Hughes, Pastrnak, and Dunn Named three Stars of January
via NHL.com
Yet another month of the 2022-2023 NHL season has come and gone, and we have seen more incredible player performances. Three of those performances have stood out among the rest to claim the honors of the NHL’s three stars of the month for January. Those three players are Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils, David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins, and Vince Dunn of the Seattle Kraken.
NHL’s Third Star of the Month – Vince Dunn
The 26-year-old defenseman led all defensemen in points in January with five goals and 12 assists for 17 points in just 15 games. He also tied the league lead in plus/minus with a +18 which helped lead the Seattle Kraken to a record of 11-3-1 to move them from fifth place to first place in the Pacific Division. Dunn went on a nine-game point streak from January 5-19 where he collected five goals and eight assists for 13 points, and he put up at least a point in 11 of the Kraken’s 15 games. The Canadian defenseman was drafted by the St. Louis Blues with the 56th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut in October 2017. He went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019 before being picked by Seattle in the 2021 Expansion Draft.
NHL’s Second Star of the Month – David Pastrnak
The 26-year-old forward led the league in goals for the month of January with 13. He also collected eight assists for 21 points, good enough for third in league points for the month, in just 14 games. Pastrnak’s efforts helped lead the Bruins to a record of 10-3-1 and they became the fastest team in NHL history to reach 80 points in a season, a feat they reached in just 47 games. He put up at least a point in ten of his 14 games, highlighted by two four-point games against Anaheim on January 8 and Montreal on January 24. He scored his 30th goal of the season in the game against Anaheim. The Czech forward currently is second in the league in goals with 38, fourth in points with 71, first in shots on goal with 243, and fifth in powerplay points with 28.
NHL’s First Star of the Month – Jack Hughes
The 21-year-old forward led the league in points in January with 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points in 13 games. He scored in 12 of the 13 games, including at least a point in his last eight games of the month, to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 9-2-2 record in January. He became the fasted player in Devils history to reach 60 points in a season which he did in just 47 games. He recorded nine multi-point games highlighted by four games with multiple goals and two games where he got three points. The first overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft had a fairly quiet first two seasons due to injuries but he has established himself this season as one of the NHL’s best up-and-coming players. He currently has 33 goals and 31 assists this season which is good enough for fifth in goals and ninth in points.
