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.
Last week, star center Jack Eichel made his long-awaited Vegas Golden Knights debut against the Colorado Avalanche. In November, Eichel was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres, but underwent neck surgery shortly after being traded.
In Eichel's much-anticipated debut, he logged 17:32 of ice time, registered one shot, won 8-of-11 face-offs and received two minor penalties in a 2-0 Golden Knights loss. While it wasn't a sensational performance numbers-wise, Eichel immediately made an impact as he centered the team's top line and spent time on the power-play unit.
In Vegas' ensuing two games against the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, Eichel showed why the Golden Knights made the bold move to acquire his services. Since making his debut, Eichel has registered three points (one goal and two assists).
The Golden Knights currently sit in second place in the Pacific Division with 62 points and only trail the Calgary Flames by four points for first place. Vegas has had the luxury of waiting for Eichel to return due to the forward depth that the Golden Knights possess in the form of Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone and Jonathan Marchessault, among others.
Now Eichel has the potential to be a game-changer for the Golden Knights for the rest of the season and beyond. Eichel provides tremendous playmaking ability for Vegas and makes their top line even more dangerous. If Eichel continues his strong play and keeps developing chemistry with his new team, the sky is the limit for how far the Golden Knights can go this season.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have been one of the hotter teams of late and winger Patrik Laine is one of the biggest reasons why.
Over the team's last three games, Laine has been putting up some staggering numbers. During that stretch, the 23-year old has registered five goals and two assists, including a hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 17.
Laine's most impressive performance came on Tuesday in a 4-3 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Just after overtime got underway, the Blue Jackets made their way up the ice with Jakub Voracek carrying the puck. Voracek dropped the puck off to Laine, who ripped a shot right over the glove of Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell.
Laine missed nearly two months from early November until late December due to an oblique strain. However, his return to the lineup has really help Columbus' offense, which is averaging 3.3 goals-per-game on the season. The Blue Jackets star has been enjoyed a spectacular month of February in which he has scored eight goals and dished out eight assists. In addition, Laine has recorded three multi-goal games this month.
Lately, we've seen Laine return to the form of his days with the Winnipeg Jets. During Laine's first three NHL seasons, the talented forward scored total 110 goals and was one of the most lethal scoring threats in the league. Since then, Laine has only registered 68 total goals, but it's been impressive to see Laine return to his torrid goal-scoring form.
The Dallas Stars have definitely found their goaltender of the future in Jake Oettinger.
Throughout the 2021-22 season, Oettinger has split time with veteran netminder Braden Holtby, but has easily been the more impressive option out of the two. Oettinger has accumulated a 16-6-0 record go along with a 2.32 goals-against-average and a .921 save percentage.
Most recently, Oettinger turned aside 20 shots in a 3-2 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets. It's the latest in the string of strong performances for the 23-year old goaltender.
During the month of February, Oettinger has surrendered a total of 15 goals in seven games. What makes that even more impressive is the fact that the Stars goalie has given up two goals or less in each of his last four games.
The Stars signed Holtby to a one-year deal in the offseason, but it's hard to imagine the franchise not making Oettinger the full-time starter next season. Oettinger has showed that he has a strong presence in net and can be one of the top netminders across the league down the road.
When the Seattle Kraken selected goaltender Philipp Grubauer in the expansion draft, it was believed that he would provide a stabilizing force in between the pipes. However, it hasn't quite worked out that way.
Grubauer was coming off a tremendous season in which he had a 30-9-0 record to go along with a 1.95 goals-against-average and a .922 save percentage with the Colorado Avalanche. Unfortunately for Grubauer, he's struggled throughout the 2021-22 season with a 12-22-4 record, a 3.18 goals-against-average, and a .887 save percentage.
Over Grubauer's last three games, the veteran goaltender has yielded 10 total goals, including surrendering four goals apiece in losses to the New York Islanders and Winnipeg Jets. During the month of February, Grubauer has lost five of his six starts and has posted a 3.06 goals-against-average during that time.
It's worth noting that the Kraken do have the third-fewest points in the entire NHL. In addition, the Kraken are scoring just 2.6 goals-per-game and have a 3.23 goals-against-average as a team.
Grubauer definitely hasn't been the franchise goaltender that many expected when the Kraken selected him in the expansion draft. The talent is certainly there when it comes to Grubauer, but it's definitely been a struggle for him as of late.