Hagel leads 3 Stars of the Week

NEW YORK -- 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).

SECOND STAR – THATCHER DEMKO, G, VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Demko stopped 64 of the 65 shots he faced across three appearances, going 2-0-0 with a 0.46 goals-against average, .985 save percentage and one shutout as the Canucks (26-18-11, 63 points) moved into the final playoff spot in the Western Conference via a perfect week. He earned his ninth career shutout and first of 2024-25 with 25 saves in a 3-0 victory against the Colorado Avalanche Feb. 4. Demko then turned aside 33 shots, including a combined 17 in the third period and overtime, in a 2-1 triumph versus the San Jose Sharks Feb. 6. The 29-year-old Demko, who denied all six shots he saw before exiting Vancouver’s 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Feb. 8, owns a 6-6-3 record, 2.87 goals-against average and .891 save percentage through 17 total contests this season.

THIRD STAR – MATTHEW TKACHUK, LW, FLORIDA PANTHERS

Tkachuk – another participant in the 4 Nations Face-Off – scored in all three of his outings, totaling 4-3—7, to extend his goal streak to six games (Jan. 29 – Feb. 8: 7-6—13) as the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers (34-20-3, 71 points) maintained a three-point cushion atop the Atlantic Division. He found the back of the net once in a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals Feb. 4. Tkachuk then posted 2-1—3, including the tiebreaking goal with 11.8 seconds remaining in regulation, in 3-2 victory at his hometown St. Louis Blues Feb. 6 before adding 1-2—3, his seventh three-point performance of the season, in a 5-1 triumph over the Ottawa Senators Feb. 8. The 27-year-old Tkachuk sits second on Florida in goals (22), assists (35) and points (57) through 52 total games in 2024-25.

As the presenting partner of the NHL’s “Three Stars” of the week, GEICO also is presenting the NHL’s “Fourth Star” – a season-long fan appreciation program. Click here to meet January’s “Fourth Star.”