Monday's Three Stars: Horton enjoys a big night

Yahoo! Sports

Tue Dec 15 03:28am EST

Monday's Three Stars: Horton enjoys a big night

No. 1 star, Nathan Horton (notes), Florida Panthers:
The forward notched his second career hat trick by scoring goals three different ways – at even strength, on the power play and while short-handed – to lead the Panthers to a rout on the road. Horton added an assist for a four-point outing and put a game-high five shots on goal during 17:22 of ice time.

No. 2 star, Johan Hedberg (notes), Atlanta Thrashers:
The goalie surrendered two power-play goals in regulation, but stopped the other 48 shots the Rangers threw his way and was a perfect 2-for-2 in the shootout as the Thrashers won at Madison Square Garden.

No. 3 star, Steve Sullivan (notes), Nashville Predators:
The diminutive forward continued his career-long mastery of the Blue Jackets by scoring three goals for his seventh career hat trick as the Predators won on the road. Sullivan has 16 goals and 27 assists for 43 points in 39 career games against Columbus, more points than he has scored against any opponent during a nearly 800 career games.

Honorable mention: Defenseman Kimmo Timonen (notes) scored the tie-breaking goal in the third period and added an short-handed empty-netter for the Flyers. Teammate Daniel Carcillo (notes) had eight hits in the same game. … It was a big night in the faceoff circle for Montreal's Tomas Plekanec (notes), who went 23-3 and for Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk (notes), who won 13 of 14 draws. … A couple of defensemen who came through included Toronto's Francois Beauchemin (notes) with the game-winner and Montreal's Ryan O'Bryrne, who blocked nine shots.

Did you know?: The Bruins has six losses during regulation at home this season, which matches the same number they sustained all last season.

Dishonorable mention: The New York Islanders' special teams were not special in the least. The Isles went 0-for-2 on the power play and surrendered goals on both penalty kills. … Boston's Marc Savard (notes) was a minus-3 and 4-7 in the faceoff circle during 17:39.