NHL Three Stars: Scheifele’s first trick; Ducks win 11th straight
No. 1 Star: Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
Scheifele recorded his first career hat trick as the Jets defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. With the scored tied 2-2, Scheifele put home his 19th of the season with 6:59 left in the third period. He’d later add an empty-netter to cap off the night. The win also snapped Winnipeg’s six-game winless streak at MTS Centre.
No. 2 Stars: Radko Gudas / Steve Mason, Philadelphia Flyers
Mason needed 19 saves to post his 30th career shutout during a 6-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Gudas, not known as a scoring threat, went off Saturday night with a four-point evening, including a goal from center ice. He hadn’t scored in 66 games and entered the game with six points this season.
No. 3 Star: Antoine Vermette, Arizona Coyotes
Vermette scored a goal and handed out three assists as the Coyotes beat the Florida Panthers 4-1. Alex Tanguay scored twice in his Coyotes debut and Louis Dominque made 32 stops for his first win in eight starts.
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Honorable Mention: Two points from Joe Colborne and Mikael Backlund helped the Calgary Flames snap a seven-game skid with a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Joni Ortio made 29 stops for his first win this season. According to the AP, the victory was Calgary’s first in Pittsburgh since Dec. 3, 2005 … Sidney Crosby scored a pair of goals in a losing effort … David Jones scored his first goal as a member of the Wild and Jason Pominville put home the winner in the shootout as Minnesota downed the Buffalo Sabres 3-2. The win was Minnesota’s fourth in a row and first in the shootout this season … The Nashville Predators got goals from five different skaters and Pekka Rinne made 34 stops as they downed the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 to earn a point in the 12th straight game … Jakob Silfverberg’s power play goal early in the third period would stand as the game winner as the Anaheim Ducks won their 11th in a row with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. The win also moved the Ducks ahead of LA for first in the Pacific Division. Anaheim is now 18-1-1 in their last 20 games. Bruce Boudreau became the fastest head NHL coach to reach 400 wins … Matt Niskanen’s blast in overtime was the difference as the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 to reach 100 points on the season:
Goals from Marc Methot and Zack Smith helped the Ottawa Senators come from behind against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3-2 win. Andrew Hammond made 41 saves for his first win in six starts … Maple Leafs rookie William Nylander scored his first NHL goal, which was assisted by Brooks Laich, who assisted on Michael Nylander’s final NHL goal in 2009 … The Air Canada Centre crowd gave former Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf an ovation in his first game back in Toronto since last month’s trade … Dan Hamhuis’ first of the season broke a 2-2 tie and helped the Vancouver Canucks get past the San Jose Sharks 4-2. Sven Baertschi, Bo Horvat and Ben Hutton each recorded a pair of assists … Sharks forward Micheal Haley scored his first NHL goal since March 19, 2011 … The Lightning set a franchise record with their ninth win in a row thanks to this great overtime goal by Alex Killorn:
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Dishonorable Mention: LA has gone 9-9-1 in their last 19 games, losing a 16-point lead on the Ducks in the process … LA and Anaheim didn’t wait long to exchange pleasantries … Henrik Sedin left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return after this hit by Brent Burns:
Kevan Miller missed the rest of the game with an upper-body injury after being boarded by Alex Ovechkin:
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