NHL Star Power Index Auston Matthews scoring at will David Pastrnak keeps piling on goal

Welcome to the 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. TOR C #34 G 39 A 18 +/- +13 produced a career-high 60-goal campaign in 2021-22, and that resulted in the star winning the Hart Trophy as the MVP. It's po sible that Matthews could even outdo that season considering the rate at which he's scoring goal thus far in 2023-24. Entering Thursday, Matthews has racked up 39 goals throughout the 2023-24 season. The Maple Leafs star is currently on pace for 71 goals the rest of the way, so there's potential for Matthews to have a career season when the dust settles. That's not surprising considering that Matthews has registered six goals over his last five games. Matthews' best showing came in a 4-3 win against the on Jan. 18 in which he tallied three goals and an a sist. Matthews registered 35 goals in 42 games with the hat trick performance. The only players in Maple Leafs history that reached the 35-goal plateau faster are Babe Dye (26 games in 1924-25), Frank Mahovlich (39 games in 1960-61), and Rick Vaive (42 games in 1983-84). It was also Matthews' 11th career hat trick and moved the Maple Leafs star past Vaive (10) for the fourth-most hat tricks in team history. Only Darryl Sittler (18), Dye (16), and Charlie Conacher (14) have more hat tricks than Matthews in Maple Leafs history. What made Matthews' performance against the Flames so important was the fact that he was able to score all three goals in le s than a full 20-minute span. Matthews began his sensational night late in the opening period when he benefitted from a loose puck. Maple Leafs forward was attempting to bring the puck into the offensive line when it was blocked by the skate of Flames defenseman . Following the deflection, Gregor was able to sweep the puck to Matthews, who was making his way towards the net behind the defense. Matthews was able to corral the puck, and rip a shot past Flames goaltender to cut the deficit to 2-1. AUSTON MATTHEWS!! Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) Matthews also found the back of the net early in the second period in what was perhaps his most beautiful tally on the night. At the 4:08 mark of the second period, Maple Leafs star forward uncorked a shot that ended up being blocked in front. Nylander got the puck back, and slid a picture-perfect pa s acro s the ice to Matthews for a one-timer. Matthews certainly didn't mi s his chance as he blasted the one-timer past Vladar. PAPI DOUBLE DIPS!! Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) The Maple Leafs center finished off the hat trick late in the second period. Matthews was able to deposit a backhander on the rebound off a shot to give Toronto a 4-2 lead, and ultimately won the game for the Maple Leafs. PAPI DOUBLE DIPS!! Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) Matthews is putting the puck in the net at an absurd rate this season Austin Slater Jersey . If Matthews can continue to score goals at this rate, the Maple Leafs are going to be a tough out come playoff time. BOS RW #88 G 30 A 37 +/- +12 Few players around the NHL have put the puck in the net at the rate that has been. The star has racked up five goals and three a sists over his last four games. Pastrnak has also scored at least one goal in three of his past five games. Pastrnak currently ranks third in the NHL in points (67) and only trails center (82) and star (80) in that department. The Bruins winger is also tied for fourth in goals (30) behind only Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (38), star (34), and Kucherov (31). Pastrnak's most impre sive performance came on Jan. 18 in a 5-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche when he recorded a hat trick. It marked the 16th career hat trick for Pastrnak, and only Phil Esposito has more such performances (26) in team history. The Bruins star got into the scoring column rather early against the Avalanche. Just 44 seconds into the contest, Pastrnak put a side-angle shot on net that Avalanche goaltender was able to stop. However, there was a rebound on the play that squeaked free, and Pastrnak scooped up the puck. Pastrnak even circled his way into the slot and ripped a snap shot past Georgiev to open the scoring. Some fast service Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) Pastrnak found the back of the net once again at the 17:24 mark of the third period. The Bruins winger was the beneficiary of a tremendous pa s from teammate . DeBrusk ended up freeing the loose puck and skated his way into the slot, where he found a cutting Pastrnak right in front for an easy tap-in goal. Let's appreciate this JD dish | Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) Pastrnak capped off the night with his third goal in the final minute as he scored an empty-netter. The Bruins star is having one of his best months of the 2023-24 season. Pastrnak has tallied 17 points (eight goals & nine a sists) in 12 games thus far, and has registered multiple points in four of his last six games. Pastrnak is currently on pace for 117 points (52 goals & 65 a sists) this season, and certainly is one of the key reasons why the Bruins are chasing their second consecutive Presidents' Trophy. COL D #8 G 11 A 46 +/- +11 continues to carry the torch of being one of the top young defensemen that the NHL has to offer. The Colorado Avalanche blue-liner is having another stellar season. Makar currently ranks second among NHL defensemen in points (57), second in a sists (46), and is tied for fourth in goals (11). He only ranks third in points and second in a sists when it comes to the Avalanche. Makar is currently on a five-game point streak and has recorded an a sist in each of those contests. He registered a key a sist in the Avalanche's 7-4 win against the on Saturday. At the 12:23 mark of the third period, the Flyers had rallied from a 5-2 deficit and made it a 5-4 game. Following a key face-off win by the Avalanche, Makar was able to gain control of the puck, and eventually let go of a shot that made its way to Flyers goaltender . Er son was initially able to stop Makar's shot, but forward was able to put the loose puck past Er son. Second of the day for the Moose Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) Makar tallied a three-point performance (one goal & two a sists) in a 6-2 win against the on Wednesday. In doing so, Makar has now scored the most career goals (76) in Avalanche history. Makar is certainly in the conversation for the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman. At the moment, the Avalanche blue-liner is neck-in-neck with defenseman as far as the top producers at the position. Makar definitely has established himself as one of the league's premier defensemen and is one of the big reasons why the Avalanche could be a force in the Stanley Cup Playoffs later this season. UTA G #39 Record 17-9-1 GAA 2.47 Save % 91.9 has come out of nowhere to have a stellar season in net for the . Ingram has tallied a 17-9-1 record to go along with a 2.47 goals-against-average and a .919 save percentage during the 2023-24 season. The 26-year-old has yielded two or fewer goals in four of his last five games and has been victorious in three of those contests. Perhaps the most impre sive statistic about Ingram is that he's tied for the league lead in shutouts (5). In his most recent outing, Ingram stopped 25 of the 27 shots that he faced in a 5-2 win against the . After Penguins star had tied the game in the second period, Ingram kept the Penguins off the score sheet over the final 23:30 of the contest. Ingram bounced around the NHL early in his career. The Coyotes goaltender started off his career by being selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the third round of the 2016 NHL Draft. He was then traded to the where he only appeared in three games before being claimed off of waivers by the Coyotes in October 2022. It was expected that Ingram would play the backup role behind in 2023-24, but Ingram has played himself into the starting goaltender job. If this type of succe s continues, Ingram can certainly be the future in the crease for a young Coyotes team. Baltimore Orioles Jersey