Several elite NHL defensemen were merely so-so during the first half of the NHL season. And some of them are picking up their pace:Alex Pietrangelo, Blues: His 43 points in 79 games last season were just a starting point. He possesses 50- to 60-point potential. He scored just five goals and added just eight assists in his first 38 games. After scoring two points in 14 December games, he scored eight points in his first five games of January.Dan Boyle, Sharks: He has a steady 50- to 60-point scorer, great on the power play. He averaged a team-high 26:14 per game last year, including a team-high 4:17 with the man advantage. The addition of hard-shooting Brent Burns should have made him even better this season. But scored just two goals and dished 14 assists in his first 35 games this season. Then he scored seven points during a five-game span.Jack Johnson, Kings: He broke out with 25 power-play assists for the talented LA squad last season. But he remains a plus-minus liability; he wa...
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