NHL Three Stars: Wedgewood’s first win; Pens quiet Caps; Ducks down Jets

No. 1 Star: Scott Wedgewood, New Jersey Devils

Congrats to Wedgewood for starting in and winning his first career NHL game. Wedgewood played in the second of a home-and-home against the Columbus Blue Jackets earning his first win with 27 saves.

No. 2 Star: Trevor Daley, Pittsburgh Penguins

In the 6-2 rout of the Washington Capitals, the defenseman had 1 goal and 2 assists. Check out his beauty of a backhander to beat Braden Holtby:

No. 3 Star: Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks

In overtime, Silfverberg skated the puck from the Ducks net to just past the Winnipeg Jets blueline before dropping it off to Ryan Kesler. Silfverberg then casually gets in behind all Jets players and accepts the pass back from Kesler. Michael Hutchinson makes the first save. Rebound comes back to Silfverberg, who as all the time in the world, to roof it.

Honorable Mention: John Gibson improved to 17-10-3 on the season for Anaheim with 27 saves … James Reimer earned his second shutout in his fourth game with the San Jose Sharks. Brent Burns became the highest scoring defenseman in Sharks history with 65 points in the win over the Arizona Coyotes .. Tom Kuhnhackl scored 1 goal and 2 assists for Pittsburgh. Justin Schultz registered his first goal as a Penguin. Jason Chimera scored one of the two goals for Washington, or more specifically, his head scored for him.

… Niklas Backstrom last played January 13, 2015 as a member of the Minnesota Wild. He started for the Calgary Flames on Sunday and earned his first win since December 14, 2014. Sean Monahan and Dougie Hamilton picked up 3-points each in the 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens … Minnesota went up 2-0 on the Chicago Blackhawks in the first part of the second period, and the Blackhawks tied it up in the second half. Charlie Coyle scored in the shootout to give the Wild the win … With their 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, the Colorado Avalanche leapfrog the Wild in the standings for the final Wild Card spot in the West.

Did You Know? With his game winning goal on Sunday, Devante Smith-Pelly has 10 points in 9 games with the Devils. He was acquired from Montreal where he registered 12 points in 46 games this year.

Dishonorable Mention: Anaheim lost David Perron after he fell awkwardly into the boards in the second period. He did not return and the team had no update on his status. The Jets lost Mathieu Perreault late in the second after he fell into the boards. Paul Maurice said Perreault was “fine” after the game and would be reevaluated later … The Oilers have officially been eliminated from playoff contention … Sam Bennett’s night ended prematurely as he turned his head into Paul Byron’s shoulder and was injured:

… The Caps and Pens combined for 63 penalty minutes. Braden Holtby is allowed an off-night. He was pulled after allowing 5 goals on 26 shots in 47:18 TOI. Mike Weber is probably going to be suspended for this hit on Bryan Rust. Sidney Crosby and T.J. Oshie get into it and somehow only Oshie is penalized. (BEGIN CONSPIRACY THEORIES!)