NHL Star Power Index Cale Makar Auston Matthews join elite compan

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. TOR C #34 G 50 A 37 +/- +11 There's few players around the NHL that have been as hot as as of late. In Thursday's 7-3 win over the , on an empty-netter. In the proce s, Matthews became the first player since Dave Andreychuk 1993-94 to record 50 goals in a single season. Matthews also now holds the league lead in goals as he has a one-goal advantage over star Matthews has scored at least one goal in 10 of his last 11 games. Additionally, the Maple Leafs center has recorded multiple points in seven of those 11 contests. He is one of the biggest reasons that the Maple Leafs have won three of their past four games. It's almost been impo sible for opposing teams to keep Matthews out of the scoring column over the last month. COL D #8 G 24 A 51 +/- +39 star has proved to be an offensive savant early in his NHL career. On Tuesday, the Avalanche defenseman joined some very elite company in a 2-1 win over the . Makar recorded his 50th a sist of the season on a power-play goal from teammate . In the proce s, Makar joined Steve Duchesne and Ray Bourque as the only Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques defensemen to register at least 50 a sists in a single season. Duchesne recorded 62 a sists during the 1992-93 season with the Nordiques while Bourque racked up 50 a sists in the 2000-01 season with the Avalanche. Considering that there's 15 games still to go in the regular season, Makar certainly has a chance to top Duchesne's top mark of 62 a sists. Right now, the 23-year-old defenseman is currently on pace to finish the 2021-22 season with 90 points (29 goals and 61 a sists). Makar has enjoyed a sensational month of March in which he's recorded 12 a sists. The Avalanche star has also registered at least one a sists in nine of his 14 games this month while dishing out multiple a sists in three of those contests. He has blo somed into a terrific two-way defensemen that can make jaws drop with some of the plays that he makes in the offensive zone. Coming down the home stretch of the regular season, Makar definitely has to be considered one of the favorites to win the Norris Trophy along with star . PIT C #71 G 17 A Bradley Zimmer Jersey 18 +/- -3 The are battling for one of the top playoff spots in the Eastern Conference and have won four of their last six games. One of the reasons for that succe s has been the steady play of star center , who made a little bit of history in Thursday's win over the . The Penguins and Wild were tied 3-3 after three periods of play, which meant that overtime was needed to settle the score. Malkin ended up scoring the game-winning goal as he tucked the puck past former teammate and recently acquired Wild goaltender . It marked the 78th game-winning goal of Malkin's career, which tied him with Jaromir Jagr for the most game-winning in franchise history. Malkin has registered at least one point in six consecutive games while recording multiple points in three of those contests. The Penguins are one of several teams that are looking incredibly dangerous as the postseason draws closer. If Pittsburgh continues to get production from its stars, there's no reason that this group can't make a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. FLA C #16 G 31 A 37 +/- +28 It's been no secret that the have looked like the most dominant team in the Eastern Conference this season, so it's hard to believe that the Panthers got even better at the trade deadline with the addition of star forward . However, as spectacular as Giroux has looked since arriving in Florida, center has really been anchoring the team's top line. Barkov has scored a goal in four of his last five games while registering a staggering 20 shots-on-goal during that time. Most recently, the 26-year old produced a two-goal outing in a 4-0 win over the on Thursday. Barkov opened the scoring against the Blackhawks as he weaved his way through the defense to put the puck in the back of the net. This came after a previous Panthers goal was disallowed due to the puck being kicked in. Teammate found Barkov cutting towards the net and Barkov displayed sensation patience as he waited for Blackhawks goaltender to open up his five-hole. Once he did, Barkov was able to slide the puck past Delia for his 30th goal of the season. Call back one goal, Barky's just going to go get another Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) Barkov also added a power-play goal in the third period, which ended up being the final Florida goal on the night. While his goal-scoring acumen was on full display on Thursday, the Panthers star has also been dangerous as a facilitator throughout the bulk of the season. In fact, Barkov has registered 13 a sists during the month of March, including four multi-a sist performances. With a group of top six forwards that include Barkov, Giroux, and and , the sky is the limit for how far the Panthers can go when the playoffs roll around. As a team, the Panthers lead the NHL in goals (268) and goals-per-game (4.1) while also converting 23.0 percent of their power-play opportunities. This is as lethal of an offense as any team around the league. If goaltender does his part in the postseason, Florida certainly could be hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup. Anthony Bass Jersey