NHL Three Stars: Canucks, Ducks, Wild thump the opposition
No. 1 Star: Ryan Miller, Vancouver Canucks
Miller nearly had a shutout if it wasn’t for Matt Duchene with 42-seconds left in the game. Instead he had to settle with a 37 save outing as he earned his 13th win of the season. One example of his heroics came on this incredible toe save on a sure fire goal:
No. 2 Star: Ryan Kesler, Anaheim Ducks
The center scored 2 goals and assisted on Kevin Bieksa’s power play goal as the Ducks beat up on the Calgary Flames 5-2. Kesler’s second goal came after picking the pocket of Deryk Engelland deep in the Flames zone.
No. 3 Star: Jason Pominville, Minnesota Wild
Since John Torchetti took over as head coach of the Wild, Pominville has 6 points in 4 games. He picked up a goal and two assists in the Wild’s 6-1 beat down of the Chicago Blackhawks in the Minnesota hosted Stadium Series game.
Honorable Mention: With the score tied 1-1 after the first, Kris Letang assisted on three straight Pittsburgh Penguins goals as they beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3. The Sabres power play was 2-for-3 on goals by Zach Bogosian and Brian Gionta … Erik Haula earned 2 goals and an assist against Chicago. Devan Dubnyk had 31 saves to pick up his 21st win. Patrick Kane was the lone goal scorer for the Blackhawks with his 35 tally on the season … Kevin Klein scored 1:59 into overtime to give the New York Rangers the 1-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings. Henrik Lundqvist had 22 saves in the shutout:
… Steven Stamkos’s power play goal stood as the game winner for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ryan Callahan added the empty-netter to ice the game 4-2 versus the Carolina Hurricanes. Joakim Norstrom registered a short handed goal in the first period … John Gibson earned his career high 14 win on 22 saves against Calgary. Scoring a goal 16-seconds into the third period, Ryan Getzlaf extends his scoring streak to eight-straight games.
… Canucks scored five straight goals on the Avalanche in the 5-1 win. Henrik Sedin assisted on four of the five goals; Daniel assisted on three.
Did You Know? Since being acquired by the Ducks, David Perron has 13 points in 14 games, more than Carl Hagelin had in 42 games (12 points) before being traded (via @NHLNumbers).
Dishonorable Mention: Ryan O’Reilly missed the first game of what will be 3-to-4 weeks with a lower body injury … Corey Crawford allowed 4 goals on 23 shots and was replaced by Scott Darling for the third period of the Stadium Series game. Michal Rozsival was assessed a five minute minute major and a game misconduct for his involvement in this hit on Jason Zucker:
… Cam Ward made 14 saves on 17 shots in the loss … Calgary dropped their 22nd straight game in Anaheim … Patrick Roy pulled the goaltender with 10 minutes left in the game because that’s what he does. Christopher Tanev scored on the empty net at 11:37. Derek Dorsett and Radim Vrbata both left the game with injuries.
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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.
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