trends.

Throughout the league, some players—from all positions and all age groups—will eventually be revealed as having hit their career peaks and now starting their declines. But among the league's top stars, occasional performance dips are often followed up with more dazzling greatness. Hockey's such an intense, physical sport that even the game's greatest players go through occasional lulls.

Here's a look at Team Slumpbuster for 2015-16—the stars who have started slowly but who will be nestled back among the league's elite when the playoffs begin next spring.

Who else do you think is due for a breakout?

Forward: Sidney Crosby

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What He Did in 2014-15: 77 GP, 28-56-84, third in NHL scoring

What He Has Done so Far in 2015-16: 23 GP, 5-10-15

Why He's About to Break Out: Sidney Crosby made headlines recently for all the wrong reasons. Sirius XM's Matthew Barnaby reported on Wednesday (via Sportsnet) that Crosby is at odds with his boss, Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux—a report that has since been debunked on both sides, according to Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy.

On Friday, Crosby gave Penguins fans another scare after Brandon Dubinsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets gave him a cross check to the neck, but he has not missed any time.

With all the talk of Pittsburgh politics and Crosby's physical vulnerability because of his concussion history, no one seems to have noticed the Penguins captain is quietly rebounding from an early-season scoring slump. Sid's on a five-game point streak, during which he has collected three assists and three goals, including his first game-winner of the season.

In the past, we've seen Crosby's production ebb and flow, but when he's feeling good, he has a tendency to score in bunches. Now he's getting on track, don't be surprised if he starts putting up some big numbers over the next few weeks as we head into the Christmas break.

Forward: Jakub Voracek

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What He Did in 2014-15: 82 GP, 22-59-81, fourth in NHL scoring

What He Has Done so Far in 2015-16: 24 GP, 1-12-13

Why He's About to Break Out: Over the last week, the Philadelphia Flyers have started to find their way under new coach Dave Hakstol, cruising to a 3-1 record and notching wins over the tough Nashville Predators and New York Rangers.

Right wing Jakub Voracek picked up four assists during those four games—a sign his scoring is going to get back on track before too much more time has passed. He's currently tied with Jamie Benn for 19th in the league with 73 shots on goal this season, but Benn has 18 goals and Voracek has only one.

Benn is scoring on an astonishing 24.7 percent of his shots on goal, whereas Voracek's current shooting percentage is 1.4. Until this season, he has converted pretty consistently on about 10 percent of his shots.

Just 26 years old, Voracek has not forgotten how to score goals. So far this season, he has simply been snakebitten by bad luck. His offense will start clicking again very soon.

Forward: Anze Kopitar

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What He Did in 2014-15: 79 GP, 16-48-64

What He Has Done so Far in 2015-16: 23 GP, 7-6-13

Why He's About to Break Out: After failing to making the playoffs last season, the Los Angeles Kings looked like their troubles were going to continue when they started 2015-16 with three straight losses—and scored just two goals in those three games.

Since that time, L.A. has gone 14-5-1—good for first place in the Pacific Division.

As usual, the Kings' calling card has been strong defense and sharp goaltending. L.A. leads the league with just 50 goals against, and first-line center Anze Kopitar is back in Selke Trophy form—tied for seventh in the NHL at plus-11.

After a quiet start, Kopitar is also starting to chip in offensively. He has two goals and four assists in the Kings' last five games, nearly doubling his production to that point this season.

Kopitar's in a contract year, so the 28-year-old has plenty of incentive to put up big numbers as he looks to ink what will probably be the biggest deal of his hockey career. Expect to see him heat up as the season progresses.

Defense: Mark Giordano

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What He Did in 2014-15: 61 GP, 11-37-48

What He Has Done so Far in 2015-16: 24 GP, 5-3-8

Why He's About to Break Out: Last season, Mark Giordano was an out-of-the-blue candidate for the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman until a torn biceps muscle knocked him to the sidelines in late February.

This year, Gio's struggling and so are his Calgary Flames. His offensive numbers have tailed right off, his minus-15 is second-worst in the NHL and his team has fallen to 29th overall.

The Flames may not have been as good as their record indicated last season, but they're not as bad as they look this year, either. Now last in the league with 87 goals against in 24 games, Calgary's situation should stabilize as Jonas Hiller settles back into his No. 1 role after missing a month with a lower-body injury.

Solid goaltending should help settle Giordano and the rest of the defense group that was believed to be among the best in the league heading into 2015-16. The playoffs might be out of reach, but Giordano and the Flames should bounce back to respectable levels in the second half of the season.

Defense: Cam Fowler

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What He Did in 2014-15: 80 GP, 7-27-34

What He Has Done so Far in 2015-16: 24 GP, 3-7-10

Why He's About to Break Out: Their Pacific Division compatriots up the freeway in Los Angeles have already gotten on track, and it looks like the Anaheim Ducks are poised to do the same.

Their top defenseman, U.S. Olympian Cam Fowler, has points in five of his team's last seven games and is chipping away at his minus-10 rating, which ties him with Ryan Kesler as the worst on the team.

Kesler told Ben Kuzma of the Province that "this team is too good to not be in the playoffs" before the Ducks laid down a 4-0 shellacking on the Vancouver Canucks on November 30—Anaheim's most dominating win of the year to date. Fowler is one of many Ducks whose play will rebound from a rough start as the season wears on.

Goal: Brian Elliott

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What He Did in 2014-15: 46 GP, 26-14-3, 5 shutouts, 2.26 goals-against average, .917 save percentage

What He Has Done so Far in 2015-16: 8 GP, 4-2-1, 2.70 goals-against average, .898 save percentage

Why He's About to Break Out: Is this the year the St. Louis Blues' Brian Elliott finally settles in as a full-time backup goaltender? Though that's the role he has played so far this season, history says no.

Year after year, the 30-year-old seems to do enough to keep himself in the conversation in St. Louis, even as the goaltending carousel spins around him. 

Elliott picked up a share of the William M. Jennings Trophy as part of the NHL's best goaltending duo and outplayed Jaroslav Halak with a 1.56 goals-against average and .940 save percentage back in 2011-12. Since then, his numbers haven't been as lofty, but he has stayed in the mix as the Blues have shuffled through Halak, Ryan Miller and now Jake Allen as his partners.

Allen has the better numbers so far this season—an 11-4-2 record with a 2.03 GAA and .930 save percentage. If typical patterns hold in St. Louis, Elliott will assert himself with some great performances once again as soon as Allen falters or gets injured. By the time the playoffs arrive, the two will be on equal footing once again.

All stats courtesy of NHL.com, current through games November 30.