NHL Three Stars: Spezza’s trick foils McDavid; Blues rookie shines
No. 1 Star: Jason Spezza, Dallas Stars
Connor McDavid’s first NHL goal got the attention, but Jason Spezza stole the spotlight with a hat trick in the Stars’ 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. That was on eight shots on goal.
No. 2 Star: Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues
The rookie defenseman scored his first two NHL goals just under 15 minutes apart in the second period, as the Blues defeated the Calgary Flames, 4-3. He skated 18:13 for the game, helping to fill the void when Kevin Shattenkirk left the game with a lower body injury.
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No. 3 Star: Bryan Little, Winnipeg Jets
Bryan Little gave goalie Michael Hutchinson (40 saves) the offense he needed in a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers. Little broke a 1-1 tie in the second period with a shorthanded goal, and then scored a back-breaking power-play goal in the third – his first two goals of the season.
Honorable Mention: Max Pacioretty scored two goals and Carey Price moved to 3-0 with a 31-save effort in a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. … Martin Jones made 31 saves and got goals from Joe Thornton, Mike Brown and Tomas Hertl in a 5-0 win over the Alex Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals. … Connor Brickley scored his first NHL goal (and picked up two minor penalties) and Nick Bjugstad scored 2:01 into the first period as the Florida Panthers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1. … Henrik Zetterberg and Kyle Quincey had a goal and an assist each in the Detroit Red Wings’ 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. … … Ryan Miller made 15 saves and Alex Edler had a goal and an assist in the Vancouver Canucks’ 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings. … Pekka Rinne made 22 saves and added an assist as the Nashville Predators defeated the New Jersey Devils, 3-1. Roman Josi had two goals. … Connor McDavid scored his first NHL goal. … Henrik Lundqvist did another Henrik Lundqvist thing:
Did You Know? Canucks right wing Jake Virtanen, the sixth selection in the 2014 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut.
Dishonorable Mention: Ovechkin missed the game for personal reasons. … Nail Yakupov was called for embellishment, which will no doubt endear him to his critics. … Sidney Crosby went scoreless again, and hasn’t tallied a point this season. … The Oilers gave up 51 shots to the Stars. … The Kings are 0-3-0 have been outscored 12-2 and have one even-strength goal. They are 0-for-14 on the power play. … Tim Peel had another blown goalie interference call, this time via a coach’s challenge… Brandon Prust and Andy Andreoff exchanged pleasantries. …
