Friday's Three Stars: Old MacDonald's charm dings Wings
No. 1 star, Joey MacDonald(notes), New York Islanders:
How good must this have felt for one-time Red Wing Joey MacDonald? The 29-year-old goalie was making his 62nd career start on Friday night, and he picked the organization be broke in with to earn his first career shutout. MacDonald made 42 saves during a 2-0 Islanders' win in Joe Louis Arena. MacDonald was especially busy in the third period when he turned away all 19 of the Red Wings' shots.
No. 2 star, Alexander Ovechkin(notes), Washington Capitals:
Ovechkin may have toned down his act, but he still had plenty to celebrate against the woeful Lightning. Ovechkin scored two goals and added two assists to lead the Capitals to a 10th straight win over Tampa Bay. Ovechkin, who now has 53 goals, had seven shots on goal, three hits and two takeaways during 27:04 of ice time.
No. 3 star, Dwayne Roloson(notes), Edmonton Oilers:
The bad news is Roloson faced an Anaheim team-record 54 shots. The good news is the Edmonton goalie stopped 51 of them to enable his Oilers to leapfrog the Ducks into seventh place in the Western Conference playoff chase. Roloson, whose team was outshot 24-3 in the final period, extended his on-going franchise record to 31 straight starts.
Honorable mention: Capitals defenseman Brian Pothier(notes) scores his first goal since his remarkable return from a career-threatening concussion injury, and it was the game-winner. … Ryan Miller(notes) won his 30th game of the season during his return after missing 13 straight Sabres' games. … Martin St. Louis(notes) produced a three-point game (one goal, two assists) in addition to nine shots on goal during 22:20 of ice time in a losing effort for Tampa Bay. … Chicago's Brent Seabrook(notes) beat New Jersey's Martin Brodeur(notes) from the blue line for the game-ender 3:36 into overtime. … Daniel and Henrik Sedin(notes) had a goal and an assist apiece – naturally – as it was the Canucks' turn to embarrass the host Avalanche. … Dustin Penner(notes) paid a visit to his old team in Anaheim and scored two goals. … Dan Aykroyd dropped the ceremonial first puck in Chicago.
Did you know?: The last Islanders goalie to shut out the Red Wings before MacDonald did it Friday night was Billy Smith on Jan. 22, 1981.
Dishonorable mention: It's hard to get pulled from the nets twice in one game when you're coach isn't named Mike Keenan, but Jean-Sebastien Giguere(notes) managed to do that for Anaheim. Giguere was lifted after allowing goals on the first two shots he faced. Given a second chance by Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, Giguere was replaced again after permitting another pair of goals in the second period. His night's work featured four goals on seven shots. … Let's hear it for Toronto's Curtis Joseph(notes), now one loss short of Gump Worsley's NHL record of 352 defeats. Before we knock Cujo too much, however, keep in perspective the fact he's fourth all-time in wins, too, with 453. … Maple Leafs defenseman Pavel Kubina(notes) was a minus-4.
