Getty ImagesNo. 1 Star: Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals

It's been a pretty good week for Holtby, who on Saturday stopped 35 shots as the Capitals blanked the Winnipeg Jets 3-0. The shutout was Holtby's third of the season and second in his past three starts. After Matt Hendricks opened the scoring midway through the second period, Troy Brouwer and Mike Ribeiro scored 52 seconds apart in the third to put the game out of reach.

No. 2 Star: Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres

The population of Pominville, as play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret would say, grew by two during Buffalo's 4-3 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils. The Sabres captain scored shorthanded to open the game, notched the tying goal in the second period and then added one in the shootout to power Buffalo to their third straight win.

No. 3 Star: Brandon Sutter, Pittsburgh Penguins

In a wild game that featured 13 goals, 6 of which came in the second period alone, it was Sutter's goal 52 seconds into overtime that gave the Penguins a 7-6 edge over the Montreal Canadiens. The goal was Sutter's second of the game and sixth of the season. Chris Kunitz and Sidney Crosby had three points, while Kris Letang recorded four assists.

Harry Zolnierczyk got lucky earlier this week. The Philadelphia Flyers forward was given a kneeing major and game misconduct on Wednesday for his hit on Mathieu Perreault of the Washington Capitals. Upon further review, the NHL rescinded the penalty after replays showed Zolnierczyk got Perreault in the upper leg/hip area and not the knee.

After today's game against the Ottawa Senators, Zolnierczyk might not be as fortunate when the NHL reviews his latest game misconduct.

Midway through the first period, Zolnierczyk launched himself into Mike Lundin as the Senators forward was cutting into the Flyers' zone:

Zolnierczyk was given five for charging and a game misconduct. Lundin did not return after suffering a concussion.

So now the question that Brendan Shanahan and the Department of Player Safety will be asking is if Zolnierczyk left his feet to deliver the hit and whether or not Lundin's head the principle point of contact. It doesn't look like the head was targeted or the focus of the contact, but Zolnierczyk does leave his feet to make the hit and that will likely be what earns him a call with the NHL.

UPDATE: The love didn't stop there as late in the third period Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson was given a five-minute major for cross-checking and a game misconduct after taking his aggression out on Zac Rinaldo.

UPDATE: 4:45 p.m.: Sportsnet's John Shannon reports that Zolnierczyk will have a hearing with the NHL on Sunday.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

In short, the LNAH is a fighting league with hockey mixed in as it's not odd to see numerous players with 100-plus penalty minutes in a season.

That's why it was so odd to see Francis Lessard (346 PIMs in 115 NHL games played) and Sebastien Laferriere (966 PIMs in 159 LNAH games played) "square off" on Feb. 24 and decide to engage in a staring contest rather than actual fisticuffs:

Ahh, brings back memories of Aaron Downey's and Brad Norton's epic standoff.

Even the refs were getting impatient waiting around for something. Fortunately, since it is the LNAH after all, the two did throw down mere minutes after serving their minors; and the arena DJ was wise to hold off on playing LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out" once again.

Stick-tap Busted Coverage

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Getty ImagesDetroit Red Wings prospect Gustav Nyquist has one career NHL goal in 20 games over the past two seasons. His lone tally was a memorable one, coming during a 7-2 rout over the Columbus Blue Jackets last March thanks to a dazzling spin-o-rama assist from the one and only Pavel Datsyuk.

Sadly, the only thing Nyquist currently has memorializing the milestone is the image of the play in his head and likely the photo to the right here. That's because the puck he's holding has disappeared, in a story that sounds like an episode of the reality show "Storage Wars".

From MLive.com:

Nyquist, 23 and considered one of the organization’s top prospects, played in 18 games and four playoff games last season with Detroit, finishing with that lone goal along with six assists. After the season, the Halmstad, Sweden, resident put many of his valuables from his Grand Rapids apartment into an area storage unit with teammates Landon Ferraro and Travis Ehrhardt. That included the puck, game sheet, clothes and some furniture.

When he returned in September, he learned the storage unit had been auctioned off in August through a misunderstanding over payment. Nyquist declined to go into details, but he said the buyer is unknown and he hopes for a settlement from the Alpine-based location.

