NHL Three Stars: Kesler advances Ducks; Tarasenko dazzles Wild
No. 1. Star: Ryan Kesler, Anaheim Ducks
His two third period goals pushed Anaheim past the Winnipeg Jets and into the second round of the playoffs in a 5-2 win. Kesler notched three goals in this series, all on the road, proving his worth as an offseason acquisition for Anaheim from the Vancouver Canucks. He was also a plus-3 and won 54 percent of his face offs in Game 4.
No. 2. Star: Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues
There is absolutely no way Tarasenko could pull another ‘Forsberg’ move in the middle of a game again. No … wait … he did what? Tarasenko dazzled with the below one-handed goal score in the Blues’ 6-1 blasting of the Wild. His two goals helped tie the series at 2-2.
No. 3 Star: Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators
In his second start of the postseason, the Senators netminder stopped 28 of 28 Montreal shots on goal to keep Ottawa alive this playoff. The series is now 3-1 in favor of the Canadiens as it heads back to Montreal for Game 5. Anderson lost his starting job down the stretch of the season to Andrew Hammond, but has now started the last two games for Ottawa in the playoffs.
Honorable Mention: St. Louis defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk notched three assists in the drubbing of Minnesota … Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester was a plus-4 in 20:36 of action … St. Louis forward David Backes scored one goal and added one assist … Rangers forward Kevin Hayes scored a goal in overtime to help give New York a commanding 3-1 series lead over Pittsburgh in a 2-1 win … Rangers forward Derick Brassard also scored … Ottawa’s Mike Hoffman scored a goal in the Sens’ win … Anaheim forward Corey Perry notched two assists. Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen scored a goal and added one assists.
Did You Know?: Hayes is the first Rangers rookie to score his first career playoff goal in overtime since Don Murdoch in 1978.
Dishonorable Mention: Pittsburgh forwards Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby were each held without a point in the Penguins’ Game 4 loss to the Rangers … Jets defensemen Tyler Myers and Tobias Enstrom were each a minus-3. Fellow Winnipeg blueliner Dustin Byfuglien was a minus-4 and had just one assist in the series … Minnesota defenseman Jordan Leopold and forward Jason Pominville were each a minus-3. Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk was yanked after allowing six goals on 17 shots on goal.
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