Tuesday’s Three Stars: Lundqvist blanks Canucks; Read’s 4 spot
No. 1 Star: Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
King Henrik led the way for New York's first win in Vancouver since Oct. 11, 1997 with a 40-save, 4-0 shutout over the Canucks. Ryan McDonagh scored a goal and setup Marian Gaborik's third of the year as the Rangers scored four times in the final frame. The shutout was Lundqvist's 36th of his career and he was solid:
No. 2 Star: Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
Miller stopped 40 shots, including 27 in the final two periods as the Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. In Miller's three wins so far, he's yet to allow more than two goals. Thomas Vanek scored his fourth of the year and Christian Ehrhoff tallied his first as a Sabre with an empty netter.
No. 3 Star: Matt Read, Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers rookie posted a 4-point night with a goal and three assists as the Flyers dismantled the Ottawa Senators 7-2. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 21 shots in his first start of the season and Sean Couturier and Harry Zolnierczyk scored their first NHL goals. Philly took advantage of the extra man scoring on three of their six chances.
Honorable Mention: The last shutout Tomas Vokoun posted came against the Capitals last April when he was a member of the Florida Panthers. With 20 saves on Tuesday night, Vokoun returned the favor as a member of the Capitals in a 3-0 win over Florida. It was Vokoun's 45th career shutout ... Panthers rookie netminder Jakob Markstrom stopped 29 shots in his first NHL start ... Canadiens rookie Raphael Diaz scored his first NHL goal ... James Neal tied Phil Kessel for the NHL lead in goals with his sixth and Pascal Dupuis added a tally of his own and an assist during a 4-2 Pittsburgh victory over the Minnesota Wild. The Penguins penalty kill unit improved to 20-for-20 on the road ... Jamie Benn scored what might be the early goal of the season with a splendid individual effort and Kari Lehtonen made 38 saves as the Dallas Stars downed Columbus 3-2 ... Derick Brassard scored Columbus' 2,000th NHL goal in the loss ... Joni Pitkanen chipped in a goal and two assists, while Tuomo Ruutu potted one of his own with a helper as Carolina defeated Boston 4-1 in a game that after the first period degenerated into a penalty-filled contest. Just check the summary:
Bruins head coach Claude Julien was ejected and we came oh, so close to another goalie fight involving Boston ... Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 24 shots and Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Tanguay scored in the final six minutes in a 2-1 Calgary win over the Edmonton Oilers. The goal was Bouwmeester's first since Jan. 11 ... Dave Bolland's fourth of the year came shorthanded and Jonathan Toews scored and won 17 of his 21 faceoffs as the Chicago Blackhawks downed the Phoenix Coyotes 5-2 ... Making his home debut for the Los Angeles Kings, Simon Gagne netted two goals and an assist, while Jonathan Quick earned his 15th career shutout in a 5-0 win over the St. Louis Blues. Jarret Stoll and Anze Kopitar each notched two points. Kopitar and Gagne hooked up for a goal via this lovely saucer pass:
Brandon Dubinsky and Kevin Bieksa engaged in a fight late in the third period, or if you ask the Canucks blueliner, one long hug (more on this later) ... Finally, here's the pre-game tribute the Canucks held for Rick Rypien:
Did you know? The Blue Jackets have just one regulation victory in their last 28 games. (AP)
Dishonorable Mention: The Blue Jackets extended their franchise-worst start to 0-5-1 and they're the last team in the Western Conference without a victory ... Alex Pietrangelo, Keith Yandle, Alex Edler and Dan Hamhuis all finished minus-3 on the night ... Alex Auld didn't make it out of the first period against Philly after allowing four goals on 10 shots.
