NEW YORK (Feb. 10, 2025) – Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko and Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” presented by GEICO for the week ending Feb. 9.
FIRST STAR – BRANDON HAGEL, LW, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Hagel – who will represent Canada at this week’s 4 Nations Face-Off – led the NHL with 4-4—8, all at even strength, in four contests to lift the Lightning (31-20-4, 66 points) into third place in the Atlantic Division via four straight wins over division opponents. He helped Tampa Bay sweep back-to-back games versus the Ottawa Senators, one of the teams ahead of them in the Atlantic entering the week, potting the tiebreaking goal early in the third period of a 4-3 victory Feb. 4 and scoring the game-winner (his third of 2024-25) in a 5-1 triumph Feb. 6. Hagel then registered his third career four-point performance, all of which have come this season (also Oct. 22 at NJD: 3-1—4 and Nov. 25 vs. COL: 0-5—5), with 2-2—4 in a 6-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings Feb. 8. He closed the week with a pair of assists, his 16th multi-point outing of the campaign, in a 5-3 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens Feb. 9 at Bell Centre – the site of the first four games of the 4 Nations Face-Off, including the tournament opener this Wednesday (CAN vs. SWE, 8 p.m. ET, TNT, truTV, Max, SN, TVAS). The 26-year-old Hagel ranks second on the Lightning and 16th in the entire NHL with 26-36—62 through 55 total appearances this season. He also places among the 2024-25 League leaders in shorthanded assists (t-1st; 4), shorthanded points (t-1st; 6), even-strength goals (3rd; 24), even-strength points (5th; 49), goals (t-9th; 26) and plus/minus (t-10th; +24).
