Islanders Anders Lee should have been NHL first star of the week

The NHL named their three stars of the week and New York Islanders captain Anders Lee was named the third star. From March 7 to March 13, Lee picked up seven goals and one helper for eight points over the target period.

First star honors went to Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Kane who had a goal and nine assists on the week. Calgary Flames goalie Jakob Markstrom, who had a shutout and averaged a 0.67GAA and 0.974SV% on the week, was named the second star of the week.

All three are worthy stars on the week, but in my opinion, Lee should have been the first star of the week.

New York Islanders Anders Lee should have been NHL's 1st star

This isn't to take anything away from Kane or Markstrom. Both deserve to be in the top three. But seven goals in three games is insane. Auston Matthews, who's running away with the Maurice Richard Trophy, has six goals over the week.

Lee's shooting percentage on the week was at 46.7%. That was first in the league by some distance for anyone who put at least ten pucks on the net. That conversion rate is, again, insane.

Kane put up a bunch of points (two more than Lee), but we have to agree that an assist is worth less than a goal. It's still worth a lot but goals matter more. There's no debate here.

Markstrom had a hell of a week. A 0.67GAA is ridiculous. But if you delve down into the specifics and not just the averages, Darcy Kuemper stopped more goals over expected (5.16 GSAx to Markstrom's 4.68GSAx). Not to mention that Kuemper was far busier facing 150% more shots than Markstrom did and only allowed five goals on the week.

What Markstrom did this week was excellent but he wasn't even the better keeper on the week. Sure, Calgary went 3-0-0 over the weeks compared to Colorado's 2-2-0, but wins are a team stat, not a goalie stat, and have no merit when it comes to judging a goalie's individual play.

I maintain that Lee was the better player on the week. Third star is still excellent of course, but scoring seven goals in a single week is, again, insane.