Getty ImagesUNIONDALE, N.Y. -- For the hottest NHL player in the month of January, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin garnered much publicity -- and rightfully so -- for his 12 goal, 16 point performance in the opening 31 days of the new year that saw his team rip off an eight-game winning streak.

But flying under the radar into the NHL's top star for the month was New York Islanders forward John Tavares with nine goals and 22 points, which included six multi-point nights.

The 21-year old Tavares, now in his third season, is having his best year yet with 22 goals and 54 points through 55 games. His development into a top scorer in the NHL comes just months after signing a six-year, $33 million extension in September. His season earned him an All-Star nod last month in Ottawa and Tavares is living up to every one of the expectations that followed him out of junior hockey when the Islanders selected him No. 1 overall in the 2009 Draft.

The Islanders currently stand eight points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs, winning seven of their last 12 games, and looked poised to be in the mix for one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

"It just feels like we're in a little bit of a better of a position to keep ourselves sin it here and play more meaningful games down the stretch and try and make something happen," said Tavares after practice on Friday.

We spoke to Tavares about his season so far, the decision to commit long-term to the Islanders, living up to expectations, what he'll miss least about Nassau Coliseum, and more.

Enjoy.

Getty ImagesNo. 1 Star: Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks improved to 12-3-3 since the turn of the year thanks to Perry's fifth career hat trick during a 5-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The trick was Perry's second against the Blue Jackets this year.

Anaheim took advantage of their four power play opportunities cashing in on three of them. Ryan Getzlaf chipped in three assists and Jonas Hiller stopped 24 shots for his 19th win.

No. 2 Star: Jaroslav Halak, St. Louis Blues

Lately, it hasn't been a Halak start without a shutout. The Blues netminder recorded his fifth shutout in his last 10 starts with a 3-0 blanking of the San Jose Sharks. Alex Pietrangelo scored twiced and assisted on David Perron's sixth goal in four games as St. Louis improved to 3-0 against San Jose this season.

No. 3 Star: Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings

It didn't come easy, but the Red Wings tied the NHL record for most consecutive wins at home at 20 bouncing back from two 1-goal deficits with a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Zetterberg scored and set up two others, including Johan Franzen's game-winner 52 seconds into the third period to help give Joey MacDonald (26 saves) his third straight win.

Getty ImagesUNIONDALE, N.Y. — "Nobody died. It's a hardworking point for our team."

That's how Los Angeles Kings head coach Darryl Sutter summed up his team's 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon, their fourth defeat in five games.

Such is life with the Kings this season. A strong defensive effort derailed by an offensive output that's lacking. They've been shut out six times and have been held to a single goal in 16 games, all while Jonathan Quick has posted a 23-14-10 record and ranks third overall among goaltenders with a stunning 1.91 goals-against average and .934 save percentage.

Los Angeles sits 30th in the NHL in scoring with 2.07 goals per game (they're also third in goals allowed averaging 2.07 against per game) and as the trade deadline looms two weeks from Monday, general manager Dean Lombardi must be weighing options to inject some sort of life into a team desperately searching for offensive help.

At the moment, the Kings have under $1 million in cap space, per CapGeek, and after trading a 2011 first-rounder, a conditional 2012 pick and prospect Colten Teubert to Edmonton for Dustin Penner last February, a deal that's netted the Kings just seven goals since, is Lombardi willing to take a gamble and once again pay a high price to fill an immediate need?

The Daily Item - Angela OwensIt's standard hockey practice that whenever one scores a milestone goal -- be it their first, 100th, 500th, etc. -- the puck is retrieved from behind the goalie and given to the player to be put on display or entered into a Hall of Fame.

This wasn't the case for 9-year old Austin Foglietta of Lynn, Mass. who scored his 200th goal last month and asked the referee if he could keep the puck. The official obliged which allegedly set off his coach.

From The Daily Item:

"He said, 'ridiculous, ridiculous, that's the most selfish thing I've ever seen,'" [Austin's dad] Bill Foglietta said during an interview about the incident in his Salem home. "He took the puck away from Austin and threw it back on the ice. He broke my son's heart and he did it publicly. It just tore me up inside."

Ah, but as in every dispute, there's a whole 'nother side to things.

Getty ImagesNo. 1 Star: Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens

Earning their third straight win, the Canadiens saw Pacioretty notch his first career NHL hat trick during a 4-2 win over the New York Islanders. Pacioretty scored in each period to put him over the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career. It wasn't a memorable win just for Pacioretty's trick, Scott Gomez score his first goal in over a calendar year in the third period.

