NEW YORK – New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes, Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson and Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the month of October.
FIRST STAR – JACK HUGHES, C, NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Hughes led the NHL with 13 assists and 18 points in eight contests (5-13—18) to power New Jersey to a 5-2-1 October (11 points). He recorded the most points by a Devils player through his first eight appearances of a season – besting the previous high of 15 by Paul Gardner in 1977-78 (9-6—15 w/ CLR) – and became the first player on any team to collect at least 18 points within his first eight games of a campaign since Thomas Vanek in 2012-13 (8-11—19 w/ BUF). Hughes, who also paced the League in power-play assists (t-7) and power-play points (t-10), found the scoresheet in all but his final appearance of the month, producing five multi-point performances. That included consecutive four-point outings Oct. 20 at NYI (2-2—4) and Oct. 24 at MTL (0-4—4) as well as a pair of three-point efforts (Oct. 13 vs. ARI: 0-3—3 and Oct. 25 vs. WSH: 0-3—3). The 22-year-old Hughes, who was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, has registered 92-133—225 in 252 career NHL appearances, highlighted by a franchise-record 99 points last season (43-56—99 in 78 GP).
SECOND STAR – ELIAS PETTERSSON, C, VANCOUVER CANUCKS
Pettersson ranked second in the NHL with 5-11—16 across nine contests to propel Vancouver to a 6-2-1 October (13 points), its best nine-game start to a season since 2005-06 (7-1-1, 15 points). Only three other players in Canucks history have produced as many points through their first nine appearances of a campaign: Tony Tanti in 1983-84 (11-8—19), Patrik Sundstrom in 1983-84 (6-11—17) and Paul Reinhart in 1989-90 (5-11—16). Pettersson, who also placed among the October leaders in assists (t‑2nd; 11), power-play points (6th; 5), power-play assists (t-6th; 5) and shooting percentage (t-17th; 25.0%, minimum: 10 SOG), collected points in seven of his nine outings. That included six multi-point performances, highlighted by four points in his season debut (Oct. 11 vs. EDM: 1-3—4) and his second career hat trick in his final game of the month (Oct. 31 vs. NSH: 3-0—3). The 24-year-old Pettersson, the fifth overall pick from the 2017 NHL Draft, leads Vancouver with 141-198—339 in 334 career appearances (1.01 P/GP) since entering the League in 2018-19.
THIRD STAR – DAVID PASTRNAK, RW, BOSTON BRUINS
Pastrnak (8-6—14 in 9 GP) finished among the League leaders in plus/minus (t-2nd; +9), shots on goal (3rd; 42), goals (t-3rd; 8) and points (5th; 14) to guide Boston to an 8-0-1 October (17 points), its longest point streak to start a season in franchise history. Pastrnak collected points in seven of his nine outings, beginning the campaign on a four-game goal/point streak (Oct. 11-21: 5-3—8), registering five multi-point efforts and scoring in six total contests. He also converted on a pair of penalty shots: Oct. 14 vs. NSH (Juuse Saros) and Oct. 28 vs. DET (Ville Husso). The 27-year-old Pastrnak, who in 2022-23 became the second player in Bruins history to post a 60-goal season (61-52—113 in 82 GP), ranks third in the NHL with 309 career goals since entering the League in 2014-15 (309-322—631 in 601 GP) – a total topped only by Alex Ovechkin (402 G in 676 GP) and Leon Draisaitl (310 G in 646 GP) during that span.