Also packaged with the puck was a framed game sheet from his first NHL game in Nov. 2011 against the Minnesota Wild.

Nyquist has played only twice for the Red Wings this season, spending majority of his time leading the AHL's Grand Rapid Griffins with 55 points in 52 games. Given his production, he'll soon enough be able to score his second "first" NHL goal. Hopefully then he'll take the puck and lock it a safety deposit box, or at least find a pay upfront for a storage unit.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Getty ImagesGeneral managers in the NHL are a hybrid of human resources executives and amateur psychologists. They build rosters of players, and then have to decipher who or what will motivate them to greatness.

That starts with the coach; and, frequently, it ends with one too.

On Feb. 15, 2009, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero fired Michel Therrien, after the veteran coach had guided his team to the Stanley Cup Final in 2008. Therrien was the scapegoat for both the players’ dizzying fall from the previous season’s heights and Shero’s own mistakes in augmenting the roster.

The Penguins were tired of playing his defense, tired of marching to this drill sergeant. But the rightful criticism of both the players and their GM for this decision was forgotten quickly when Dan Bylsma, players’ coach, led Pittsburgh to the Cup that June. Therrien, it seems, had been holding them back.

On June 5, 2012, Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin hired Therrien as the team’s new head coach. Here was a rookie GM opting for a retread – Therrien coached the Habs from 2000-03 – and a coach whose abrasive style seemed at odds with the GM’s buoyant comportment.

And holy smokes, was that decision ever panned.

Slideshows were dedicated to Therrien’s predicted firing this season. Lions In Winter wrote that “we are very much on the same course as before and any expectations of a great franchise turnaround might have to wait until the next big clean out.”

How wrong those critics look today, as Therrien has led Montreal to the top of the Eastern Conference, and into Saturday's showdown with Pittsburgh.

At this point, it’s OK to feel raging jealously over the Chicago Blackhawks. Not only are they on a 21-game point streak to start the season, obliterating the previous NHL record; but apparently their national anthem singer’s voice can be weaponized.

Here is the great Jim Cornelison, anthem singer for Blackhawks home games, singing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” at the “Toast for Harry” on Feb. 28 at the Navy Pier in Chicago – and shattering glasses when he hits the finale note. Amazing:

We imagine the Chicago Cubs' legendary broadcaster Harry Caray, who would have turned 99 years old this week, would have been honored by Cornelison’s feat ... and horrified by all the beer that was spilled as a result of it.

Another glimpse of the glass-shattering performance:

Put Jim Cornelison in a bar, and good things happen. Now we’re pulling hard for a Chicago vs. Boston Bruins matchup in the Stanley Cup Final, if only for the dueling greatness of Corny vs. Rene Rancourt.

s/t Mark Weyermuller

No. 1 Star: Jaden Schwartz, St. Louis Blues

After the Edmonton Oilers went up two in the first, Schwartz started the comeback, scoring 3:38 into the second. It was the first of 4 unanswered goals the Blues scored in a 4-2 victory. Schwartz would add an assist on David Backes's insurance goal, but it was T.J. Oshie's assist on the same goal that really impressed. Check out this sick one-handed feed:

No. 2 Star: Brent Seabrook, Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks' incredible streak stretched to 21 with a 4-3 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Seabrook played the hero, converting a beautiful feed from Jonathan Toews at 3:23 of overtime:

Back by popular demand, 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.

Blackhawks baby says: not a chance.

Preview: Edmonton Oilers at St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m. ET

Both clubs played last night. Who will benefit most from this? Well, the Oilers are coming off a 5-1 win, and the Blues are coming off a weak, 3-0 loss, so I'll say the Blues. While Edmonton put in one of their best efforts of the season, St. Louis conserved a lot of energy barely showing up last night. History is also on their side. They're 9-1-1 in their last 11 versus the Oilers.

Preview: Blue Jackets at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. ET

The Blackhawks have now put in 20 games of regulation loss-free hockey. They're an absurd 17-0-3. Will they ever lose in regulation again? Yes. At some points, they're bound to have a bad night. But if it ends tonight versus the Blue Jackets... man. That would be hockey's equivalent of how Omar Little died.