No. 2 Star: Chris Phillips, Ottawa Senators

Phillips picked a great night to break his 75 game goalless streak. Playing in his 1,000th NHL game, Phillips scored a pair of goals to help power the Senators past the Nashville Predators 4-3 to end their seven-game losing streak. The last time Phillips scored a goal was Nov. 19, 2009 in what was his 800th game. Jason Spezza added three points and Alex Auld stopped 24 shots for Ottawa.

No. 3 Star: Shane Doan, Phoenix Coyotes

Doan's overtime goal 3:05 into the extra frame gave the Phoenix Coyotes a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames and moved them into the eighth spot in the Western Conference:

"Trust me, I want to score as much as anyone. But I'm dead serious about this — if it took me not scoring for two years for us to win in Montreal, I'd take it."

Those were the words of Scott Gomez of the Montreal Canadiens to Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette earlier this week talking about his goalless streak that reached its one year anniversary this past Sunday, but finally came to an end tonight in the third period against the New York Islanders during their 4-2 victory:

And how did it sound in French?

Gomez last scored on Feb. 5, 2011 against the New York Rangers, a span of 53 regular season games; and while he's been known primarily as a setup man throughout his career, going an entire calendar year without a goal while making over $7 million a year earned him plenty of grief.

A website was even created asking the nightly question, "Did Gomez Score Last Game?":

But on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012, that site was finally updated:

GomerScored

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Please recall during the 2012 NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa last month when Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Hartnell helped set up a goal with the Sedin twins and on his way back to the Team Alfredsson bench told Dion Phaneuf of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who was playing defense for Team Chara, to "suck it".

Fast forward 11 days to tonight's first period of the Flyers-Maple Leafs tilt. Hartnell takes an awkward fall into the end boards after a Phaneuf hit and moments later pounces on a loose puck in front of James Reimer for his 26th goal of the year. After celebrating with a short fist pump, Hartnell and Phaneuf dropped the mitts.

Hartnell came out of that with an extra two minutes for slashing. If you're wondering what for, it was for the tap on Phaneuf's leg that likely didn't even register with the Toronto defenseman.

Two-thirds of the Gordie Howe Hat Trick on one play for Hartnell. Bravo. He'd later complete the trick with an assist on a Claude Giroux goal.

It wouldn't surprise us to learn after the game that Hartnell broke out the "Suck it, Phaneuf" line knowing his target was in the vicinity. We just hope next time he offers up the D-Generation chop along with it.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

Getty Images

• It's all fun and games until Fin gnaws your entire leg off. [Getty]

Preview: St. Louis Blues at New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m. ET. The Blues have won 10 of their 12 games against the Eastern Conference this season, but their toughest test yet comes against a Devils team looking for their sixth win in a row. While former Devils Jason Arnott will be scratched tonight while dealing with a shoulder injury, Jamie Langenbrunner returns to New Jersey for the first time since being dealt in Jan. 2011.

Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m. ET. While members of the Detroit Red Wings were at home today to be a part of the 2013 Winter Classic press conference, their opponents in next year's outdoor game were in Philly as they try to earn some breathing room in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Sergei Bobrovsky will start for the Flyers as Ilya Bryzgalov missed the morning skate with an illness. Jason Bacashihua (!) will serve as the backup.

Preview: Calgary Flames at Phoenix Coyotes, 9 p.m. ET. The Coyotes stand one point ahead of the Flames as the two teams battle for one of the last playoff spots in the Western Conference. Leland Irving will give Miikka Kiprusoff, who recorded his 300th NHL win last night against San Jose, a night off in goal. Mike Smith will likely be in net for the Coyotes and given the task of slowing down Olli Jokinen who had four goals and 10 points in his last seven games.

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page. For tonight's starting goalies, check out Left Wing Lock.

Evening Reading

• Steve Yzerman on the 2013 Winter Classic Alumni Game: "At this time I don't plan on participating in the alumni game but hope to watch the (Winter) Classic on TV." Booooooo! Red Wings GM and Kris Draper both said they plan to bug Stevie Y until he changes his mind. [Detroit News]

• Good news: Minnesota high school hockey player Jenna Privette, who was hit during a game last month, remains paralyzed from the waist down, but doctors expect a full recovery. [Duluth News Tribune]

• You can get 6/1 odds that Scott Gomez doesn't score a goal the rest of this season. [Bovada]

• Ted Nolan talks about life as the head coach of the Latvian national team. [IIHF]

Puck Daddy Reader Comment of the Day: Our buddy Colin on the Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium next Jan. 1:

"Can a fan hit the Winter Classic rink in the Big House with an octopus?"

Water balloon launcher

Bold Prediction: Olli Jokinen forgets to have a Big Mac last night and goes pointless in a 3-2 loss to the Coyotes.