Welcome to the NHL Star Energy Index: A weekly gauge of the gamers who’re controlling substantial buzz across the league. When a participant is included on this record it is probably not a great factor — it implies that they’re capturing a considerable amount of the hockey world’s consideration.

These gamers are in no specific order in the case of the quantity of buzz that they are creating. We’ll revisit the Star Energy Index each week all through the common season.

The Winnipeg Jets are trying to seize the Central Division crown for the primary time since relocating north of the border. Star heart Mark Scheifele helps lead the offensive cost to make {that a} actuality.

Scheifele is contemporary off of a hat trick efficiency in a 4-2 win in opposition to the New York Rangers on Tuesday. It marked the eighth hat trick of his NHL profession and tied him with Patrik Laine for the second-most hat tips in franchise historical past. Solely Ilya Kovalchuk has extra with 11 to his credit score.

Scheifele additionally grew to become the primary participant in Atlanta Thrashers/Jets historical past to tally 9 profession 20-goal seasons.

The Jets star is at the moment on a four-game level streak and has registered three targets and three assists over that stretch. Winnipeg has been victorious in every of these 4 video games relationship again to March 11.

Following a scoreless opening interval in Tuesday’s contest, Scheifele started his huge night time by getting the Jets onto the scoreboard.

On the 4:04 mark of the second interval, the Jets had been in a position to dig the puck free from alongside the boards. Defenseman Nate Schmidt ripped a shot from the purpose that ahead Alex Iafallo tried to redirect, nevertheless it hit a physique on the best way to the web. Fortunately for Winnipeg, Scheifele was in a position to deposit the rebound into the again of internet as he was in the best place on the proper time.

Breakaways had been actually on the menu all through Tuesday’s sport as each Igor Shesterkin and Connor Hellebuyck had been stored busy. Nonetheless, Scheifele lastly made good on an opportunity on their lonesome within the second interval.

Late within the second interval, Scheifele was in a position to poke test the puck away from Rangers ahead Chris Kreider, and there was nobody in entrance of him. Scheifele raced forward to safe the puck, skated in on Shesterkin, and snapped a shot previous Shesterkin for the simple purpose.

Scheifele accomplished the hat trick within the last minute of the competition as he scored an empty-netter with underneath 10 seconds remaining. It was Scheifele’s first hat trick of the season and was simply the most recent sturdy efficiency in a month that has already seen him tally 5 targets and 5 assists.

The Jets are at the moment tied with the Colorado Avalanche atop the Central Division with the Dallas Stars additionally nipping at their heels. Scheifele’s sturdy play is actually one thing that Winnipeg might want to depend upon down the stretch in the event that they wish to seize the division crown.

The Carolina Hurricanes made the biggest splash on the commerce deadline when the workforce acquired star winger Jake Guentzel in a commerce with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Only a few video games into his Hurricanes tenure, Guentzel has slot in fairly nicely together with his new workforce.

Guentzel has registered eight factors (two targets & six assists) in his first 5 video games as a member of the Hurricanes. On Tuesday, the gifted ahead had his finest sport as a Hurricane as he tallied a purpose and two assists in a 4-1 win in opposition to the New York Islanders.

The Hurricanes jumped all around the Islanders within the opening interval as they racked up three targets. After ahead Seth Jarvis scored the primary purpose of the competition, Guentzel helped arrange Jarvis as soon as once more on the 14:53 mark of the primary interval.

After receiving the puck from teammate Jaccob Slavin, Guentzel introduced the puck into the offensive zone and executed the two-man sport with Jarvis to absolute perfection. Guentzel dropped the puck off for Jarvis, who gave it proper again to Guentzel. The previous Penguins standout stick-handled the puck in deep earlier than giving to again to Jarvis, and Jarvis needed to a wide-open internet to shoot at for the simple purpose.

Guentzel additionally earned a secondary help on Jarvis’ first purpose, and added an empty-netter with lower than 4 minutes to go within the third interval.

The Hurricanes winger has tallied not less than one level in all however one in every of his 5 video games together with his new workforce. Guentzel did not document some extent in his first sport with Carolina, however solely registered 15:12 of ice time in that exact contest.

Carolina made a daring transfer to amass the companies of Guentzel, particularly since he is set to turn out to be an unrestricted free agent this summer season. Nonetheless, Guentzel has proved to be an amazing match with the Hurricanes within the early going, and Carolina figures to be one of many prime groups within the Japanese Convention when the postseason will get underway subsequent month.

It is laborious to think about a extra gifted two-way defenseman than Cale Makar within the NHL ranks lately. Makar is placing collectively one other profession 12 months, and is among the foremost causes that the Avalanche are within the thick of the Central Division playoff race this season.

Makar at the moment has 75 factors (17 targets & 58 assists) this season, and that places him on tempo for 96 factors (22 targets & 74 assists). That might shatter his earlier career-high of 86 factors (28 targets & 58 assists) that he racked up throughout the 2021-22 marketing campaign, and he is already tied his career-high within the assists division (58).

The Avalanche blue-liner has had a aptitude for the dramatic all through the vast majority of his profession, and that was the case but once more in a 3-2 time beyond regulation win in opposition to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Within the last seconds of the time beyond regulation interval, Makar possessed the puck within the defensive zone, and surveyed the panorama earlier than snapping a move to ahead Nathan MacKinnon down the ice. Makar’s move was shut sufficient to MacKinnon that MacKinnon might chase it down within the nook. MacKinnon then fired a move in entrance that teammate Artturi Lehkonen was in a position to deposit into the again of the web for the game-winning purpose with simply 0.5 seconds left within the time beyond regulation session.

Makar is at the moment on a four-game level streak and has registered not less than one level in six of his final seven contests. The Avalanche star defenseman has tallied 5 assists over his final 4 video games, together with not less than one amongst 4 of these contests.

Makar actually is an integral a part of Colorado’s success, and never having him all through a portion of final season was undoubtedly a noticeable sight as he was injured. The Avalanche star’s presence on each ends of the ice ought to make the workforce one of many prime threats within the Western Convention when the chase for the Stanley Cup begins subsequent month.

The Dallas Stars are inside placing distance of successful the Central Division this season, however Jake Oettinger actually has seen his justifiable share of struggles all year long.

Oettinger has put collectively a 26-13-4 document to go together with a lofty 3.02 goals-against-average and only a .897 save proportion. Each his goals-against-average and save proportion are profession lows as he is by no means had larger than 2.53 goals-against-average and a .911 save proportion throughout his four-year NHL profession.

Clearly, his season has been an up-and-down affair, however the Stars goaltender has gone by means of an enormous tough patch as of late. Oettinger has tallied a 4-2-0 document, a 3.52 goals-against-average, and a .836 save proportion over his final six begins.

Oettinger has surrendered not less than 4 targets in three of these begins, together with giving up six targets to the lowly San Jose Sharks on March 5. The Stars had been in a position to outlast the Sharks 7-6 in time beyond regulation in that exact contest, however Oettinger stopped simply 14 of the 20 photographs that he confronted in that sport.

Combined in with this brutal stretch, Oettinger did have just a few strong begins, together with yielding simply two targets in a 5-2 win in opposition to the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday.

The Stars clearly have Stanley Cup aspirations this season, and are coming off a season by which they reached the Western Convention Last earlier than being eradicated by the Vegas Golden Knights in six video games. Dallas is certainly going to want extra regular manufacturing from Oettinger within the crease if the workforce desires to make a deep run when the postseason rolls round.