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.
Matthew Tkachuk’s talents were on full display for the Florida Panthers crowd at 2023 NHL All-Star Game in South Florida. Tkachuk earned MVP honors, as he led the Atlantic Division to a 7-5 win over the Central Division in the 2023 NHL All-Star Game Final. He became just the 10th player in NHL history to win an NHL All-Star Game MVP award while playing in his home arena and was the first since Ryan Johansen accomplished the feat in 2015 as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In total, Tkachuk recorded four goals and three assists over the two games.
It was a weekend to remember for Tkachuk amongst the assembly of the greatest players in the sport, and he made sure to carry that momentum into the Panthers’ first game out of the All-Star break. Tkachuk had arguably his best game of the 2022-23 season in a dominant 7-1 win over the Lightning on Monday. During that particular contest, he scored two goals and dished out three assists.
It marked just the third five-point performance of Tkachuk’s seven-year NHL career. After it initially looking like the Tkachuk/Jonathan Huberdeau offseason trade may have been a mistake, Tkachuk is playing some of his best hockey since arriving in South Florida.
As the league returns from the All-Star break, the New Jersey Devils will be looking to build off a stellar first half to the 2022-23 season. Arguably the biggest reason for that impressive start was the play of young center Jack Hughes. Well, Hughes started off the second half with a bang.
In a 5-4 overtime win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, Hughes netted two goals and recorded an assist. With such a performance, Hughes joined some elite company.
It marked the fifth consecutive game in which Hughes has recorded multiple points, matching a Devils franchise record. Only Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews (seven consecutive games in 2018-19) and Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (six consecutive games in 2016-17) have had longer streaks of tallying multiple points in consecutive games.
In addition, he’s also registered points in nine consecutive contests dating back to Jan. 13. During that stretch, the Devils star has tallied multiple points in seven of those games. Hughes’ first couple of professional seasons were spoiled by injuries. With health finally on his side, the Devils star has established himself as one of the premier offensive players in the league.
Connor McDavid has been about as automatic of a point producer as one can be. Entering Thursday, McDavid owns a 13-game point streak dating back to Jan. 3 and kept the streak alive with an assist in a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. In six of those contests, the Edmonton Oilers star has registered multiple points.
Sandwiched in between his 13-game point streak, McDavid took his talents to South Florida for the 2023 NHL All-Star Game. There, he tallied a goal for the Pacific Division in a 6-4 loss at the hands of the Central Division in one of the semifinal matchups.
McDavid’s talents were also on display during the NHL All-Star Skills Competition last Friday. While the two-time Hart Trophy winner didn’t win the Accuracy Shooting event, he sure did produce quite the spectacle:
As the second half of the season begins, McDavid has an NHL-best 93 points with the next closest being teammate Leon Draisaitl (76). The Oilers star also leads the league in goals (41), but that race is a little bit closer. Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak (38) and Hughes (35) are both nipping at his heels in that particular race.
It’s no doubt that McDavid is firmly in the driver’s seat for the Hart Trophy race to crown the NHL’s MVP. Considering that he’s currently on pace for 150 points this season, it’s easily his race to lose.
In Tuesday’s 4-0 win over the Seattle Kraken, the New York Islanders’ biggest storyline was the fact that Bo Horvat scored his first goal with the franchise. However, it was Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin that had the more impressive performance.
Sorokin turned aside all 32 shots that he faced against the Kraken, who have been one of the top teams in the Western Conference all season. In doing so, the 27-year-old netminder tied himself with Washington Capitals’ Darcy Kuemper as the only goalie with five shutouts on the season.
It also marked Sorokin’s 15th career shutout and moved him past Tommy Salo for sole possession of fourth place on the Islanders’ all-time shutouts list. Now Sorokin only trails Glenn Resch (25), Billy Smith (22) and Rick DiPietro (16).
Tuesday’s showing highlights a recent stellar stretch for the Islanders goaltender. Prior to attending to his first career All-Star Game last weekend, Sorokin also registered a shutout in a 2-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Sorokin stopped all 23 shots that he faced in that particular contest and has now tallied 55 saves over his last two games without allowing a goal. It was the third time in Sorokin’s NHL career that he has recorded shutouts in back-to-back starts.
Sorokin ranks second in save percentage (.926) behind only Linus Ullmark (.937) of the Boston Bruins and currently is tied for third in goals-against-average (2.31). According to MoneyPuck, Sorokin also owns a .962 save percentage when facing unblocked shots this season.
With the acquisition of Horvat and signing him to a contract extension, the Islanders clearly have Stanley Cup aspirations. If Sorokin can continue to be an elite force in between the pipes, this is a team that definitely can clinch a Wild Card spot in the East when the postseason rolls around.
