NHL 3 Stars: Cammalleri tricks Stars; Blues end five-game losing skid
Great shot here by Dave Reginek, who captures the exact moment the always shifty Pavel Datsyuk victimized rookie netminder Jake Allen by banking a puck off the goalie's back and in.
No. 1 Star: Michael Cammalleri, Calgary Flames
The Flames didn't look anything like the team some are saying should be blown up Wednesday. They scored a touchdown and an extra point on the Dallas Stars in a 7-4 victory, and Cammalleri was in on 4 of them. He scored 3 himself for the hat trick, the third goal of which, scored into an empty net, was also his 200th NHL goal. Huge night for the Flames star.
No. 2 Star: James Neal, Pittsburgh Penguins
Neal scored his 9th and 10th of the season in the Penguins' 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators, and he picked a good time to get them. Just three minutes after the Senators had taken the lead with two goals in 24 seconds, Neal tied the game back up. Then he put the Penguins ahead for good 1:52 into the third period.
No. 3 Star: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Crosby had a point in every period for the Penguins, setting up Pascal Dupuis' 1-0 goal and James Neal's 2-2 goal, then scoring Pittsburgh's insurance marker in the win. The assist on the Dupuis goal was well-earned. Flawless saucer pass here:
Honourable mention: Brenden Morrow scored twice in the Stars' loss... Alex Steen scored the overtime winner and Jake Allen got his first career NHL win as the St. Louis Blues finally halted their 5-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings. The nastiest goal in this game came courtesy the sick mitts of Tomas Tatar, who scored his first goal of the season for the Red Wings:
Did you know? Nine goaltenders went down with injuries in the first two weeks of this season. This seems like a lot.
Dishonourable mention: Anyone accusing Matt Cooke of anything other than being present for a freak accident. But you can understand why Senators fans are looking for someone to blame: Erik Karlsson's sliced achilles tendon changes everything for their season.
