NHL Three Stars: Stepan leads Rangers rout; Edler’s late goal beats Coyotes
No. 1 Star: Derek Stepan, New York Rangers
Eleven Rangers registered a point as New York routed the Anaheim Ducks 7-2. Stepan led the way with a pair of goals and an assist, his first points in a month. Keith Yandle handed out three helpers and Cam Talbot made 36 saves for his sixth win in seven starts. New York improved to 11-1-1 against the Pacific Division this season.
No. 2 Star: Alex Edler, Vancouver Canucks
Jacob Markstrom earned his first NHL win since April 13, 2014 with a 24-save night in a 3-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes. Edler’s power play goal snapped a 1-1 tie with 3:13 left in the third period. Henrik Sedin put the game out of reach with an empty netter two minutes later.
No. 3 Star: Justin Abdelkader, Detroit Red Wings
Afro Gator was part of two fortunate bounces for the Red Wings as they beat the St. Louis Blues 2-1 in overtime. His shot early in the third period went off defenseman Chris Butler’s face and to Erik Cole, who poked the puck by Jake Allen to even the score. In overtime, he scored the winner despite breaking his stick during the goalmouth scramble:
Honorable Mention: J.T. Brown, Matt Carle, Vladislav Namestnikov and Ondrej Palat all recorded two points as the Tampa Bay Lightning downed the Boston Bruins 5-3. Brown and Anton Stralman scored 15 seconds apart in the first period as Tampa snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Bruins … Steven Stamkos and Brad Marchand scrapped after the Lightning captain took offense to a hit:
Corey Perry netted a pair of goals in the Anaheim loss. He now has 31 in 59 games this season … Mike Smith made 41 saves in a losing effort for the Coyotes … Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored your goal of the night:
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Dishonorable Mention: The Blues weren’t pleased that Abdelkader’s broken stick goal was not waved off … Boston is 0-3-2 in their last five games … Frederik Andersen was pulled after allowing three goals on seven shots in the opening 10:16 … Anaheim’s seven goals allowed are the most they’ve given up in a game this season … Arizona has dropped eight in a row and 18 of their last 19.
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