NHL Three Stars: Vatrano nets first hat trick; Caps come back vs. Bolts
No. 1 Star: Frank Vatrano, Boston Bruins
The Bruins rookie notched his first NHL hat trick as the Bruins drubbed the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2. Ryan Spooner assisted on all three of Vatrano’s goals along with a Loui Eriksson power play tally. Patrice Bergeron chipped in a pair as Boston swept a home-and-home with Pittsburgh.
No. 2 Star: Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers
Bobby Lou recorded his 70th career shutout as the Panthers blanked the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0. Willie Mitchell and Reilly Smith provided the goals as Florida won their third in a row and have now beat Carolina in five consecutive meetings.
No. 3 Stars: Alex Ovechkin / T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals
Ovechkin and Oshie helped Washington erase a 3-0 deficit by a pair of goals each and assists on two others in a 5-3 Capitals victory. The win was Washington’s fourth in a row and seventh straight at Verizon Center. Ovechkin first goal came via this beauty move:
Honorable Mention: Smith has now scored in four straight games for the Panthers … Conor Sheary scored his first NHL goal with the Penguins … Nicklas Backstrom’s assist on Oshie’s second goal was his 600th NHL point … Philipp Grubauer stopped all seven shots he faced in relief of Braden Holtby … J.P. Pageau, Chris Wideman and Erik Karlsson scored 7:29 apart in the third period to break a 1-1 tie as the Ottawa Senators went on to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2. Craig Anderson made 31 saves … In his season debut, Linden Vey scored the game-deciding goal in the shootout as the Vancouver Canucks got by the Detroit Red Wings 4-3. Sven Baertschi and Radim Vrbata each recorded two points …Jimmy Howard made 37 saves, including this one on Alex Burrows:
Bryan Little scored the opening two goals of the game and assisted on Tyler Myers’ insurance marker in the second period as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the New York Rangers 5-2. Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves, while Blake Wheeler added four helpers.
Did You Know?
Dishonorable Mention: The Penguins have lost all three games since Mike Sullivan replaced Mike Johnston and have been outscored 13-3 … Pittsburgh power play didn’t score on five chances … The Rangers are 2-6-1 in their last nine games … Henrik Sedin was scratched with an lower-body injury.
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