Welcome to Star Power Index: A weekly measure of the players making big splashes around the league. If a player is included on this list, it might not be a good thing – it means he's getting a lot of the hockey world's attention.
These players are in no particular order when it comes to how much buzz they attract. We will review the Star Power Index every week during the regular season.
Evgeny Malkin He continues to perform at the top of his game even in the final phase of his career Career. Actually it is Pittsburgh Penguins Star reached a very important milestone on Wednesday with their 6-5 overtime win against the Buffalo saber.
In the third period of Wednesday's contest, Malkin scored his 500th career goal and did so in dramatic fashion.
Malkin received the puck from the Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and his first shot was stopped by the pad of Sabers goaltender Ukko Pekka-Luukkonen. The Penguins forward stayed in the game and, despite falling, managed to put the rebound into the net.
It was a night full of milestones as Crosby became the 10th player in NHL history to score 1,600 points in his NHL career. Ironically, Malkin assisted on Crosby's game-winning overtime goal that gave the Penguins the win.
Malkin became only the third player in team history to score 500 goals, joining Mario Lemieux (690) and Crosby (593). Additionally, Malkin became only the eighth player in NHL history born outside of the United States or Canada to score 500 career goals.
Aside from that milestone, Malkin was energized heading into the 2024-25 season. The Penguins star scored 11 points (two goals and nine assists) in the first five games of the season, making even more history. Malkin became the first Penguins player to record 11 points in the first five games of a season since Lemieux had four goals and seven assists in the first five games of the 2002-03 season.
As of Friday, Malkin is tied for the lead in points in the NHL New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin.
After failing to get on the scoresheet in the season opener against the New York Rangers, Malkin has scored multiple points in each of the last four games. Malkin's best game was Wednesday's performance against the Sabers, in which he scored four points (one goal and three assists).
The Penguins will have to rely on their franchise cornerstones Malkin and Crosby if they want to make the playoffs this season. So it's a big deal to see Malkin get off to such a good start.
Sam Reinhart was always an extremely productive player during his time with the Buffalo Sabers early in his career. Since arriving in South Florida, Reinhart has become one of the NHL's deadliest scorers.
The Florida Panthers Star had a career year in 2023-24 in which he scored 59 goals and was rewarded with an eight-year contract extension worth $69 million in the summer. Reinhart picked up right where he left off last season after helping lead the Panthers to the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Entering Friday, Reinhart is currently tied for third in the NHL with four goals and five assists (9). The Panthers forward has scored multiple points in three of Florida's six games so far.
Reinhart's most impressive performance was a 4-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. The 28-year-old scored a goal and two assists in this particular game and it was his first three-point performance of the young 2024-25 season.
Reinhart scored his fourth goal of the season in time to help lead the Panthers past the Blue Jackets.
With just two seconds left in the second period, Reinhart threw the puck behind the net to his teammate Carter Verhaegheand made his way to the front of the net. Reinhart was able to sneak the puck past the Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins to a great goal as he brought the puck back into the lead.
Reinhart continues to be one of the Panthers' top scorers. Florida will definitely need his scoring output in the next few games Aleksander Barkov And Matthew Tkachuk in the lineup.
The Calgary Flames have looked like one of the most impressive teams in the league through the first two weeks of the 2024-25 season. defender Rasmus Andersson was a very big part of this success.
Andersson has emerged as the leader of Calgary's back end, recording points in three of the team's first four games. The 27-year-old blue-liner's best performance to date was a 4-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, when he scored a goal and two assists.
Andersson showed tremendous vision on the ice during Sunday's game.
The Flames defenseman carried the puck into the attacking zone and weaved through the Oilers defense as usual Connor McDavid. Eventually, Andersson was able to get into the slot and fire a shot past the Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner to give the Flames a 2-1 lead at the time.
The veteran defenseman also provided secondary assists from forwards Anthony Mantha And Justin Kirkland in the third period, which gave the Flames a decisive advantage over the Oilers.
On Friday, Andersson is only in second place with six points Cale Makar (8) among NHL defensemen. Andersson has continued to develop into a very strong, offensive-minded blue-liner over the last few years, but it was impressive to see him put his vision on full display early in the season.
That's safe to say Colorado avalanche goalkeeper Alexandra Georgiev has had a lot of problems outside the penalty area this season.
In four starts to start the year, Georgiev has posted a 0-3-0 record to go along with a 5.79 goals against average and an .800 save percentage. The Avalanche goaltender was sent off in two of those starts and scored at least four goals in three of those games.
Georgiev started the season poorly as he conceded five goals in just two games Vegas Golden Knights. He was not required to enter the ice in the final period of a game that the Avalanche lost 8-4.
In the team's next game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 12, the story remained the same as he conceded three goals in just over a season. Georgiev was recalled just 1:56 into the second period after the Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli scored the decisive goal and ended in a 4:6 defeat.
Most recently, Georgiev conceded four goals in a 3-5 defeat against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
Georgiev's rocky start led the Avalanche to a 0-4-0 record early in the regular season. In fact, Colorado is one of only three winless teams in the league to this point.
Obviously there is still a long season ahead of us and Georgiev still has plenty of time to right the ship. However, it's a little worrisome for an Avalanche team that's expected to contend for the Stanley Cup in 2024-25 after posting a 3.02 goals against average in 62 starts last season.
