Welcome to the NHL Star Power Index: A weekly gauge of the players who are controlling substantial buzz around the league. When a player is included on this list it may not be a good thing — it means that they are capturing a large amount of the hockey world’s attention.
These players are in no particular order when it comes to the amount of buzz that they’re creating. We’ll revisit the Star Power Index every week throughout the regular season.
At 37, Alex Ovechkin is racking up milestone after milestone. On Tuesday, Ovechkin joined Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe as the only players in NHL history to score 800 goals over the course of their careers.
Ovechkin achieved the feat in dramatic fashion as he recorded a hat trick in a 7-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. His historic 800th career goal came at the 6:34 mark of the third period when he deposited a juicy rebound past Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek.
The Capitals star is now just two goals away from passing Howe for second place on the league’s all-time goals list. Once Ovechkin passes Howe, only Gretzky will stand in Ovechkin’s way of becoming the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer. It’s certainly a task that the Capitals legend is capable of succeeding at.
Ovechkin has tallied 20 goals in 31 games throughout the 2022-23 season thus far. The Capitals star is currently on pace to score 53 goals (0.65 goals-per-game) this season assuming he suits up for all 82 regular season games. Ovechkin is currently 94 goals from tying Gretzky’s all-time goals record of 894.
This is one of the most gifted goal scorers in the history of the sport. As he continues to achieve more historic milestones, it’s important to remember that hockey fans are being treated to greatness even in the later stages of Ovechkin’s career.
Just 12 days after suffering a stroke, Kris Letang was back in the lineup for the Pittsburgh Penguins over the weekend. Letang logged a team-high 22:14 of ice time in the Penguins’ 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. The veteran defenseman missed just five games while he was out of the lineup.
“Mentally, I feel good to be back, to be honest,” Letang said following Saturday’s game. “It’s always hard to be on the sidelines. I know health comes first… We’re taking all the time we need to figure this thing out. Like [Vyas] said, when I feel ready to go and practice like I did today, he’s going to give me the green light, if it’s safe to do.”
The Penguins defenseman previously had a stroke during the 2013-2014 season and missed more than two months of action in that instance. Letang also logged 27:35 of ice time and registered a shot-on-goal in a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Monday. If no one knew any better, it would certainly be hard to tell that this was the same player that had a scary medical condition just two weeks ago.
Veteran goaltender Frederik Andersen has only appeared in eight games this season due to a lower-body injury. In Andersen’s absence, rookie Pyotr Kochetkov has really thrived between the pipes.
Kochetkov, who selected with the No. 36 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Hurricanes, has compiled a 7-1-4 record to go along with a 2.02 goals-against-average (third in the NHL) and a .926 save percentage (tied for third in the NHL). The Russian product also has recorded back-to-back shutouts over his last two starts.
Kochetkov put together a 27-save performance in a 1-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
Kochetkov joined Detroit Red Wings goalie Ville Husso and Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck as the only three goaltenders in the NHL to record three shutouts this season.
Even though he had surrendered four goals against the Anaheim Ducks in his start prior to the two shutouts, Kochetkov is still having an absolutely sensational month. He’s been victorious in four of his five starts while maintaining an impressive 1.60 goals-against-average and .940 save percentage.
Andersen, who is dealing with a lower-body injury, practiced for the first time last week. It’s certainly going to be interesting to see what Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour does in net when Andersen is healthy enough to play considering how well Kochetkov has played in his absence.
Josh Morrissey is doing something special for the Winnipeg Jets. He’s a defenseman leading his team in points.
Morrissey currently leads the Jets with 32 points (5 goals & 27 assists), which happens to be ahead of dynamic goal scorers like Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. In addition, the veteran blue-liner also ranks third in the NHL in points behind only Erik Karlsson (38) and Rasmus Dahlin (33), who are having career seasons thus far.
Morrissey has really been on fire as of late, especially on the offensive end of the ice. His most impressive showing came last Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks when Morrissey tallied two points in a 3-1 win.
Morrissey’s best play came in the opening period of that particular contest:
The 2013 first round pick also earned the primary assist on a second period power-play goal from Blake Wheeler.
Morrissey is already just five points away from tying his career-high in points (37), which he set during the 2021-22 campaign. As should come as no surprise, he’s been one of the true catalysts for a Jets team that is having a sensational start to the 2022-23 season. They are in second place in the Central Division with the third-most points (37) in the Western Conference and has really found themselves under new head coach Rick Bowness.
