NHL Three Stars: Brian Elliott blanks the Sharks
No. 1 Star: Brian Elliott, St. Louis Blues
The Blues goalie won his 100th game with the franchise in impressive fashion, stopping 37 shots to defeat the San Jose Sharks, 1-0. That included 15 shots in the third period. Robby Fabbri had the game’s lone goal.
No. 2 Star: Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets
Pavelec outdueled Jacob Markstrom (47 saves) in a 28-save shutout of the Vancouver Canucks, holding the fort until Adam Lowry and Mark Scheifele scored in the third period.
No. 3 Star: Vernon Fiddler, Dallas Stars
With Tyler Seguin out, someone had to pick up the slack. Fiddler scored two first-period goals, including a back-breaking shorthanded tally at 18:43, to help the Stars to their 6-2 humbling of the Chicago Blackhawks. The Stars clinched a playoff spot.
Honorable Mention: Mike Smith made 27 saves, continued his mastery over the Edmonton Oilers and celebrated his birthday in a 4-2 win over the Oil. Martin Hanzal had a goal and an assist. … With two assists, Connor McDavid moves to 1.08 points per game, third best in the NHL this season. … Evander Kane scored goal No. 20 and Johan Larsson had the game-winner in the Buffalo Sabres’ third-period rally, 3-2, over the Carolina Hurricanes. … Devan Dubnyk was terrific in making 38 saves, and goals by Erik Haula and Mikko Koivu powered the Minnesota Wild to a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Dubnyk improved to 8-1-1 in his last 10 decisions. The Wild jumped back into the last wild card with the win. … Alex Ovechkin scored goal No. 43 as the Washington Capitals defeated the Ottawa Senators, 4-2, to clinch the Eastern Conference’s top seed. … Erik Condra scored two goals and Steven Stamkos added his 34th in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s big 6-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. … Mike Brown had a goal and an assist while Mike Condon made 32 saves in the Montreal Canadiens’ 4-3 in over the Anaheim Ducks. Lucas Lessio’s first goal in 11 games with the Habs was the difference in the third. … Jakob Silfverberg had two goals in the loss. … Tough loss for the Philadelphia Flyers, but an impressive win for the Columbus Blue Jackets: Scoring two goals in the last 1:04 of the game, including one shorthanded, to send the game to overtime before winning in the shootout, 3-2. Boone Jenner and Cam Atkinson led the rally in the third. Steve Mason had 51 saves in the loss.
Did You Know? Michael Leighton made 16 saves in his first NHL appearance since Jan. 27, 2013, for Philadelphia at Tampa Bay. (AP)
Dishonorable Mention: Jeff Skinner had a critical turnover on the Sabres’ game-winner. … Carolina lost its fifth straight. … Ottawa’s power play is in a 10-game spiral, going 0-for-27. … Tomas Fleischmann, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith were all a minus-3. … Scott Darling was chased after the first period … Jonathan Ericsson was a minus-4, and Niklas Kronwall was a minus-3. … Jamie McGinn was a minus-3. … Jared Boll might have a hearing after a game misconduct for a blind-side hit on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare:
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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
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