Sunday’s Three Stars: St. Louis tricks New Jersey; Stars come back on Canucks
No. 1 Star: Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
St. Louis recorded his sixth career hat trick (and added an assist) as the Lightning bounced back from an 8-1 drubbing on Saturday to defeat the New Jersey Devils 4-3. St. Louis scored twice in the second period and completed the trick midway through the third for what would end up standing as the game winner. Teddy Purcell recorded three assists to extend his points streak to a career-high six games.
No. 2 Star: Stephen Weiss, Florida Panthers
The Panthers honored Weiss before the game for setting the franchise's all-time games played mark. To reward them, Weiss scored twice and assisted on the insurance marker as the Panthers beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 to grab back the lead in the Southeast Division. Sean Bergenheim chipped in three points and Scott Clemmensen made 18 saves for his third win in four starts.
No. 3 Star: Loui Eriksson, Dallas Stars
They needed until the final minute of regulation, but the Stars fought back after falling behind 2-0 to the Vancouver Canucks to force overtime thanks to a Mike Ribeiro goal, and then Loui Eriksson sent the crowd home happy with the winner as Dallas was victorious 3-2:
Honorable mention: Hours after his team acquired some competition for him in goal, Robin Lehner went out and made 28 saves and helped the Ottawa Senators beat the New York Islanders 5-2. Chris Neil and Kyle Turris each scored a goal and assisted on another, while Erik Karlsson and Nick Foligno each recorded a pair of helpers. Karlsson increased his lead in points among defensemen to 23 over Brian Campbell ... Brad Thiessen stopped 22 shots and won his NHL debut in a 4-2 win for the Pittsburgh Penguins over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Evgeni Malkin scored his 37th goal to cut Steven Stamkos' lead in the Rocket Richard race to six. Rick Nash scored a shorthanded goal for the Blue Jackets in the second period; his last for Columbus? ... Down a goal in the waning minutes of the game, the Minnesota Wild scored twice in a span of 1:14 to edge the San Jose Sharks 4-3. Jed Ortmeyer's deflection snapped a 3-3 tie with 4:13 left to give him his first NHL goal since March 28, 2010 ... Teemu Selanne moved into sole possession of 20th on the NHL's all-time points list with a goal and assist during a 3-1 Anaheim Ducks win over the Chicago Blackhawks. The win puts the Ducks within six points of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Jonas Hiller made 18 saves for his 23rd win of the year ... Patrick Kane's first period goal snapped Chicago's 0-for-39 drought on the power play ... Just what was Alain Vigneault laughing at?
Did you know? "Selanne is the second-oldest player in NHL history to score at least 21 goals in a season, trailing only Gordie Howe, who did it twice after his 41st birthday." (AP)
Dishonorable mention: New Jersey has lost two straight after winning nine of their previous 11 ... Chicago has lost 12 of their last 16 ... Sharks head coach Todd McLellan had to leave the game in the second period after taking a Marco Scandella stick to the head:
McLellan was fine and watched the rest of the game from a TV in the coach's office. He'll travel with the team as they head back home for Tuesday's game against Philadelphia. Scandella visited McLellan after the game to check on his condition.
