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.
There’s been no player that has had more of a knack for scoring goals this season than Chris Kreider.
Entering the All-Star break, the New York Rangers winger leads the NHL with 33 goals throughout the 2021-22 season. Kreider continued his reign of terror in the Rangers’ recent 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers.
Kreider scored a pair of goals and registered an assist in Tuesday’s contest, which marked the final one before the All-Star break. Both of Kreider’s goals came on the power-play, which has definitely been his bread and butter this season.
In the Rangers’ victory over the Panthers, Kreider made his presence known as he was able to drive to the net for both of his goals. In the second period, the Rangers had a two-on-one with Ryan Strome and Kreider entering the offensive zone. Strome deposited a beautiful saucer pass right onto Kreider’s stick and Kreider had no problem ripping the puck past Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight.
Late in the third period, Kreider helped the Rangers put some distance between themselves and the Panthers with another power-play tally. On this particular occasion, the Rangers were setting up their power-play attack and Kreider delivered the puck to teammate Mika Zibanejad near the face-off circle. Immediately after dishing the puck to Zibanejad, Kreider went to the net and Zibanejad placed a picture-perfect pass on Kreider’s stick for the easy tap-in goal.
On the season, Kreider has registered a league-leading 17 power-play goals. The next closest to Kreider is Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl, who has 13 goals to his name.
Kreider has proved to be an absolute weapon on the man-advantage this season. The veteran winger is one of the key reasons why the Rangers currently are tied for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
A lot of the Vezina Trophy conversation has centered around New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin and Carolina Hurricanes netminder Frederik Andersen. However, Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros is quietly putting together a very strong campaign.
Saros currently owns a .927 save percentage, which ranks fourth in the NHL. In addition, the 26-year old ranks in the top 10 of the league in terms of goals-against-average (2.35).
After allowing at least four goals in three of four games during a stretch in mid-January, Saaros has really righted the ship in a big way. Since that time, he has surrendered two goals or fewer in five consecutive games leading into the All-Star break.
Most recently, Saaros yielded just two goals and stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced in a 4-2 Predators win over the Vancouver Canucks. The impressive performance marked the 100th career win for Saros, who has been Nashville’s starting goaltender over the past three seasons.
After surrendering two less-than-stellar goals in the opening period against the Canucks, Saros really settled in and had a terrific outing. Over the final two periods, Saros recorded 22 of his 30 saves, including 13 stops in the second period.
If Saros can continue his stellar play in between the pipes, the Predators can earn a playoff spot in the top-heavy Western Conference.
It’s been no secret that the Colorado Avalanche have looked like one of the most dominant teams across the league throughout the 2021-22 season. Part of the reason for that is the immense scoring depth that the Avalanche possess.
On a roster that includes the likes of Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen, and Nathan MacKinnon, it may come as a little bit of a surprise that center Nazem Kadri actually leads the team in points (60) and assists (41).
Kadri ranks third in the league in points behind only Florida Panthers star Jonathan Huberdeau (64) and Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (61). In addition, Kadri’s 41 assists are second only to Huberdeau, who has 47 helpers on the year.
Over the past week, Kadri has scored in three consecutive games, including a performance against the Chicago Blackhawks in which he registered a goal and two assists. The 31-year old forward is also coming off of a month of January in which he registered a staggering 21 points (seven goals and 14 assists).
Kadri is just two points away from setting a new career-high. During the 2016-17 season, the veteran forward registered 61 points as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Avalanche have the luxury of so many goal-scoring threats up and down their roster. However, it’s been evident that Kadri has been the most dangerous as of late and is having an elite season.
Calgary Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau has consistently been one of the top playmakers that the NHL has to offer. Through the first half of the 2021-22 season, that ability is being put on full display yet again.
Entering the All-Star break, Gaudreau currently leads the Flames in points (53), assists (35), and plus/minus (+30). The Flames star has also been consistently finding the back of the net lately as he’s scored goals in back-to-back games.
Gaudreau is coming off of a month of January in which he registered points in nine of the Flames’ 11 games. The 28-year old also had three games of three or more points in January, including a pair of four-point performances against the Florida Panthers and St. Louis Blues.
Calgary’s top line of Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and Elias Lindholm has accounted for 134 of the team’s 344 points this season, which is nearly 39 percent of the offense.
Recently, Gaudreau got the chance to play hero as the Flames were knotted in a scoreless tie with the Vancouver Canucks with the game headed to overtime. The Flames had a 3-on-2 rush with Gaudreau being the trailer on the play. Lindholm received the puck at his own blue line and delivered a perfect pass to Gaudreau, who ripped a scorching slap shot past Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko to win the game.
The Flames are currently in the middle of the pack in the Pacific Division, but are only seven points back from the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights. Gaudreau’s stellar play continues to keep the Flames in the race and he’ll have an opportunity to showcase his talent on a big stage when he participates in his sixth-career All-Star Game this weekend.