NHL Three Stars: Flames pick up 11th straight home win; Perry shines in big Anaheim victory
No. 1 Star: Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
Calgary’s captain fired two goals to help his team pick up a franchise record 11th straight home win, a 5-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. The Flames are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games and just one point out of the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. After a slow start to the year, Giordano had found his stride with seven points in his last four games.
No. 2 Star: Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks
The pesky sniper was at his best with two goals in a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The win helped the Ducks to a much-needed two points coming out of the holiday break. In Anaheim’s previous five games, they were 1-3-1. Perry has four points in his last four games.
No. 3 Star: Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
Hellebuyck notched the first shutout of his NHL career in a 1-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 22-year-old rookie moved to 6-3-0 on the season with a .213 goal-against average and .926 save percentage. At 16-17-2, the Jets are in last place in the Central Division.
Honorable Mention: Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn scored one goal and added an assist in a 3-0 blanking of the St. Louis Blues … Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen stopped 22 of 22 shots on goal in the victory … With a 3-1 win over the New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier moved to 3-1-2 after his stint in the AHL. He was 0-8-1 before he went to the minors on a conditioning assignment … Toronto forward Nazem Kadri notched two assists … Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov scored two goals in a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The victory moved Florida to first place in the Atlantic Division … Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad fired his ninth goal of the season. He played 22:55 … Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson notched two assists in a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins … Ottawa forward Mark Stone fired two goals … Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk scored one goal in his team’s 2-1 win at the Chicago Blackhawks. Teammate Jeff Skinner notched two assists … Carolina goaltender Eddie Lack stopped 35 of 36 Chicago shots on goal … Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf scored his second goal of the season. His only other score was an empty netter … Ducks goaltender John Gibson stopped 24 of 26 Philadelphia shots on goal … Flyers forward Sean Couturier notched two assists and teammate Jakub Voracek scored a goal … Colorado Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla scored his 599th career NHL goal in a 3-2 OT loss to the Arizona Coyotes … Arizona forward Mikkel Boedker scored one goal (the OT winner) and added one assist in the win … Coyotes goaltender Anders Lindback stopped 38 of 39 Colorado shots on goal in the win … Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook scored a goal in his 800th career game … Jets forward Bryan Little scored his team’s only goal – on a penalty shot … Edmonton Oilers forward Jordan Eberle notched two assists as did teammate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins … Calgary forward Johnny Gaudreau scored two goals.
Did You Know? With his third overtime goal of the season, Boedker tied the Coyotes single-season franchise record.
Dishonorable Mention: Columbus defenseman Ryan Murray was a minus-3 … Boston Bruins forward David Krejci exited his team’s game after the second period with an upper body injury and did not return … Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler left Anaheim’s game against Philadelphia after the first period with a lower body injury. He did not return … Philadelphia center Claude Giroux was a minus-2 and won 12 percent of his faceoffs … Edmonton Oilers goaltender Anders Nilsson allowed four Flames goals on 30 shots on goal.
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