Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome, once again, to the Three Stars of the Week, THN.com’s regular feature in which we identify the NHL’s three best performers of the past week. You don’t necessarily need to lead the league in scoring in the past week to be the first star, but it sure helps your cause. Let’s get to it.
3. Jordan Binnington, St. Louis
It’s been a roller-coaster season for Binnington and his St. Louis teammates, with both the goalie and the team prone to long stretches of both good and bad play. But this week, Binnington was sharp, posting a 2-0-1 record in three games, as well as a .928 save percentage, a 1.93 goals-against average, and one shutout. The 29-year-old’s season statistics (including a 3.21 GAA and .894 SP) are still subpar, but that’s in part a result of the team’s overall struggles.
If the Blues are going to claw their way back into the playoff mix, they’ll need Binnington to perform the way he has in the past week. Backup goalie Thomas Griess is 36 years old, and he can’t be St. Louis’ no. 1 guy if Binnington falters again. They’re depending on Binnington to consistently make a difference, and this week he demonstrated he still has it in him to do so.
2. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay
Kucherov finished in a tie for first place in assists this week, with seven in just three games, and his eight total points put him in a five-way tie for first in the league in that category. This, despite him averaging only 18:33 of ice time per night – the lowest number of minutes out of anyone with as many points as he had.
The 29-year-old Russian winger now leads the NHL in assists over the season, with 35 in 30 games. He’s no slouch on the goals front, either, posting 12 thus far this year to give him 47 points this season. That’s good enough for fourth overall in the league behind Edmonton teammates Connor McDavid (62) and Leon Draisaitl (54), and emerging Sabers superstar Tage Thompson (49). But Kucherov has one game in hand on Thompson and two in hand on Draisaitl and McDavid. In other words, he’s still capable of climbing higher on the points list.
Kucherov is tied with fellow star forward Brayden Point and star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy as Tampa Bay’s top-paid player at $9.5 million per season, but you’ll never hear Bolts fans complain about him. He’s as consistent a threat as there is, and this season, he’s on pace to equal his career-best in points (128) and generate 96 assists, which would beat his current career-high of 87 set in 2018-19. This is what a player in his prime looks like.
1. Alex DeBrincat, Ottawa
DeBrincat finished the week in a five-way tie for first place in the NHL in points, with eight (two goals, six assists) in three games – and in doing so, he set two new franchise records: starting Monday in Dallas, he became the first Senators player to factor in eight straight goals (two goals, six assists) and he became the first to assist on six consecutive goals. With nine goals in 30 games, DeBrincat isn’t producing goals at the 41-goal-rate he did last season for Chicago, but he does have 21 assists and 30 points this year, putting him on a pace to beat the 37-assist rate. , the 79-point season he had last year with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Sunday is DeBrincat’s 25th birthday, and he continues to show his former team they made a questionable move in trading him to the Sens this past summer. There’s no question DeBrincat has elite instincts on offense, and he’s going to be a key component for the Senators for the foreseeable future.
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