Here's our weekly look at the fortunes of some of the game's brightest young stars. Behold, the latest under-24 player rankings.

Johnny Gaudreau and the Flames have heated up after a slow start, battling back into playoff contention. Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

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Johnny Gaudreau, LW, Calgary Flames

Johnny Hockey has put a slow start -- which included belated contract negotiations and a broken finger -- behind him to get back into the same groove that saw him score 30 goals and collect 78 points last season. Gaudreau has two goals and seven assists in his past five games for a Flames team fighting for the Western Conference's first wild-card spot. Four of those assists were collected on the power play as Calgary has battled its way out of an early hole and into the race for a Pacific Division playoff berth.

If the Flames are going to stay in the hunt, the 23-year-old Gaudreau, the 104th pick in 2011, will be a key factor. He has helped ignite frequent linemate and power-play sidekick Sean Monahan, who has eight points in his past six games.

Rasmus Ristolainen, D, Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo isn't anywhere close to being out of the woods just yet. But with Jack Eichel back and healthy (and producing like crazy) and with the offense slowly lurching into gear, the Sabres are playing some of their best hockey of the season in spite of ranking dead last in goals scored per game. Among the recent contributors has been Ristolainen, 22, the eighth-overall pick in 2013. The lanky Finn has a power-play goal and seven assists, two on the power play, in his past six games. Ristolainen is averaging a whopping 26:39 a night in ice time, first on the team and fifth among all NHL skaters.

Matt Murray, G, Pittsburgh Penguins

OK, so when do we start including Murray, the 22-year-old wunderkind for the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins, in our Vezina Trophy discussions? Murray missed time at the beginning of the season with a wrist injury but has won all five of his December appearances while posting a .945 save percentage. Overall, he's a dynamic 12-2-0 with a 1.93 goals-against average. He'll have to be even better in the coming days, now that star defenseman Kris Letang is out for several weeks with a lower-body injury. But the answer to the initial question? Now.

After a 12-point eruption in November, Bo Horvat has cooled off considerably this month. James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

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Bo Horvat, C, Vancouver Canucks

There is no doubt that Horvat -- the ninth-overall pick in 2013 by the Canucks, who obtained the draft pick in the big deal that sent Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils -- is a key part of the Canucks' rebuild. (Even if no one in team management or ownership wants to call it a rebuild.) But after a promising November that saw the speedy Horvat collect 12 points, he has gone dry in December, with just one assist in seven games. Still, Horvat has won the second-most faceoffs on the team and is averaging 17:17 a night in ice time. But those ups and down are typical for a young player -- Horvat is 21 -- and it's been typical for a team fighting to stay in the playoff hunt despite an ugly minus-21 goal differential.

Christian Dvorak, C, Arizona Coyotes

For every Patrik Laine, Auston Matthews or Zach Werenski, there are more youngsters like Dvorak for whom the learning curve at the NHL level is imposingly steep. The Coyotes are now without young star winger Max Domi, who's out with a hand injury and who also played junior hockey with Dvorak in London, Ontario, for the foreseeable future.

Arizona is 29th in goals scored, and that's not going to change unless some of its young players start to find their way around the net. Dvorak came out of junior as a high-end offensive talent, but in a season split between the NHL and AHL, the 20-year-old has just two goals in 26 games for the struggling Coyotes. He has one assist in his past 10 games -- even as Arizona enjoyed a rare two-game win streak after knocking off Matthews and his Toronto Maple Leafs in a shootout on Thursday.

Mikhail Grigorenko, C, Colorado Avalanche

Grigorenko was the 12th-overall pick in 2012 and was a centerpiece of the big deal that sent Ryan O'Reilly to the Sabres before the start of last season. So far it's been an uphill struggle for the 22-year-old -- just as it's been a battle for most of his teammates. Grigorenko has 10 points in 27 games -- and just two assists in his past seven games -- after a two-game scoring streak to close out November.

Young guns showdown

Ryan Hartman, LW, Chicago Blackhawks versus Colton Parayko, D, St. Louis Blues, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET

It looks like Hartman, the 30th pick in 2013, will get a chance to play with Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, who is back from an extended stay on the disabled list, and renaissance veteran Marian Hossa. It's been an up-and-down ride for Hartman, 22, who picked up just his third assist in his past 10 games in Thursday's come-from-behind win over the New York Islanders.

Meanwhile, Parayko -- the 6-foot-5 23-year-old who is in his second season with the Blues -- is still looking for his first goal of 2016-17. He has two assists in his past eight games. He and the Blues will try to close the gap in the Central Division on the first-place Blackhawks by improving on their 13-1-3 dominant home record.