NHL Three Stars: Stastny’s 4-point night; Hall’s pair leads OIlers
No. 1 Star: Paul Stastny, St. Louis Blues
The Blues forward removed the cage and picked up three points in the third period to finish with four on the night during a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Entering the third period tied at one, the Blues scored three times, with Stastny netting one and assisting on the other two. St. Louis has now won four of their last five games.
No. 2 Star: Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers
Hall scored in each of the first two periods as the Oilers doubled up the Florida Panthers 4-2. He had previously scored once in his last 14 games. Cam Talbot made 30 stops as Edmonton won their seventh straight on the road against the Panthers. Hall added an assist and now has recorded at least three points in a game seven times this season.
No. 3 Star: Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche
Carl Soderberg and Jarome Iginla scored first period goals and Varlamov made 36 saves as the Avalanche edged the Winnipeg Jets 2-1. Iginla’s goal was the 602nd of his career, moving him past Jari Kurri for 18th on the NHL’s all-time goal scoring list.
Honorable Mention: Evgeni Malkin reached 20 goals for the third straight season and eighth time in the last 10 seasons … Vladimir Tarasenko used that stutter step move again to tally his 25th of the year:
Power play goals from Jack Eichel and Jamie McGinn helped boost the Buffalo Sabres to a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes. Eichel would assist on McGinn’s goal to give him a two-point night … Emotions rose after the final buzzer as the teams mixed it up:
Zbynek Michalek took a puck to the mouth and bled a decent amount, but returned to the game a short while later:
Mika Zibanejad scored the only goal in the shootout as the Ottawa Senators beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3. Craig Anderson made 32 saves and two more in the shootout. Zack Smith’s shorthanded penalty shot goal with 5:31 left in the third period forced extra time … Matt Nieto scored his eighth of the year after Joonas Donskoi showed off some moves:
Did You Know?
Dishonorable Mention: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be out “long-term” after injuring his hand blocking a shot … The Penguins have lost five of their last seven … Florida has lost four in a row since their 12-game win streak … In a scary sight in the second period, Mike Hoffman crashed into the post and did not return to the game:
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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