NHL Three Stars: Sharp shines, Shaw sharp for Blackhawks
No. 1 Star: Patrick Sharp, Chicago Blackhawks
Sharp had two assists in the Blackhawks' 4-2 win, setting up Bryan Bickell and Michal Handzus two minutes apart as Chicago doubled their lead midway through the second.
No. 2 Star: Andrew Shaw, Chicago Blackhawks
Shaw got the Blackhawks off to an ideal start, scoring the first goal 1:56 into the first period.
Then he spent the rest of the game being his usual, aggravating self. Shaw finished with 5 hits, second on the Blackhawks only to Michal Rozsival.
No. 3 Star: Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks
Not only did Crawford stop 29 of 31 shots, but he stood up for Jonathan Toews when Kyle Clifford got in the captain's face midway through the third. Sadly, he didn't fight Jonathan Bernier, because we ran out of wishes.
Honourable mention: Brandon Saad had two assists for Chicago as well... Slava Voynov finished with an even-strength Corsi of plus-10, which is pretty impressive, all things considered. Man, is he good... Rob Scuderi on Patrick Sharp was the hit of the night:
Did you know? The Blackhawks are now 19-1-2 when Andrew Shaw scores a goal, which is pretty good, I think.
Conn Smythe Watch: 1. David Krejci, Boston Bruins; 2. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins; 3. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins; 4. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings; 5. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; 6. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks; 7. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins. 8. Nathan Horton, Boston Bruins; 9. Mike Richards, Los Angeles Kings; 10. Patrick Sharp, Chicago Blackhawks.
Dishonourable mention: Jonathan Quick saw a rare hook after allowing 4 goals on 17 shots... the Kings' 1-7 playoff road record is abysmal.
