Sunday's Three Stars: Grabner tricks Sabres; Quick blanks Flyers
No. 1 Star: Michael Grabner(notes), New York Islanders
Two nights after putting up nine goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Islanders posted seven against the Buffalo Sabres in a 7-6 overtime win. Grabner tallied his second career hat trick with the third goal coming 2:55 into overtime. The Islanders rookie now has 24 goals on the season, tying Logan Couture(notes) for the lead among rookies. Frans Nielsen(notes) and Kyle Okposos each recorded three assists and Ty Wishart(notes) scored his first NHL goal.
No. 2 Star: Jonathan Quick(notes), Los Angeles Kings
The Kings improved to 4-0-2 on their current 10-game road trip with a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Quick stood on his head stopping 40 shots for his sixth win in his last seven starts, earning his sixth shutout of the season. Drew Doughty's(notes) goal 17 seconds into the second period was the difference as LA won for the seventh time in nine games.
No. 3 Star: Ryan Callahan(notes), New York Rangers
After falling behind 2-0 within the first five minutes, the Rangers scored five unanswered goals in a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Callahan scored two of the Rangers' three power play goals and added an assist as New York ended a six-game losing skid. The win was also the Rangers' first since Callahan returned from injury on Feb. 1st.
Honorable mention: Sabres forward Drew Stafford(notes) notched his fourth hat trick in his last 24 games in the loss to the Islanders ... Steve Mason(notes) made 29 saves and Rick Nash(notes) broke a 1-1 tie early in the second period as the Columbus Blue Jackets slipped by the Dallas Stars 2-1 to improve to 5-0-2 in their last seven games on the road ... Chris Higgins(notes) and Jason Garrison(notes) scored in the final 10 minutes as Florida came from behind to edged San Jose 2-1 to end a five-game home losing streak. Tomas Vokoun(notes) made 28 saves and is now 10-0-1 in his last 11 starts against the Sharks ... Behind Cam Ward's(notes) 41 saves and Erik Cole's(notes) goal with 1:19 remaining, the Carolina Hurricanes got by the Atlanta Thrashers 3-2 to take sole possession of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes extended their win streak over the Thrashers to five games in the process ... Two goals from Todd Bertuzzi(notes) and 23 saves from Jimmy Howard(notes) helped power the Detroit Red Wings over the Boston Bruins 4-2 and sweep a home-and-home series ... Bobby Ryan's(notes) pair for Anaheim helped finish off the Edmonton Oilers in a 4-0 win to complete a four-game road sweep and give the Ducks their sixth straight win away from Honda Center. Jonas Hiller(notes) faced a light night having to stop just 12 shots to win in his first start since Feb. 2nd and earn his fifth shutout of the season.
Did you know? The Red Wings are 20-0-2 when leading after two periods. (AP)
Dishonorable mention: Ryan Miller(notes) was in net for all seven Islanders goals and has allowed 17 against New York in four games this season ... Edmonton's now lost 12 of 14 ... Chris Pronger(notes) spoke afterwards about the hit from behind by Jarret Stoll(notes):
