NHL Three Stars: Reimer shuts down Devils; Blue Jackets win in OT
Uh … Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ladies and gents. [@marahk12]
No. 1 Star: James Reimer, Toronto Maple Leafs
Reimer was incredible in a 2-0 win over the New Jersey Devils, as the Leafs managed just 12 shots against Marty Brodeur. He made 32 saves. He was their best penalty killer in the Leafs thwarting four power plays. He stopped 16 shots in the third to make Phil Kessel’s goal stand up until a Jay McClement empty netter – a goal that, naturally, Reimer assisted on.
No. 2 Star: Nick Foligno, Columbus Blue Jackets
After Sergei Bobrovsky kept the game knotted with some spectacular OT saves, Foligno kept the Blue Jackets’ playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 win at the Colorado Avalanche. R.J. Umberger sent the game into OT with a goal at 18:33 of the third.
No. 3 Star: Scott Hartnell, Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers forward notched a hat trick in their 7-3 rout of the Montreal Canadiens. Hartnell scored two power-play goals in the second period and then added another at even strength in the third.
Honorable Mention: Andrew Shaw and Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist while Marian Hossa had three points in the Chicago Blackhawks’ 5-2 win over the Dallas Stars. Ray Emery improved to 16-1-0 on the season. Jamie Benn had both goals for Dallas. … Antti Niemi made 35 saves and Tommy Wingels had a goal and an assist in the San Jose Sharks’ 4-0 whitewash of the Phoenix Coyotes. … Linemates Ryan Kesler (2 goals) and Derek Roy (1 goal, 1 assist) helped lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators, eliminating them from playoff contention. Roberto Luongo made 36 saves. … Jason Pominville scored two goals and Ryan Suter had an assist and was a plus-3 in the Minnesota Wild’s 4-3 win at the Calgary Flames. Ben Hanowski scored his first NHL goal in the loss. ... Cody McLeod scored two goals for the Avs.
Did You Know? The Bruins and Senators were postponed due to the Boston Marathon bombings.
Dishonorable Mention: Trevor Daley was a minus-3. … Ryan O'Byrne had three minor penalties for the Leafs. … Martin Hanzel was 9-for-31 on faceoffs. … David Legwand and Taylor Beck were minus-3. … Shea Weber, Andrew Alberts and Zack Kassian were all given misconducts in the third period. ... Carey Price was pulled after giving up six goals on 29 shots. … Ryan White is expected to have an in-person hearing for this brutal hit on Kent Huskins.
