NHL Three Stars: Hats off for Hornqvist, Schenn
No. 1 Star: Patric Hornqvist, Pittsburgh Penguins
Hornqvist tallied a hat trick and added an assist on Kris Letang’s third-period goal in the Penguins’ 6-0 rout of the Arizona Coyotes. Hornqvist scored two goals in the first period, both assisted by Sidney Crosby, and then on the power play in the second period, giving him 15 goals on the season. Crosby had three assists.
No. 2 Star: Brayden Schenn, Philadelphia Flyers
Schenn led a Flyers rally after the Calgary Flames took an early lead, scoring once in the first and then twice more in the second period (in 3:04 of each other) in Philly’s 5-3 win. Schenn’s hat trick gives him 21 goals on the season. Wayne Simmonds had two goals of his own.
No. 3 Star: Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay Lightning
TJ was the Bolts’ offense against the Toronto Maple Leafs, as Johnson scored two second-period goals and Tampa Bay held on to win, 2-1, as Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves. The Lightning had won seven straight.
Honorable Mention: Derek Stepan scored a shorthanded goal with 2:48 remaining in the game and Antti Raanta made 26 saves as the New York Rangers defeated John Tortorella’s Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-1. … Andreas Athanasiou scored two goals and Pavel Datsyuk had an overtime power-play goal in the Detroit Red Wings’ 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars. Jimmy Howard had 39 saves. … Linemates Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski had 3-point nights in the San Jose Sharks’ 6-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Pavelski had two goals and an assist, while Thornton and Brent Burns had a goal and two assists.
Game of the Night:
The Red Wings and the Stars played a fun one, including Vernon Fiddler’s goal at 18:29 of the third.
Did You Know? Eric Staal had no points and one shot on goal in 15:43 of ice time in his Rangers debut.
Dishonorable Mention: Tobias Rieder was a minus-3. … Mattias Janmark took a hooking penalty in overtime that led to Datsyuk’s goal. … Jacob De La Rose was a minus-4 in just 10:19 of ice time. That’s pretty special.
