Monday's Three Stars: Healthy Homer leads Wings
No. 1 Star: Tomas Holmstrom(notes), Detroit Red Wings
After missing the Olympics due to a knee injury, Holmstrom showed he's feeling healthy after two weeks of rest with a goal and two assist performance in Detroit's 3-2 win over Colorado on Monday night.
The Swedish forward opened the scoring 6:06 in to the game after taking a Pavel Datsyuk(notes) pass and beating Colorado goaltender Craig Anderson(notes) in the left corner. The goal was Holmstrom's 17th of the season and first since a two-goal night on Jan. 2. A little over six minutes later Holmstrom would set up fellow Swede Johan Franzen(notes) on the power play as the Red Wings took a commanding 2-0 lead. Holmstrom would later have a hand in Nicklas Lidstrom's(notes) eventual game-winning power play tally with just under 10 minutes to play in the third period.
No. 2 Star: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Datsyuk assisted on two of Detroit's three goals and now has 14 points in his last 11 games. His ability to draw two defenders deep in the Avs' zone helped set up Lidstrom's game-winner. With the win, Detroit leap-frogged the Calgary Flames into the eighth position in the Western Conference with 20 games to go.
No. 3 Star: Chris Stewart(notes), Colorado Avalanche
The 22-year old forward is one of the many young talents that have boosted the Avalanche into prime playoff position this season. His 20th goal of the season ended a Colorado comeback tying the game at two apiece midway through the second period. Stewart added an assists and is now tied for the team lead in goals with rookie Matt Duchene(notes) and third in points scored.
Honorable Mention: Jimmy Howard(notes) made 22 saves and leads all rookie netminders with 22 wins ... Detroit's Jason Williams(notes) played in his 400th NHL game ... The Red Wings power play made Colorado pay for taking penalties going 2-for-4 on the night ... Andreas Lilja(notes) made his return to the Red Wings lineup after being out the past year due to a concussion ... Avs defenseman Ruslan Salei(notes) scored his first point of the season after missing 54 games due to a back injury.
Did You Know? Before Monday night, Detroit hadn't won back-to-back games since Jan. 9.
Dishonorable Mention: Scoring goals has been a tough task for a trio of Avalanche players. Paul Stastny(notes) (three goals in 23 games), Wojtek Wolski(notes) (two goals in 25 games) and Marek Svatos(notes) (one goal in his last 19 games) have struggled to find the net recently, but that hasn't prevented Colorado from winning.
