APNo. 1 Star: Robin Lehner, Ottawa Senators
It's turning into Lehn-sanity in Ottawa these days. Lehner won his third game of the year by blanking the Boston Bruins 1-0. Making 32 saves, the 20-year old Lehner recorded his first career NHL shutout. Erik Karlsson scored the only goal for the Senators late in the first period to improve his scoring lead among defense to 23 points over Brian Campbell.
No. 2 Star: Antti Niemi, San Jose Sharks
Ryane Clowe scored the game's only goal 1:22 into the first period and Niemi made 26 saves for his fifth shutout of the year as the Sharks blanked the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0. It was Niemi's 18th career shutout and second win in seven starts. San Jose is now tied for sixth in the Western Conference with Chicago at 73 points.
No. 1 Star: Jonathan Bernier, Los Angeles Kings
The Kings' backup netminder earned his fifth career shutout making 26 saves during a 4-0 Los Angeles win over the Minnesota Wild. Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Dustin Brown, and Matt Greene each recorded two points. The win moved LA into a tie for eighth place in the Western Conference with the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.
Honorable mention: Phoenix Coyotes netminder Mike Smith finished the month of February 11-0-0 with a 39-save performance during a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Ray Whitney scored in regulation and in the shootout as the Coyotes have won 11 of their last 12 games ... Eric Staal increased his points streak to nine games with a goal and two assists as the Carolina Hurricanes got past the Nashville Predators 4-3. Over the streak, Staal has recorded 16 points. The win snaps Carolina's six-game losing skid to the Predators ... Mike Santorelli scored twice and Jose Theodore made 28 saves as the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3. Jason Garrison moved into a tie for second among defensemen in goals scored with his 14th ... Leafs head coach Ron Wilson was behind the bench for his 1,400th NHL game ... Troy Brouwer scored twice in the final three-and-a-half minutes, including the tying goal with 26 seconds left in regulation, while Alex Ovechkin would complete the comeback in overtime for Washington as the Capitals got by the New York Islanders 3-2:
Michal Neuvirth made 22 saves to improve to 4-0-0 against the Islanders in his career ... Islanders forward Frans Nielsen played his 300th NHL game ... Behind Niklas Kronwall's three points and Joey MacDonald's 28 saves, the Detroit Red Wings breezed by the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2. Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Filppula and Johan Franzen each had a goal and an assist as the Red Wings snapped a 3-game losing streak. MacDonald improved to 7-1-1 on the season ... Steven Stamkos scored his league-leading 44th goal of the year and Mathieu Garon stopped 23 shots as the Tampa Bay Lightning edged the Montreal Canadiens 2-1.
Did you know? "Washington was 0-3 against the Islanders, the only Eastern Conference team it had failed to defeat this season." (AP)
Dishonorable mention: "Fire Wilson" chants were heard twice inside Air Canada Centre during Toronto's loss to Florida ... Finally, Ryan Malone earned five for fighting, two for instigating and a 10-minute misconduct for being the "aggressor" after getting upset at Alexei Emelin:
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