Welcome to the NHL Star Power Index: A weekly gauge of the gamers who’re controlling substantial buzz across the league. When a participant is included on this record it might not be factor — it implies that they’re capturing a considerable amount of the hockey world’s consideration.
These gamers are in no explicit order in the case of the quantity of buzz that they are creating. We’ll revisit the Star Power Index each week all through the common season.
Jason Robertson could also be starting simply his third full NHL season, however that hasn’t stopped him from inserting himself among the many league’s most harmful gamers.
Entering Thursday, Robertson ranks third in each factors (31) and objectives (16). The Dallas Stars standout is tied with Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid and Vancouver Canucks star Bo Horvat for the league lead in that division.
In 4 video games over the previous week, Robertson has tallied 5 objectives and an help, together with a pair of two-goal efficiency in opposition to the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks.
As loopy because it sounds, Robertson’ two-goal outing in opposition to Chicago on Wednesday was solely his third multi-goal recreation of the season. Still, consistency has been a relentless theme for the Stars winger as he is scored in 13 of his 20 video games throughout the 2022-23 marketing campaign.
Robertson even had a aptitude for the dramatic in opposition to the Avalanche as he scored his second objective to tie the sport at 2-2 with simply 25.8 seconds remaining in regulation. The 23-year previous parked himself down low, obtained a cross from teammate Roope Hintz, and ripped the puck previous Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev.
It’s no secret why the Stars locked up Robertson with a four-year, $31 million contract quite than threat transferring on from the 2017 second spherical choose. Robertson is clearly the face of the franchise in Dallas and is without doubt one of the principal the reason why the Stars have been off to a terrific begin this season.
Even at 35 years previous, Sidney Crosby continues to be one of many elite gamers within the NHL. In current weeks, he is actually been placing that truth on full show.
Over his final 4 video games, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain has tallied three objectives and 7 assists in a sensational offensive stretch. Crosby has registered a number of factors in three of these 4 video games whereas recording 4 factors in two of these contests.
On Sunday, Crosby had an incredible recreation by which he racked up a objective and three assists in a 5-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Crosby registered the first assists on objectives from teammates Rickard Rakell and Jeff Carter.
Crosby’s help on Rakell’s objective was an instance of Crosby’s unbelievable imaginative and prescient on the ice. Early within the second interval of Sunday’s recreation, Crosby obtained the puck from Marcus Pettersson on the face-off circle and whipped a cross-ice cross over onto the tape of Rakell’s stick. Rakell actually did not miss the one-timer alternative as he ripped one previous Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom.
During final Thursday’s 6-4 win over the Minnesota Wild, Crosby additionally had an incredible recreation with two objectives and two assists. Crosby scored or assisted on 4 of Pittsburgh’s six objectives on the evening.
Crosby presently leads the Penguins in factors (27), objectives (10), and assists (17) this season.
It’s downright spectacular that Crosby continues to be taking part in at such an extremely excessive degree at this stage of his profession. After shedding seven consecutive video games earlier this season, Crosby has been an enormous a part of the Penguins’ turnaround as they’re presently on a three-game successful streak.
The Winnipeg Jets have been anticipated to be among the many league’s worst groups and even be within the operating for prime prospect Connor Bedard within the 2023 NHL Draft. However, the Jets have gotten off to a shocking 11-5-1 begin and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is without doubt one of the largest causes for the crew’s early season success.
Hellebuyck presently ranks fourth within the NHL in save share (.928) and ranks seventh in goals-against-average (2.35) in 14 begins this season. The 29-year previous additionally has a pair of shutouts to his title, which is tied for first within the league together with Detroit’s Ville Husso and Vegas’ Logan Thompson.
The Jets goalie has yielded two or fewer objectives in eight of his 14 begins whereas additionally surrendering a objective or much less in 4 of these outings. Hellebuyck is within the midst of getting a robust month of November by which he is gathered a 4-3-0 document to associate with a strong 2.29 goals-against-average and .924 save share.
Aside from a forgettable six-goal outing in opposition to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday, Hellebuyck allowed simply seven complete objectives in three begins over the previous week, and stopped a minimum of 29 pictures in every contest. He turned apart 29 of the 31 pictures that he confronted in a troublesome 3-0 loss in opposition to the Penguins on Saturday.
Since the Jets solely common 2.94 goals-per-game, Winnipeg has leaned on Hellebuyck to maintain the crew within the majority of video games this season. His 424 saves are good for second in your entire NHL and he is turned away 40-plus pictures on three events all through the 2022-23 season to this point.
If Hellebuyck continues to play at an elite degree, it is exhausting to think about the Jets not a minimum of hanging round within the playoff race the vast majority of the common season.
Looking on the reverse finish of the goalie spectrum, Sergei Bobrovsky just isn’t having a banner yr for a Florida Panthers crew that captured the Presidents’ Trophy final season.
In 11 begins, Bobrovsky has posted a 4-5-1 document, a 3.62 goals-against-average, and a .888 save share. His goals-against-average and save share numbers rank outdoors of the highest 50 qualifying netminders throughout the league.
Bobrovsky has had 5 video games by which he is yielded a minimum of 4 objectives, together with surrendering 5 objectives in two of these contests. After posting a 3.06 goals-against-average over the primary month of the season, November has been even worse for the 34-year previous as he is recorded a brutal 4.38 goals-against common and .877 save share.
It’s fairly doable that Father Time is just catching up with Bobrovsky. In every of his final three seasons previous to the 2022-23 marketing campaign, Bobrovsky has registered goals-against-averages of three.23, 2.91, and a couple of.67. That’s actually not what the Panthers envisioned after they signed the veteran goalie to a seven-year, $70 million contract again in 2019.
At this level, Bobrovsky is splitting time with 21-year previous Spencer Knight in internet for the Panthers. Bobrovsky has began 11 video games in comparison with Knight’s 10 contests.
Considering Bobrovsky’s current struggles, it could be time at hand the beginning job over to Knight. After all, Knight has a 6-3-1 document, a 2.39 goals-against-average, and a .922 save share on the yr to this point. Giving Knight extra time within the crease could also be a crucial change for a crew that presently has only a 10-8-2 document (22 factors) and sits in fifth place within the Atlantic Division.
