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NHL Three Stars: Letang feeds Penguins win; Halak stuffs Rangers again

NHL Three Stars: Letang feeds Penguins win; Halak stuffs Rangers again

No. 1 Star: Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins

Notched five assists in his first game back after being slammed into the boards by Zac Rinaldo before the All-Star break in a 5-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Forward Patric Hornqvist also returned for the Pens in the victory after missing a month of action.

No. 2 Star: Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders

Halak has turned into Rangers kryptonite, stopping 40 of 41 shots on goal in a 4-1 victory over the Islanders’ rival. This comes on the heels of a shutout over the Rangers before the All-Star break. Overall on the season, Halak is 3-0-0 against the Rangers.

No. 3. Star: Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks

The slick Danish netminder stopped 17 shots on goal in a 4-0 blanking over the Canucks. The victory for the NHL-leading Ducks was Anaheim’s sixth in a row and the shutout was Andersen’s third this season and second this month.

Honorable Mention: Minnesota’s Charlie Coyle scored a goal in a win over Edmonton … Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk stopped 23 of 24 shots on goal … Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau scored two goals in a win over Buffalo. Teammate Jiri Hudler notched two assists … Nashville’s Craig Smith scored the game-winner over Colorado in overtime … Predators forward Mike Ribeiro picked up three assists in the victory … Detroit’s Stephen Weiss scored one goal and added two assists in a win over Florida … Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov scored a goal and added two assists … Luke Glendening scored two goals for Detroit and was a plus-4 … Montreal goaltender Carey Price stopped 40 of 42 Dallas shots on goal in a win over the Stars … Brendan Gallagher scored the game-winner for the Habs … Fresh off an All-Star appearance, Carolina’s Justin Faulk scored a goal and added an assist in a win over Tampa … The Staal brothers combined for four points in the victory … Columbus forward Nick Foligno notched two assists and was a plus-3 in a win over Washington. Teammate Cam Atkinson scored a goal and added an assist … Penguins forward David Perron scored a goal and added an assist … Jets forward Evander Kane notched three assists … Philadelphia’s Wayne Simmonds scored a goal in a victory over Arizona … Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk notched two assists in a win over the Rangers. Teammate John Tavares scored a goal.

Did You Know?: With an overtime win over Colorado, the Nashville Predators matched a franchise record with eight straight home wins, set from Jan. 6 through Feb. 8, 2007.

Dishonorable Mention: Colorado’s Brad Stuart was a minus-3, as the Avalanche allowed 39 shots on goal to the Predators … Florida’s Sean Bergenheim was a minus-3. Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo was yanked after allowing five goals on 17 shots on goal … Washington’s Braden Holtby allowed four scores on 30 shots on goal … Arizona’s Mike Smith actually played OK, saving 39 of 42 Flyers shots on goal but still lost … Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist allowed four goals to the Islanders … Rangers forward Tanner Glass picked up 14 penalty minutes … Vancouver’s Dan Hamhuis was a minus-3.

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