NHL Three Stars: Ovechkin’s overtime masterpiece leads OT drama
No. 1 Star: Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
The Capitals star scored goals Nos. 498 and 499 for his career in their 4-3 win over the New York Rangers, including an instant classic end-to-end overtime goal that gave the Caps’ the come from behind win. Nicklas Backstrom scored with six seconds left to tie it.
No. 2 Star: Louis Domingue, Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes goalie pitched a 26-save shutout in their 4-0 win over the Nashville Predators, which included two Arizona goals scored in the last three minutes. He’s 6-1-2 in his last 9 games, with a .945 EV save percentage.
No. 3 Star: Jordan Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
Staal stole the puck in overtime and converted the turnover into the game-winner as the Hurricanes defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-3. He earlier had an assist.
Honorable Mention: Brandon Rust had the game-winning goal in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 3-1 win at the Montreal Canadiens. Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves. … Thomas Hertl had two goals and an assist and Justin Braun had three assists as the San Jose Sharks blew out the Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-0. Martin Jones had the 28-save shutout. … Steve Mason stopped all 20 shots he faced in their 4-0 win over the New York Islanders. Sean Couturier had a goal and an assist. … Thomas Vanek had the game-winner and Devan Dubnyk made 34 saves as the Minnesota Wild defeated the Dallas Stars, 2-1. Jamie Benn scored his 25th in the loss. … Troy Brouwer scored in the seventh round of the shootout as the St. Louis Blues defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1. Brian Elliott made 26 saves. … Nikita Kucherov sniped the overtime game-winner for the Lightning against the Vancouver Canucks, as they won 3-2:
It was close between Mark Stone and Staal for third star, as this second effort from the Ottawa Senators forward to defeat the Boston Bruins was terrific. The Sens won, 2-1, as Craig Anderson made 33 saves.
Did You Know? The St. Louis Blues generated a season-low 16 shots.
Dishonorable Mention: Dan Girardi made an unforgivable giveaway on Ovechkin’s first goal. … Jonathan Bernier was in goal for all seven Sharks goals. Nazem Kadri was a minus-4. … Brayden McNabb was given a major for charging and a game misconduct for this hit:
Tyler Seguin accidentally gave Jared Spurgeon a two-handed whack with his stick. Spurgeon would return to the game:
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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
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