NHL Three Stars: Schneider gives Devils first win; Pavelski, Sharks still good
Darryl Sutter smiles during the Kings game. (via Indiana Matt.)
No. 1 Star: Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks
Pavelski scored twice and assisted on two others as the San Jose Sharks continued their strong play to open the season, besting the Calgary Flames by a final score of 6-3. The Sharks are scary good right now. Man.
No. 2 Star: Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils
He wasn't really tested much or often, but Cory Schneider stopped all 22 shots he faced to post his first shutout as a member of the New Jersey Devils in a 4-0 win over the New York Rangers. More importantly, it was also his first win as a member of the Devils, and even more importantly, it was the Devils' first win of the season.
No. 3 Star: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers
The Nuge had a big night for the Oilers in their 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. He scored two of the three goals himself -- the game-winner and the empty-netter to ice it. He also assisted on the other, although, honestly, Jordan Eberle sort of did this one himself with all that fancy stickwork:
Honorable mention: Sidney Crosby had another ho-hum 3 points, giving him a league-best 17 on the season in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 4-3 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks... Ryan O'Reilly, Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene all had a goal and an assist as they topped the Buffalo Sabres, 4-2... Brandon Pirri's two-point night led the Chicago Blackhawks over the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1... Seth Jones played 27:29 and scored this incredible game-winner in the Nashville Predators' 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens:
... Jiri Tlusty scored twice in the Carolina Hurricanes' 4-3 win over the New York Islanders... Tuukka Rask picked up the shutout in the Boston Bruins' 5-0 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning... Martin Erat had three assists as the Washington Capitals defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-1... Tim Thomas made 31 saves and then two more in the shootout in a 2-1 Florida Panthers victory over the Minnesota Wild... Mike Ribeiro scored twice (and Mike Smith scored once!!!) in the Phoenix Coyotes' 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings... Justin Williams scored twice in three minutes and added an assist as the Los Angeles Kings beat the Dallas Stars, 5-2.
Did you Know? By giving Nikita Zadorov his first career NHL game, the Buffalo Sabres became the first team in 18 years to play with 4 teenagers in the lineup.
Dishonorable mention: Jason Spezza finished a minus-3 for the Senators. Get it together, Jason... Henrik Lundqvist continues to struggle with his consistency. He surrendered 4 goals on just 19 shots. Marc-Andre Fleury's probably gonna want this goal back.