NHL Three Stars: Brian Elliott’s domination continues; Marleau breaks through
No. 1 Star: Brian Elliott, St. Louis Blues
Yeah, so, apparently Brian Elliott is still a thing. He made 23 saves for his third straight shutout, giving the Blues a 2-0 win at the Minnesota Wild. He’s gone 189 minutes, 31 seconds without surrendering a goal.
No. 2 Star: Josh Bailey, New York Islanders
The Islanders needed two goals to beat the Boston Bruins, and Bailey provided them both in a 2-1 victory. His second-period tally was the eventual game-winner. Evgeni Nabokov made 30 saves.
No. 3 Star: Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks
Marleau scored his first goal since March 27 and ended the shootout with a goal as well, giving the San Jose Sharks a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. His first-period goal was his first shorthanded tally of the season.
Honorable mention: P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov had a goal and an assist in the Montreal Canadiens’ 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. … Jussi Jokinen had two goals and an assist and Chris Kunitz scored goal No. 21 in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 6-3 win at the Tampa Bay Lightning. Teddy Purcell had two goals for the Bolts. … Jeff Carter scored goal No. 24 and then again in the shootout along with Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar, in the Los Angeles Kings’ 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche. Patrick Bordeleau scored his first NHL goal in the loss. … Evander Kane had two goals and Dustin Byfuglien had a goal and two helpers for a plus-4 in the Winnipeg Jets’ 7-2 rout of the Florida Panthers. … Troy Brouwer scored twice and Braden Holtby made 43 saves in the Washington Capitals’ 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. … Colin Greening’s power-play goal in the third snapped a tie and helped give the Ottawa Senators a much-needed win at the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1. … This Antti Niemi save was some slow-motion sickness:
Did you know? Roman Polak scored for the first time in 120 games.
Dishonorable mention: Ryan Miller was yanked by the Sabres after giving up four goals on 32 shots. … Thomas Vanek was a minus-2 with one shot on goal. … Rookie goalie Sami Aittokallio had to leave the game for the Avs due to injury. … Radko Gudas was given a misconduct in an unsportsmanlike third period for both the Pens and Bolts. … Jacob Markstrom was pulled after giving up six goals on 23 shots in the Panthers’ blowout loss. … Shawn Matthias and Tyson Strachan were a minus-4. … Jay Rosehill was given a misconduct after a roughing call vs Cory Conacher. ... Erik Gudbranson received a match penalty for a hit on Bryan Little.
