NHL Three Stars: Toffoli nets first hat trick; Hayes shines for Rangers
No. 1 Star: Tyler Toffoli, Los Angeles Kings
Toffoli netted his first NHL hat trick and added an assist during a 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames. Jeff Carter recorded three assists, two of which coming on Toffoli goals. All five Kings goals were scored by players wearing numbers in the 70s.
No. 2 Star: Kevin Hayes, New York Rangers
Hayes scored a beauty in the second period and added two helpers as the New York Rangers doubled up the Colorado Avalanche 6-3. His three-point night extended his points streak to four games. Mats Zuccarello’s goal in the second period extended his points streak to seven games. He has nine points over that stretch.
No. 3 Star: Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
Pekka Rinne made 32 saves and Filip Forsberg broke the Nashville Predators rookie goal scoring mark with his 19th of the season as they beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-1. Forsberg, who also assisted on Shea Weber’s 13th of the year, broke Alex Radulov’s franchise record set in 2006-07. Weber finished with three points on the night:
Honorable Mention: David Perron scored the only goal in the shootout as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators 5-4 after blowing a 3-0 lead. Sidney Crosby scored twice … Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ second goal of the night sent the game to overtime and then Anton Lander was the hero in the extra frame as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3:
Anders Lee moved up to second among NHL rookies in goals scored with his 17th and 18th tallies of the season as the New York Islanders edged the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2. Jaroslav Halak stopped 32 shots to win his career-high 30th game. ... Alex Steen scored a goal and assisted on two others during a 6-3 St. Louis Blues win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. While Steen may have been the game’s first star, T.J. Oshie got top honors with play of the game after this backhanded pass to set up a David Backes goal:
Matt Beleskey snapped a 1-1 tie late in the second period and helped the Anaheim Ducks to a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Gibson, who has spent most of the season battling injury and playing in the AHL, made 35 saves for his first win since Oct. 28 ... Another day, another win for Devan Dubnyk. The Minnesota Wild netminder made 26 saves and captain Mikko Koivu set up both goals as they got by the Florida Panthers 2-1. Minnesota and Dubnyk are now 9-1-2 in their last 12 games. The Wild have also killed 22 straight power plays … Solid bodycheck here by Aaron Ekblad on the linesman:
Did You Know? “Hitchcock's 693rd regular-season win broke a tie with Dick Irvin. The Blues coach only trails Joel Quenneville (739), Al Arbour (782) and Scotty Bowman (1,244), who scouted the game as a Chicago senior adviser.” (AP)
Dishonorable Mention: Via the AP, Toronto had dropped 13 of 14 games and 12 straight on the road … The Avalanche have lost four in a row. Colorado is also 0-for-31 on the power play in their last 10 games.
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