Saturday's Three Stars: Pavelec stops 50; Tambellini's trick is treat
No. 1 Star: Ondrej Pavelec(notes), Atlanta Thrashers
If Kari Lehtonen(notes) thought his gig as Atlanta's No. 1 goaltender was safe, he better start worrying. Pavelec had the game of his life making 50 saves in a 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. A handful of his 50 stops were showcased in this wild flurry near the end of s 3rd period that saw the Senators outshoot the Thrashers 25-3:
No. 2 star: Tomas Vokoun(notes), Florida Panthers
Vokoun opened the season with a victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Helsinki and lost his next eight starts until tonight. His 34 saves and shutout led the way in a 4-0 Panthers win over the St. Louis Blues. It was only the second time this season that Vokoun has allowed two goals or less in a game.
No. 3 star: Jeff Tambellini(notes), New York Islanders
Posting his first career hat-trick, Tambellini helped the Isles rout Buffalo and chase Ryan Miller(notes) in a 5-0 win at Nassau Coliseum. New York has now won three in a row and reached the .500 mark after opening the season with six straight losses. According to the AP, Tambellini had never had a two-goal game in the NHL and now has two in the last week.
Honorable mention: Tuukka Rask(notes) was the star of Boston's 2-0 win over Edmonton. The 22-year old Finn denied 19 Oiler shots for his second career NHL shutout ... Bruins head coach Claude Julien recorded his 100th win with the franchise ... Ray Emery(notes) made 39 saves while Braydon Coburn(notes) scored twice in 1:30 as the Philadelphia Flyers routed the Carolina Hurricanes 6-1. Matt Carle(notes) added a goal and an assist, reaching 100 career points ... Hurricanes forward Sergei Samsonov(notes) played in his 750th NHL game ... The New Jersey Devils continue to be road warriors after a 2-1 shootout win in Tampa Bay improved their record away from home to 7-0-0 ... Martin St. Louis(notes) recorded an assist for his 600th career NHL point and tied a franchise record with a helper in his 10th straight game ... Steven Stamkos(notes) has been "seen" lately with his point streak extended against the Devils thanks to his 10th goal of the season ... Martin Biron's(notes) 38 saves and shutout against Buffalo helped him reach the 200-win plateau for his NHL career ... Alexei Ponikarovsky's(notes) two goals and Tomas Kaberle's(notes) goal with :54 seconds left against Montreal helped complete a late Toronto comeback before falling in the shootout.
Did you know?: Before tonight, the St. Louis Blues hadn't been shutout in back-to-back home games since 1997 (AP)
Dishonorable mention: The 'Canes are currently on an eight-game losing streak ... Sidney Crosby's(notes) lack of discipline hurt the Penguins in their 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild. The Pittsburgh captain collected nine penalty-minutes, including a fight with Marek Zidlicky ... The announced attendance in Phoenix for the Coyotes-Anaheim Ducks game was just 6,495 ... Anaheim's power-play could not take advantage of their opportunites going 1-7 against Phoenix ... Ottawa's offense was unable to beat Pavelec more than once after throwing 51 shots on goal ... Finally, the fans at Bell Centre in Montreal began their "Hey hey hey, goodbye!" chant just a tad bit early:
