NHL Star Power Index: JT Miller signs for Canucks at will, Wild’s Joel Eriksson Ek has career year

Welcome to the NHL Star Power Index: a weekly gauge of the players commanding buzz around the league. When a player is included on this list, it may not be a good thing – it means he is garnering a lot of attention from the hockey world.

These players are in no particular order when it comes to the amount of hype they create. We’ll be revisiting the Star Power Index each week throughout the regular season.

The Vancouver Canucks have proven to be full of firepower offensively this season, but JT Miller has really led the way when it comes to putting the ball in the net.

The Canucks star currently leads the team in points (75), while also being one of three players to score at least 28 goals this season. Miller also has five goals and an a*sist over his last four games, including a hat-trick in a 10-7 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Monday.

During the first period of Monday’s high-scoring game, Miller showed exciting awareness as he scored his first goal of the contest.

At 13:21 of the opening period, Canucks defenseman Noah Juulsen shot a puck towards the net, but it ended up going wide. Jolsen’s shot bounced off the boards behind the net and bounced back in front. Miller proved to be ‘Johnny on the spot’ as he happened to be alongside goalkeeper Filip Gustafsson and slotted the ball into the back of the net.

Miller’s tally gave the Canucks a 2-0 advantage at the time.

In the second half, Miller completed the hat-trick with a tremendous individual effort. Center Pius Sutter was able to get the ball forward in the neutral zone, and Miller did the rest. Miller curled his shot to the front of the net, went with a backhand to forehand and put his shot past Gustafsson.

It was Miller’s third career hat-trick and his second multi-goal game of the 2023-24 season.

Miller leads with 106 points (40 goals, 66 a*sists), and is just five goals away from breaking his previous career high (32). He has scored at least 82 points in each of his last two seasons, and his career high currently stands at 99 points (32 goals, 67 a*sists) in 2021-22.

If Miller can continue to score at an impressive rate, the Canucks will have a chance to make a run at the Stanley Cup this spring.

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Much like Miller, Minnesota Wild star Joel Eriksson Ek had his day Monday.

Kirill Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek each scored hat-tricks, while Miller also had a hat-trick. This was the first game to feature a hat-trick since Luc Robitaille, Jari Kauri and Mike Donnelly each scored a hat-trick for the Los Angeles Kings on November 8, 1992.

If that wasn’t impressive enough, Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek also became the first duo of NHL teammates to each score six points in a game since Wayne Gretzky and Thomas Sandstrom did so with the Kings on October 9, 1993. Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, and Matt Boldy combined for 16 points in the 10-7 win.

Eriksson Ek has truly transformed his game over the past three seasons. The former first-round pick has been hovering around the 50-point mark during that span, and scored a career-high 61 points (23 goals, 38 a*sists) during the 2022-23 season.

As the 2023-2024 season continues, Eriksson Ek is poised to take his previous career highs out of the water. He currently has 52 points, scoring 28 goals with 26 games remaining in the regular season.

Over his last four matches, Eriksson Ek has scored an impressive five goals and five a*sists. Monday’s contest was the latest example of Eriksson Ek developing into a huge offensive weapon for the Wild.

In the first minute of the third period on Monday, Eriksson Ek was able to carve out some key chances in front of the net when the Wild were on the power play. Veteran forward Mats Zuccarello picked up the ball in the faceoff circle and sent it to teammate Ryan Hartman, who pa*sed it right back to Zuccarello. Zuccarello then sent the ball to Eriksson Ek in the slot, and Eriksson Ek turned it home.

Eriksson Ek rounded off his hat-trick just over a minute later. At the 1:44 mark of the third period, Zuccarello received the puck from Kaprizov in the faceoff circle, and didn’t hesitate to put the puck on Eriksson Ek’s stick. The Wild forward scored one goal from the slot that worked its way past goaltender Casey DeSmith to give his team a 6-5 lead.

Erikson Ek is having the season of his career so far. The Wild now find themselves just two points away from a playoff spot in the Western Conference, and the impressive play of Eriksson Ek has helped the team tremendously.

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Noah Dobson has thrived on the New York Islanders’ blue line this season. With roughly a third of the 2023-24 season remaining, the Islanders defenseman has been one of the team’s top offensive producers.

Entering Thursday, Dobson had set a career-high with 58 points (seven goals, 51 a*sists) in just 55 games. The Islanders star surpa*sed his previous career high of 52 points (13 goals, 39 a*sists) that he achieved during the 2021-22 season.

Dobson currently leads with 86 points (10 goals, 76 a*sists) heading into the 2023-24 season. If he can reach the 10-goal mark, it will be the third straight season Dobson has scored in double-digit goals after each scored 13 goals in each of the previous two seasons.

The Islanders’ blueliner has recorded five a*sists over his last four games, and had points in four straight games before being taken off the stats sheet against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. His most impressive performance came during Sunday’s Stadium Series game against the New York Rangers at MetLife Stadium, when he recorded three a*sists on the afternoon.

At 7:18 of the opening period of Sunday’s contest, Dobson was raising the puck up the ice when he noticed teammate Bo Horvat racing in front of him. Dobson was able to get the pa*s into a very small area, and Horvat ended up charging up the ice to score on a quick shot.

Dobson finished the game with two key pa*ses and one secondary a*sist.

The Islanders have really hit the jackpot with Dobson after selecting him with the No. 12 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. Dobson continues to become one of the elite defensemen in the NHL, and has certainly been a key component for New York throughout the 2023-24 season.

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The Florida Panthers are on a huge roll in the second half of the year, and have even jumped over the Boston Bruins for first place in the Atlantic Division. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been one of the true constants for the Panthers amid their recent success.

Bobrovsky has returned to form this season posting a 28-10-2 record, a 2.39 goals against average and a .915 save percentage.

The veteran netminder has truly blossomed over the past month. Bobrovsky has scored two or fewer goals in six of his last seven games, even appearing in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game earlier this month.

Most recently, Bobrovsky stopped 28 of 30 shots he faced in a 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators. In fact, Bobrovsky didn’t allow a single goal in five periods against the Senators before giving up two goals in the third period in Tuesday’s game.

With the regular season over at home, the Panthers looked poised for another Stanley Cup run. If Bobrovsky can continue to provide a stable presence in net, the Panthers will be one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference when the postseason begins.

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