Welcome to the NHL Star Energy Index: A weekly gauge of the gamers who’re controlling substantial buzz across the league. When a participant is included on this checklist it will not be a great factor — it implies that they’re capturing a considerable amount of the hockey world’s consideration.
These gamers are in no explicit order on the subject of the quantity of buzz that they are creating. We’ll revisit the Star Energy Index each week all through the common season.
The Chicago Blackhawks might have an NHL-worst 30 factors this season, however that hasn’t stopped phenom Connor Bedard from dominating on the ice.
Bedard prolonged his career-high level streak to eight consecutive video games in a 3-1 win in opposition to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. The Blackhawks star tallied a purpose and an help as he added an insurance coverage purpose within the third interval to place the competition out of attain.
In doing so, Bedard turned simply the fourth teenager in franchise historical past to have an eight-game level streak as he joined Jonathan Toews (2007-08), Eddie Olczyk (1985-86) and Bobby Hull (1957-58).
Bedard was in a position to prolong his level streak within the opening interval of Wednesday’s recreation when he arrange a purpose from teammate Ilya Mikheyev.
On the 16:48 mark of the primary interval, Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard was trying to clear the puck out of the nook. Nonetheless, Bedard was in a position to make use of his lively persist with deflect the cross, and Mikheyev was in a position to get the puck previous the blocker of Avalanche goaltender Trent Miner to provide the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead.
The help was the sixty fifth of Bedard’s profession and tied franchise icon Patrick Kane for the second-most assists by a young person in staff historical past, behind solely Olczyk (80).
With the Blackhawks clinging to a 2-1 benefit within the third interval, Bedard discovered the again of the web due to some terrific passing from his teammates. On the 11:54 mark of the ultimate interval, defenseman Seth Jones despatched the puck as much as ahead Tyler Bertuzzi within the impartial zone, and Bertuzzi flipped it over to a surging Bedard. The proficient 19-year outdated skated in and ripped a snap shot previous Miner to provide Chicago a 3-1 lead.
Bedard has registered 4 objectives and 7 assists throughout his eight-game level streak, and has tallied an help in six of these contests. The Blackhawks younger star presently leads the staff in factors (37) and assists (26) on the halfway level of the season.
The Blackhawks are within the midst of a rebuilding effort, however Bedard definitely is making the long run look extraordinarily shiny. After profitable the Calder Trophy because the NHL’s high rookie a yr in the past, Bedard is on tempo for 74 factors this season, which might simply surpass his rookie marketing campaign.
Colorado Avalanche star ahead Nathan MacKinnon is taking the NHL by storm when it comes to the battle for the factors lead. Nonetheless, teammate Mikko Rantanen can be inserting himself within the race for one of many NHL’s high awards within the first half of the season.
Rantanen is presently tied for second in objectives (25), whereas rating third within the league in factors (60) behind solely MacKinnon (68) and Leon Draisaitl (61). The Avalanche winger has scored a purpose in six of his final seven video games, together with a stretch the place he scored in 5 consecutive contests.
Rantanen not too long ago scored Colorado’s lone purpose in a 2-1 shootout loss in opposition to the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 4.
Halfway by way of the opening interval, Rantanen was the beneficiary of a terrific cross from MacKinnon. With the Avalanche on the power-play, defenseman Cale Makar tossed the puck over to MacKinnon, who ended up skating into the sting of the face-off circle earlier than distributing a laser of a cross that Rantanen tapped in for the straightforward purpose.
Rantanen’s purpose ended up giving Colorado a 1-0 benefit on the time.
The Avalanche star has topped the 40-goal mark in every of the final two seasons. Rantanen is unquestionably inside earshot of Draisaitl for the Rocket Richard Trophy because the league chief in objectives contemplating that he is on tempo for 48 this season.
Rantanen has a knack for placing the puck within the web, and it would not damage that he performs on a line with one of many NHL’s most gifted playmakers in MacKinnon. With that feather in his cap, Rantanen’s goal-scoring barrages have been very commonplace in latest seasons.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are making a playoff push after lacking the postseason in every of the previous two seasons. Veteran defenseman Erik Karlsson is doing his finest to assist push the Penguins throughout that end line.
Karlsson presently ranks eighth amongst NHL defensemen in factors (31), whereas additionally being in eighth place in assists (27) coming into Friday. The Penguins blue-liner has tallied a minimum of a degree in 4 of his final 5 video games and has racked up 5 assists throughout that span.
In Thursday’s 5-3 win in opposition to the Edmonton Oilers, Karlsson’s offensive prowess led to a late insurance coverage purpose for the Penguins.
On the 5:42 mark of the second interval, Karlsson obtained the puck on the blue line and ended up throwing in on web on a shot that went simply vast of the cage. Nonetheless, the puck ricocheted off of the board behind the web and proper to ahead Michael Bunting. Bunting then discovered an open Sidney Crosby to the left of the Oilers web and Crosby did not miss his alternative to attain a straightforward purpose.
The insurance coverage purpose ended up being pretty essential because the Oilers scored two objectives to chop the deficit to 5-3.
The Penguins made a splash within the 2023 offseason once they acquired Karlsson in a commerce with the San Jose Sharks. Karlsson brings an abundance of offensive acumen to the desk and has no drawback placing the puck on web when the chance presents itself. Whereas Karlsson did not earn a main on the play, he helped make it attainable.
The Penguins doubtless aren’t going to get one other 25-goal season out of Karlsson, however his capacity to attain from the blue line is at all times one thing that the opposing staff has to defend. Karlsson ought to show to be one among Pittsburgh’s high property because it make its cost in direction of a playoff berth this season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded a 2.90 goals-against-average and a .900 save share final season, and people aren’t the sort of numbers that the hockey world has grown accustomed to seeing from the veteran goaltender. Nonetheless, Vasilevskiy has positively discovered his stride guarding the crease this season.
Vasilevskiy presently has a 18-12-1 file to associate with a 2.36 goals-against-average and a .916 save share. The Tampa Bay Lightning netminder has allowed two or fewer objectives in every of his final 5 video games.
Most not too long ago, Vasilevskiy turned apart 27 of the 28 photographs that he confronted in a 4-1 win in opposition to the Boston Bruins on Thursday. In reality, he stopped 11 photographs over the ultimate 20 minutes to maintain the Bruins at bay in an essential Atlantic Division conflict.
Thursday’s victory marked the 311th win of Vasilevskiy’s profession and allowed him to cross former Atlanta Thrashers and Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for the eighth-most amongst goaltenders born exterior of North America in NHL historical past.
Vasilevskiy has been taking part in extraordinarily properly because the calendar flipped to 2025. In spite of everything, the Lightning goaltender has recorded a 2.05 goals-against-average and a .933 save share in 4 begins this month.
Vasilevskiy continues to be a brick wall at instances at this stage of his NHL profession. In keeping with MoneyPuck, the Russian netminder has tallied a .958 save share when dealing with unblocked photographs on the season. If something near that sort of manufacturing retains up, it is laborious to think about the Lightning lacking out on one of many Atlantic Division’s high three playoff spots.
