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 generate. We will review the Star Power Index every week during the regular season.
Kirill Kaprizov is certainly one of the most elite playmakers ever . Lately the Minnesota Wild Star put the puck in the net at a high level.
Kaprizov has four goals and two assists in his last four games and has scored a goal in four of his last six games. On Tuesday, the Wild winger posted a two-goal performance in a 4-2 win over the Wild St Louis Blues.
Kaprizov also has 13 points (six goals and seven assists) and has scored at least one point in each of his last seven games.
In Tuesday's game, the Blues and Wild were tied 1-1 after exchanging goals in the first two periods. At this point, Kaprizov was able to give his team a brief advantage over their counterparts in the Western Conference.
At the 6:07 mark of the final period, Wild defenseman Jake Middleton managed to keep the puck in the attacking zone. Middleton was then able to move toward the net before firing a wrist shot that Kaprizov was able to deflect past the Blues goalkeeper Jordan Binnington.
Kaprizov also added an unanswered goal that put the contest out of reach in the final 90 seconds. It was the Wild star's fourth multi-goal performance this season.
The Wild forward has been incredibly efficient up to this point. Kaprizov scores on 22.0% of his shots and is second on the team behind with 59 shots Matt Boldy.
Kaprizov is currently on his way to 150 points (59 goals and 91 assists). Obviously, if he came anywhere close to those good numbers, that would shatter his career-high in points (108), so it's safe to say he's currently in the Hart Trophy conversation. While this pace may not be sustainable, Kaprizov is doing his best to push the Wild toward the playoff spot.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were without a star striker Austin Matthews in the last few weeks. Therefore, they had to rely on some of their other star players to carry the offensive load, including talented winger Mitch Marner.
Despite Matthews not being in the lineup, the Maple Leafs have put together a very impressive record, which includes six wins in their last seven games. Marner has been a strong producer in this specific stretch, as he has two goals and four assists in his last three games.
Marner even had a flair for the dramatic in the Maple Leafs' 4-3 overtime win over the Maple Leafs Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Since the game ended 3-3 in overtime, the Oilers' dynamic duo was of Leon Draisaitl And Connor McDavid tried to put the game away. Instead, a pass from Draisaitl was blocked by the Maple Leafs defense and it went the opposite direction.
Marner managed to grab the loose puck and engaged in a two-on-one duel with his teammate John Tavares. Instead of passing the puck, Marner decided to keep it and shot past the goaltender Stuart Skinner Blocker for the game-winning goal.
The game-winner also allowed Marner to reach a milestone as it was the 200th career goal for the Maple Leafs star. Marner became only the 16th player in franchise history to reach the 200-goal mark.
Marner also scored two assists in the 3-0 win against them Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. The Maple Leafs forward had the first assist on two goals in Toronto, including one William Nylander Power play result.
This is a huge season for Marner, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Marner is having an extremely productive season at the right time as he leads the Maple Leafs in points (26) and assists (20). Toronto may need Marner's performance to continue to perform at an elite level if Matthews isn't on the roster for the foreseeable future.
Zach Werenski a historic achievement in the compiled Columbus Blue Jackets' 7-6 overtime win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Werenski set a franchise record for points in a game (5) and also became the first Blue Jackets defenseman to record a five-point performance. Since then, he became the first Blue Jackets to play a five-point game Johnny Gaudreau achieved the feat on March 14, 2023.
Werenski also became the first defenseman to score five points in a game this season, a feat achieved by only four blue-liners a year ago.
The Blue Jackets star scored two goals and three assists against the Lightning, including the game-winner in overtime.
After just 1:26 minutes in overtime, the Blue Jackets are ahead Cole Sillinger was able to pass the puck from the faceoff circle in the offensive zone to Werenski. After Werenski got the puck on his stick, he skated into the slot and fired a powerful shot past the Lightning goalie Jonas Johansson to win the game.
The Blue Jackets defenseman also scored both forwards' first assist Kent Johnson Goals in the entire competition on Thursday. He also received a second assist on a Dmitry Voronkov Goal at the start of the second period.
Werenski enters Friday tied for second in the league in defensemen (19) while tied for second in goals (6). Werenski is currently on a four-game points streak and has recorded three goals and six assists in that span. Thursday's game was also his second multi-point performance in the last four contests.
Werenski continues to be a stabilizing presence on defense for a Blue Jackets team that is just three points out of a Wild Card spot entering this season. If this type of production continues, perhaps a return to the postseason could be a real possibility.
The Buffalo saber trying to be a more consistent hockey team after a difficult start to the season. goalkeeper Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen contributes to making this ambition a reality with his play in the goal area.
Most recently, Luukkonen managed a shutout in a 1-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. In the end, Luukkonen saved all 23 shots he faced, earning his first shutout of the season.
After the win against Los Angeles, Luukkonen improved his record to 4-0-1 in his last five games.
Luukkonen has ensured a lot of consistency between the balls in recent weeks. In November, the Sabers goaltender posted a 4-1-0 record, a 1.76 goalscoring average and a .935 save percentage in six starts.
The Sabers rewarded Luukkonen with a five-year, $23.75 million contract extension last summer, an average annual value of $4.75 million. If Luukkonen can continue on the goal line, the Sabers have certainly found their goaltender of the future.
