The second week of NHL hockey is in the books and some players are off to a hot start, while others are still trying to find their game early in the year. Some players will help GM’s get out to an early lead in fantasy hockey, while others could find themselves in danger of being cut from rosters. Let’s take a look at some players having early season success, or difficulties, in week two of fantasy hockey “Stud ‘n Duds.”

Studs

Wayne Simmonds | Philadelphia Flyers | Right Wing

Simmonds has had an excellent start to his 2014-2015 season. In five games, Simmonds has seven points (5G, 2A) and is a plus-3 with 18 shots. The Scarborough native is averaging a nice 4:33 of powerplay time on the first unit and could see him improve on his numbers from last year if the trend continues. He’s an excellent play every time the Flyers play.

Brock Nelson | New York Islanders | Center

The 2010 first-round pick is off to a terrific start this season. Nelson has eight points (4G, 4A) and a plus-3 rating in five games. To go along with his eight points, he has two powerplay goals and a game-winning goal (GWG).  The 23-year-old only has five shots on the season –none in the last two games, but is on pace to shatter last years points total of 26. He’s a great pickup early in the season before he cools off.

Frederik Andersen | Anaheim Ducks | Goalie

Andersen and the Duck are off to a fantastic start again this season. The 25-year-old is tied for the league lead with four wins and has a .937 save percentage (SV%).  The Denmark native has had three games of two or less goals allowed and sports a very nice 1.71 goals-against-average (GAA). Bruce Boudreau is known for having a short leash with his goaltenders, but for now Andersen is the main guy in Anaheim and is an excellent sell-high candidate early in the season.

Duds

Gabriel Landeskog  | Colorado Avalanche | Left Wing

The Colorado captain is off to a terrible start this year to say the least. Landeskog has one goal through six games and has managed only nine shots in those six games. The Avalanche as a team have not been good, so it’s probably not a surprise to see the 21-year-old disappoint to this point. The former second overall pick is bound to get back on track, but it’s frustrating for fantasy owners early on to see this kind of production.

Tuukka Rask | Boston Bruins | Goalie

The reining Vezina trophy winner has had a less than ideal start to his season so far. Rask has two wins in his first five games played and sports an ugly 2.90 GAA and .870 SV%. The Boston Bruins have not had a good start to their season, which reflects Rask’s numbers, but most owners spent a first round pick on him and are not impressed with those numbers. The former first-round pick is going to be fine as the season moves on, but he might need to steal a game for the Bruins to get back on track.

James Neal | Nashville Predators| Left Wing

Neal might be feeling the effects of not have Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin with him anymore.  The sniper has only one goal with a minus-3 rating so far after five games with his new team and is playing alongside veteran forward Mike Ribeiro. The Ontario native may take some time to adjust to life in the “Music City,” but fantasy owners are hoping Neal starts to find the net sooner rather then later if he wants to repeat his point-per-game production from last year.