NHL Three Stars: Martinez OT hero for Kings; Kane extends streak
No. 1 Star: Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks
Dennis Rasmussen scored his first NHL goal and Patrick Kane extended his franchise record point streak to 23 games with an empty-netter as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Nashville Predators 4-1. Crawford made 36 saves for his second straight win. Kane’s empty net goal also marked his 600th career NHL point.
No. 2 Star: Alec Martinez, Los Angeles Kings
Martinez assisted on the game-tying goal and then ended things with one of his own in overtime as the Kings beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2. Christian Ehrhoff and Jeff Carter scored in regulation as LA fought back from an 0-2 first period deficit. The Kings have now won five in a row.
No. 3 Star: Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
The Stars captain scored and assisted on three others in a wild 6-5 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Benn recorded his four points in the opening two periods as Dallas built up a 5-1 lead, a lead that would evaporate in the third period. But with 18.5 seconds left in regulation, Patrick Sharp was the hero, netting the winner on the power play:
Val Nichushkin and John Klingberg each picked up three points.
Honorable Mention: Nazem Kadri’s goal in the shootout gave the Toronto Maple Leafs the extra point in a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. P.A. Parenteau opened the scoring for the Leafs after this fortunate bounce on Cory Schneider:
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 33 shots, but left the game late in the third period with a lower-body injury:
Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie scored the only goals in the shootout as the Washington Capitals downed the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 … Despite the loss, Detroit earned a point for the 11th straight game … Pavel Datsyuk played in his 900th NHL game, while Nicklas Backstrom suited up for his 600th … Kyle Turris, Mike Hoffman and J.G. Pageau scored third period goals as the Ottawa Senators doubled up the Florida Panthers 4-2. Ottawa has won three of four games … Justin Faulk scored twice with the extra man for the Hurricanes in a losing effort. He now leads all players with 11 power play goals on the year … Jake Allen made 22 stops and Vladimir Tarasenko and Kevin Shattenkirk each had two points as the St. Louis Blues beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-1, snapping a three-game losing streak. Shattenkirk’s goal came via this pretty backhand pass from Jori Lehtera:
Karri Ramo stopped 31 shots and the Calgary Flames got two points from Dennis Wideman, Mikael Backlund and Mark Giordano as they beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 … Logan Couture recorded an assist in his first game back for the Sharks since Oct. 13 … Frans Nielsen scored twice in regulation and Kyle Okposo scored the only goal of the shootout as the New York Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 after a shootout, winning for the sixth time in eight games. Jaroslav Halak made 43 saves and two more in the shootout.
Did You Know? All four goaltenders were needed in Dallas’ 6-5 win over Carolina.
Dishonorable Mention: Steve Mason allowed three goals on 10 shots and was pulled in the second period … According to the AP, Roberto Luongo, playing in his 887th game to pass Tony Esposito to move into seventh all-time among goalies, has dropped three straight to the Senators after winning the previous 10.
