NHL 3 Stars: Anderson blanks Devils, who are probably cursed; Chiasson, Stars on fire
No. 1 Star: Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators
Anderson appears to have re-found his game. The Senators netminder was fully on top of it in his club's 2-0 win over the New Jersey Devils, making 33 saves for his third shutout of the season. Here's his best save:
No. 2 Star: Alex Chiasson, Dallas Stars
The Stars won their fourth straight, 5-2 over the Nashville Predators. The rookie Chiasson led the way with a two-goal performance. He now has 5 goals in 5 NHL games, which is pretty all right. Vernon Fiddler and Ray Whitney also had two-point nights.
No. 3 Star: Cam Atkinson, Columbus Blue Jackets
The tiny forward came up big versus the St. Louis Blues, scoring the Jackets' first goal and adding an assist on their second, the eventual game-winner in a game that ended 4-1. With the win and a Red Wings loss, Columbus moved within a point of the eighth spot.
Honourable mention: Milan Michalek scored in his first game back for the Senators... Goal of the night award goes to Marian Gaborik, who chugged into the Blues zone to tip this Mark Letestu pass out of mid-air:
... Jonathan Toews scored his 20th of the season with three minutes remaining to tie things up between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks. Brandon Saad won it for Chicago, 3-2, in a shootout... Mark Giordano scored the overtime winner as the Calgary Flames edged the Phoenix Coyotes, 3-2.
Dishonourable mention: The Devils have now lost 9 straight, and what's worse, Martin Brodeur has been stuck on a devilish 666 career wins for 9 games. Is this a curse? It certainly seems curse-esque... Rough night for Chris Mason, who showed why Pekka Rinne gets all the action in Nashville by allowing 5 goals on 18 shots in a rare start.
