This is the THN.com Three Stars of the Week, an ongoing feature in which we pick out the NHL’s best trio of players from the past seven days. Let’s get right to it:
3. Jack Hughes, New Jersey
The Devils’ sizzling start to the season includes the huge contributions on offense from Hughes, who leads the team in goals (11) and points (25) in 22 games.
This week, Hughes had four goals and six points in four games, including a hat trick Saturday against the Washington Capitals. The 21-year-old center is on pace for a 41-goal, 93-point season, which would demolish his current career highs of 26 goals and 56 points, both set last season when he missed 33 games due to injury.
Hughes has needed a few years to fully acclimate to the NHL level, and his 5-foot-11 frame isn’t imposing on the opposition, but what we’re seeing from him thus far this season is the reason why New Jersey selected him first overall in 2019. He has astonishing instincts on offense, he can be a playmaker as easily as he can finish plays and, in the first year of a contract extension that pays him $8 million per season, he’s a relative bargain on the salary cap front. The Devils are thriving for many reasons, and Hughes’ standout play is key among them.
2. Jason Robertson, Dallas
Robertson led all NHLers this week in goals (six) and points (eight) in four games. The Stars have struggled as a team this week, but Robertson can’t be faulted for it. In three of four games, he scored two goals, and he now has a league-best 18 goals and 35 points (second-best in the NHL) in 22 games. That’s a pace that would give him an incredible 67 goals and 130 points this season. In his best season on offense, which was last season, Robertson scored 41 goals and 79 points in 74 games, which indicates how much he’s ratcheted up his performance this year.
Just before the current season began, Robertson agreed to a contract extension paying him $7.75 million per year, but the way he’s playing at the moment, he’s worth much more. He’s become the Stars’ most dangerous skater and one of the sport’s most lethal snipers – and at age 23, his best days are still ahead of him. That ought to frighten the daylights out of opposing goalies and keep Dallas fans thrilled by his efforts.
1. Ilya Sorokin, Islanders.
The New York Islanders are enjoying a four-game win streak, and Sorokin is the main reason why. The 27-year-old Russian goaltender posted a 3-0-0 record and a whopping .963 SP and 1.32 GAA with one shutout this week – and that shutout saw him turn aside all 49 shots the high-octane Edmonton Oilers had on him. Sorokin is the Isles’ most valuable player through 23 games, and his numbers – including a 2.19 GAA (third-best in the league) and
.933 SP (tying him for second place in the league) – put him on track to be nominated for the Vezina Award as the game’s best netminder.
Sorokin is in the second-to-last season of his contract, which pays him just $4 million per year. He’ll be due a massive raise when it’s time for his next deal, but the Islanders can’t afford to let him depart as an unrestricted free agent. He’s the backbone of their franchise, and he’s as dominant as an NHL goalie there is right now. No player had a bigger impact on the game this week.
