Jakub Voracek is earning his money. The 27-year-old forward was named the NHL’s first star of the week today, after a pair of four-point games in the past seven days for the streaking Philadelphia Flyers.
Voracek entered the season under a lot of pressure to produce. He did not have a fantastic 2015-16, finishing with 55 points in 73 games. Through 31 games of 2016-17, he already has as many goals (11) as he did all of last season. He also has 21 assists, giving him 32 points total, tied for the second most in the league behind only Connor McDavid (39).
This is the first year of an eight-year, $66 million contract extension that Voracek signed in the summer of 2015.
From the league’s press release:
Rangers goalies Antti Raanta and Blue Jackets center Sam Gagner were the second and third stars of the week, respectively.