There were an abundance of elite performers in February.
Today, as we do early on in each month, we’re going to take a look at the best of the bunch. The three best, in fact.
Let’s get to it.
Honorable mentions: Mackenzie Blackwood (the only thing holding him back was seven games played).
3rd star – Matt Niskanen
I admittedly thought Niskanen’s best days were behind him and that the Flyers probably would have been better using their cap space elsewhere. Apparently not.
Niskanen has played some rock-solid hockey for Philadelphia this season, with perhaps his finest work being on display in February.
He found the scoresheet early and often, putting up 11 points in 13 games for the Flyers. More important than that, they absolutely dominated opponents when he was out there.
The Flyers controlled 58.29% of the shot attempts, 58.06% of the expected goals, and out-scored opponents 16-8 with Niskanen on the ice at 5v5. Those numbers would be impressive even if his usage was cushy. It wasn’t – Niskanen had a lower offensive zone start percentage than every player on the roster.
He played big minutes under less than favorable circumstances yet still posted elite on-ice numbers and picked up 11 points. That warrants a nod.
2nd star – Mikael Backlund
Backlund played a lot of wing – and with plenty of different players – in recent months. Interim head coach Geoff Ward finally moved Backlund back to his usual spot – second-line center – in February and it sure paid off.
Backlund has always been a very responsible defensive player who helps tilt the ice in Calgary’s favor. That was the case again, although to the extreme, as the Flames took 57% of the shots and 63% of the expected goals with Backlund out there in February.
What drastically changed was the production. Backlund put up 14 points in 14 games…at 5v5 alone. Just Sebastian Aho recorded more points in that game state.
Across all situations, Backlund mustered up 19 points. Nikita Kucherov, Mika Zibanejad, and Leon Draisaitl were the only players to out-produce Backlund.
His two-way impact was arguably unrivaled, which is why I seriously considered him for MVP of the month.
1st star – Leon Draisaitl
Connor McDavid missed half the month, which meant even more of the workload needed to be shouldered by Leon Draisaitl. No problems there.
Draisaitl went on an absolute heater – even by his standards – piling up 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in just 14 games. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (17) was the only Oilers player within 10 points of Draisaitl, who facilitated *all* of the offense for Edmonton.
These were hardly just empty calorie points. It’s not like Draisaitl gave it all back in the defensive zone or failed to drive play.
Be it Corsi For%, Scoring Chance For%, Expected Goals For%, or pretty much any other key metric you look at, Draisaitl slotted 1st on Edmonton’s roster.
They controlled a larger share than their opponents, and Draisaitl was more responsible than anybody for that.
While I’m not quite part of the ‘Draisaitl-for-Hart’ crowd, months like that certainly put him in the conversation.
Updated leaderboard
Points (appearances)
3 = 1st star, 2 = 2nd star, 1 = 3rd star
Leon Draisaitl – 5 points (2)
David Pastrnak – 3 points (1)
Nathan MacKinnon – 3 points (1)
Roman Josi – 3 points (1)
Nikita Kucherov – 3 points (1)
Elvis Merzlikins – 2 points (1)
Connor McDavid – 2 points (1)
Auston Matthews – 2 points (1)
Alex Pietrangelo – 2 points (2)
Mikael Backlund – 2 points (1)
J.T. Miller – 1 point (1)
Matt Niskanen – 1 point (1)
Connor Hellebuyck – 1 point (1)
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
