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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.
Nathan MacKinnon is having arguably the most impressive season in the NHL ranks this year. The Colorado Avalanche star added to that resumé earlier this week by reaching a career milestone.
MacKinnon tallied his 1,000th career point by recording a pair of assists in the Avalanche’s 3-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.
The 29-year old became the 100th player in league history to tally 1,000 career points. MacKinnon also joined Joe Sakic (1,641) and Peter Stastny (1,048) as the only players in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history to achieve the feat.
As if that wasn’t spectacular enough, MacKinnon also became the first NHL player to arrive at the 100-point milestone for the season. He also became just the second player in franchise history to register three 100-point seasons along with Stastny.
MacKinnon has registered a point in six of his last seven games, including tallying a two-goal game in a 7-4 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
At the 15:45 mark of the third period, forward Martin Necas sent the puck across the ice to an open MacKinnon in the opposite face-off circle. Upon taking possession of the puck, MacKinnon stick-handled his way closer to goaltender Anthony Stolarz and snapped the puck over Stolarz’s shoulder for a sensational goal.
MacKinnon’s goal ended up being the game-winner to lift the Avalanche past the Maple Leafs. Fellow forward Valeri Nichushkin clinched his hat trick goal, while MacKinnon also added an empty-net tally to clinch the game.
It seems to be a two-horse race for the Hart Trophy between MacKinnon and Edmonton Oilers standout Leon Draisaitl. MacKinnon is currently on pace for 127 points on the season.
It’s been a whirlwind of a week for forward Dylan Cozens. He was one of the bigger names moved at the NHL trade deadline when he was shipped from league-worst Buffalo to an Ottawa team that leads the Wild Card standings in the Eastern Conference.
In the early days of his Senators tenure, Cozens is thriving to the tune of two goals and two assists in his first four games. On Tuesday, Cozens found the back of the net in a 5-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Midway through the second period, Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler was attempting to clear the puck out of his own zone when Cozens was able to take control of it in the offensive zone. Shortly after securing the puck, Cozens was able to snap a scorching shot past Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov to make it a 4-2 game.
Cozens also registered a goal in Monday’s 2-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings.
The 24-year old was originally selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Sabres. Cozens tallied 106 points (44 goals & 62 assists) in his first two full seasons in Buffalo, which included a career-high 68 points (31 goals & 37 assists) during the 2022-23 season.
However, Cozens saw his production dip over the past two campaigns with just 47 points (18 goals & 29 assists) in 2023-24. Prior to Friday’s trade, the center had tallied just 11 goals and 20 assists in 61 games for Buffalo this season.
It’s obviously only been a few games, but Cozens has appeared to have found a home in Ottawa. Cozens has been centering a line that also features Drake Batherson and David Perron, and could help the Senators break their Stanley Cup Playoff drought this season.
Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Moutour had an evening for the ages in a 5-4 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Montour even made sure to end the game in dramatic fashion.
Montour registered two goals and two assists, including scoring the game-winning goal just four seconds into overtime.
On the opening face-off of the overtime period, the puck squeaked ahead of everybody and Montour was able to track it down. Montour quickly gained control of the puck, brought it in all alone and sent a shot past Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes to win the game.
In the Kraken’s NHL-best eighth comeback win of the season, Montour matched an NHL record for the fastest goal to begin any period, which had been done three times prior.
Montour also tied a Kraken record for most points by a defenseman in a single season. He also became the third NHL defenseman to record multiple four-point games this season. Finally, Montour set the franchise record for the most goals in a season (15) by a Kraken defenseman as he passed Vince Dunn’s 14 goals from the 2022-23 season.
After helping the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup last season, Montour signed a seven-year, $50 million contract with the Kraken over the summer. Montour has added a ton of offensive acumen to Seattle’s back end as he’s recorded his third double-digit goal season over the past four campaigns.
After two subpar seasons with the Washington Capitals, veteran goaltender Darcy Kuemper has really settled in with his team.
In his first season with the Los Angeles Kings, Kuemper has thrived to the tune of a 21-8-7 record, a 2.23 goals-against-average, and a .917 save percentage. Kuemper’s goal-against-average ranks as the second-lowest among qualifying goaltenders behind only Winnipeg Jets star Connor Hellebuyck.
Most recently, Kuemper stopped all 21 shots that he faced in a 3-0 win against the Capitals on Thursday. In the process, Kuemper improved his record to a 11-0-1 in his last 12 home games. That matches the longest home point streak by a Kings goaltender since Kelly Hrudey went 11-0-1 during the 1990-91 season.
Kuemper has tallied a 1.58 goals-against-average during the month of March, including surrendering just two total goals across his last three starts. The Kings netminder has also allowed just eight total goals in five appearances this month.
After winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, Kuemper had tallied at least a 2.87 goals-against-average in each of the previous two seasons. However, Kuemper has seemed to find a home in Los Angeles with a Kings team that is currently second in the Pacific Division and looking primed to make the postseason.