NHL Three Stars: Habs drop Caps; Bruins slam Pens; Ducks win sixth
No. 1 Star: David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
The 19-year-old scored two goals for the Bruins as they pummeled the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1. His first goal of the game set a record for the franchise as Pastrnak became the youngest Boston player to score via the penalty shot.
No. 2 Star: Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens picked up the their second regulation win since December 1 against the NHL’s top team. Galchenyuk netted the first and final goal for Montreal in the 4-3 win.
No. 3 Star: Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks
With the 26 save shut out, his first of the season, Frederik Andersen improved to 10-0-1 in his last 12 games. Just under four minutes to go in the second period, Andersen robs Evander Kane and Justin Bailey to preserve the shut out.
Honorable Mention: The Canadiens ended the second period up 4-1 on the Capitals. In the final 7:30 of the game, Dmitry Orlov and Andre Burakovsky brought Washington within a goal but could not complete the comeback. Mike Condon made 33 saves, including this miracle save with the blocker-elbow area … Tuukka Rask needed 41 saves to pick up his 23 win of the year. Brad Marchand scored his 31 goal of the season against the Penguins. Tom Kuhnhackl scored a really weird goal that was reviewed and confirmed as good:
… Three recently traded Toronto Maple Leafs made their debuts for their new teams against each other. Roman Pollak and Nick Spaling for the San Jose Sharks and Shawn Matthias for the Colorado Avalanche. Matthias and Spaling scored for their respective new teams. Brent Burns earned his 20 goal of the season. Joel Ward tied the contest with 1:31 to go. Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene scored in the shootout to give the Avs the win:
… Despite taking the loss, Robin Lehner played outstanding for the Sabres making 28 of 29 saves against the surging Ducks. Anaheim has won six in a row for the second time this season. Ryan Getzlaf extended his point scoring streak to nine games with his assist on Sami Vatanen’s power play goal:
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Dishonorable Mention: Barry Trotz said after the game he benched Tom Wilson for all but one shift in the second period due to undisciplined penalties. Braden Holtby was pulled after allowing 3 goals on 18 shots through 21:54 TOI. He was pissed.
… Jack Eichel was 3-16 on the faceoff dot. The Ducks weren’t happy about Evander Kane going knee-to-knee with Hampus Lindholm. The Anaheim defenseman did not play the rest of the first period, but returned for the second and played the rest of the game.
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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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