NHL Star Power Index: Mika Zibanejad leading Rangers’ offensive charge, Patrick Kane finding his stride

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.

Only a few players across the NHL have been operating at the rate New York Rangers star Mika Zibanejad currently is.

Zibanejad has registered four goals and three assists in his last three games, and has scored at least one goal in six of his last seven contests. He’s also recorded multiple points in each of his last three games.

Zibanejad currently has a seven-game point streak that dates back to Dec. 10 and has racked up seven goals and six assists during that stretch. The star center is second on the Rangers in points (33) behind only Artemi Panarin (44), while also being second on the team in assists (20) and third in goals (13).

The Rangers star registered a goal and two assists in a 4-3 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. 

Late in the opening period of Saturday’s contest, the Rangers found themselves on the power-play and Zibanejad had the puck on his stick after receiving a pass from teammate Artemi Panarin. The Rangers center surveyed the defense before electing to dish the puck back to Panarin, who ripped a snap shot past Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukonen.

In the second period, Zibanejad got into the scoring column to give the Rangers the lead at the time. The Rangers were able to take advantage of a three-on-two situation as Chris Kreider ripped a one-timer off of a pass from Blake Wheeler that Luhkonen was able to turn aside. However, Zibanejad was right on the doorstep and was able to deposit the big rebound for the goal.

Zibanejad is having a sensational month to the tune of eight goals and nine assists in 11 games. The Rangers star has been one of the best facilitators on the offensive end of the ice, and he may be the team’s most important contributor down the stretch this season. 

It was clear that Patrick Kane wasn’t quite himself during the 2022-23 season after he registered a career-low 36 points with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers. After just a few weeks as a member of the Detroit Red Wings, Kane has definitely improved his level of play.

Kane, who signed with the Red Wings on Nov. 28 after undergoing hip surgery in the offseason, has recorded four goals and two assists over his last three games. The veteran forward also is riding a four-game point streak and has registered multiple points in three of those contests.

During Friday’s 7-6 shootout win against the Philadelphia Flyers, Kane tallied two goals and an assist, while also scoring the game-winning goal in the shootout. Kane really got the Red Wings’ offense started on the right foot as he scored both of his goals in the opening period to give Detroit an early 2-0 lead. 

Just 4:30 into the first period, Alex DeBrincat dished a pass to Dylan Larkin, who drove the puck on net. The puck bounced right off of the post, but Kane happened to be at the right place at the right time to snap the rebound past Flyers goaltender Carter Hart.

Kane found the back of the net again just four minutes later. The Red Wings star benefitted from some tremendous forechecking as he was able to capitalize on the rebound. Kane was able to secure a loose puck and deposit a rebound past Hart to give the Red Wings a 2-0 lead.

The Red Wings forward has showed flashes of the Kane of old in recent weeks. Kane has scored in four of his 10 regular-season games since making his Detroit debut, and he has really ramped up his offense over the last week. 

If Kane can continue to produce at a high level, the Red Wings certainly have the potential to make a playoff push considering how much offensive depth they have on their roster now.

Perhaps a coaching change was all the Minnesota Wild needed to right the ship this season: The Wild have put together a 10-3-0 record since John Hynes took over as the team’s new head coach.

One of the biggest reasons for the team’s recent success has been the play of star winger Kirill Kaprizov. Kaprizov has tallied four goals and two assists in his last three games, including registering game-winning goals in back-to-back games against the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. 

The 26-year-old became the second player in franchise history to score an overtime goal in consecutive games. Defenseman Brent Burns was previously the only Wild player to achieve that feat as he did so on March 11-13, 2007. 

Kaprizov’s overtime goals were the seventh and eighth of his NHL career. Since entering the league in 2020-21, only Alex DeBrincat of the Detroit Red Wings and Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricanes have more overtime goals (9) over that span.

In a 4-3 overtime win against the Canadiens, Kaprizov certainly proved to have ice in his veins. With just 4.9 seconds remaining in overtime, Kaprizov weaved his way through the Canadiens defense before the puck ricocheted off a skate. With the puck up for grabs, Kaprizov made his way toward the front of the net, and ended up ripping home the game-winning one-timer.

Kaprizov currently has a three-game goal streak, including recording a two-goal game in a 4-3 overtime win against the Bruins on Dec. 19. It marked the first multi-goal game of the 2023-24 season for Kaprizov.

After having back-to-back 40-goal campaigns, Kaprizov is on pace for just 31 goals this season. However, this recent hot stretch could be just what the doctor ordered for Kaprizov and a Wild team that is attempting to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a fifth consecutive season.

It hasn’t exactly been the elite production the Tampa Bay Lightning were hoping for since goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy returned to the ice in late November.

Vasilevskiy has tallied just a 8-5-0 record, a 2.76 goals-against-average and a .908 save percentage. The Lightning goalie has had some stellar performances since returning to the crease, but consistency has definitely been an issue.

The 29-year-old has surrendered just one goal apiece in games against the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 19 and the Washington Capitals on Dec. 23. However, Vasilevskiy has also given up four goals in three of his last five games. Most recently, Vasilevskiy stopped 30-of-34 shots in a 5-4 win against the Vegas Golden Knights, but gave up two third-period goals in that game.

During both of Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup-winning seasons in recent years, Vasilevskiy has been a source of extreme consistency. The veteran netminder registered a 2.52 goals-against-average during the Lightning’s 2022 Stanley Cup Final run, and tallied a 1.90 goals-against-average during the Lightning’s last Stanley Cup-winning season in 2020-21.

The Lightning currently sit in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a 17-13-5 record (39 points). They’re going to need more consistent performances from Vasilevskiy to make another Stanley Cup run.