We’re back with the three stars of the week, a regular THN.com file in which we pick out three NHL players who had the biggest positive impact on their team in the last seven days. Let’s get to it:
3. SEAN MONAHAN, MONTREAL CANADIENS
With an NHL-best seven assists in four games this week, Monahan has continued to raise his worth to the Canadiens as a competitor and as a potential trade chip.
The 29-year-old Monahan now has 11 goals and 31 points in 46 games this season. For a veteran making relatively little – $1.95 million this season – Monahan would be a high-value pickup by a team with legitimate playoff hopes. And that’s not who the Habs are this season. Keeping him in Montreal would be a mistake, as they’d surely get a solid draft pick or prospect for the long term in exchange for Monahan’s services.
Monahan may never again be the 30-goal scorer he was in Calgary many years ago, but in the right situation, he’d be a very helpful contributor. In his most recent playoff appearance in 2020, Monahan produced at nearly a point-per-game pace. Even if he comes up with half of that amount of offense this post-season, the team that acquires him will be satisfied he was right to pick up.
2. DAVID PASTRNAK, BOSTON BRUINS
Pastrnak generated a league-best five goals and seven points in only three games for the Bruins this week. The 27-year-old winger now has 30 goals and 66 points in 45 games this season; his goal total and points total are the third-best of any NHLer this year, and Pastrnak is proving in the first year of his $11.25-million-per-season contract that he’s well worth the expenditure.
Pastrnak is currently on pace to put up 65 assists and 120 points, both of which would be new career highs for him. And his projected 55 goals this year wouldn’t be that far off of the career-best 61 goals he scored for Boston last season. Pastrnak has some of the softest hands in the sport, and anytime he’s around his opponent’s net, he’s a legitimate threat to score. He’s going to be the Bruins’ best player for the foreseeable future, and he looks like he’s more than ready to take on that role.
1. UKKO-PEKKA LUUKKONEN, BUFFALO SABRES
Luukkonen posted a 0.67 goals-against average, .968 save percentage and two shutouts – back-to-back blankings against the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks – in three games this week. The 24-year-old has amassed a .908 SP and 2.61 GAA. The Finland native has had issues with consistency this season, but of late, he’s starting to put together longer stretches of above-average performance.
Luukkonen is a bargain this season at an $837,500 salary, and when he becomes an RFA this coming summer, he’ll still have a lot of value for his team-controllable contract.
Before the season began, many Sabres observers thought Buffalo would be handing the goaltending reins to youngster Devon Levi, but that hasn’t happened. Instead, it’s been Luukkonen who, slowly but surely, is establishing himself as the Sabres’ starting netminder.
Buffalo must get on a roll to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, but if Luukkonen continues raising his game, that shouldn’t be a problem.
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