NHL Three Stars: Sharp leads way as Blackhawks take Game 1 over Red Wings
No. 1 Star: Patrick Sharp, Chicago Blackhawks
Before Sharp scored an empty-net goal to seal things in Game 1, he assisted on Marian Hossa's opening goal and later Johnny Oduya's midway through the third period that gave Chicago the lead for good. The Blackhawks would take Game 1 over the Detroit Red Wings 4-1.
No. 2 Star: Johnny Oduya, Chicago Blackhawks
Oduya scored his second goal of the playoffs 8:02 into the third period snap a 1-1 tie and give the Blackhawks the lead for good.
No. 3 Star: Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks
Hossa scored the first goal of the game on the power play on a nasty snipe:
Honorable mention: Corey Crawford improved his playoff record this postseason to 5-1 with a 20-save night ... Jimmy Howard made 38 saves in a losing effort ... This was the 75th all-time playoff meeting between the two teams ... Nick Leddy was credited with four blocked shots ... Brent Seabrook's hand-eye coordination helped keep the Red Wings from cutting the Blackhawks' lead late in the game:
Conn Smythe Watch: 1. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins; 2. David Krejci, Boston Bruins; 3. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks; 4. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings; 5. Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings; 6. Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks; 7. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers; 8. Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators; 9. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; 10. Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks.
Dishonorable mention: Marcus Kruger was 0-for-11 on faceoffs ... Detroit was outshot 35-14 in the final two periods ... The Red Wings have dropped eight straight against the Blackhawks.
Related NHL coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
• Chicago pushes past Detroit
• Round 2 power rankings
• How good are these Blackhawks?
