NHL Three Stars: Bob's victorious return; Gigensons' big night for Sabres

No. 1 Star: Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets

Bob returned to the Blue Jackets’ net after missing eight games with a broken finger and was victorious. He stopped 36 shots as Columbus beat the San Jose Sharks 2-1. Cam Atkinson’s goal in the second period increased their lead to 2-0 and would stand as the game winner. The win was also Bobrovsky’s 100th of his NHL career. You’re back on the case, Bobrovsky!

No. 2 Star: Zemgus Girgensons, Buffalo Sabres

The young Latvian had a big night as the Sabres routed the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2. It was Buffalo’s first regulation home win since Feb. 28. Girgensons scored twice to help Buffalo end a five-game slide. Tyler Ennis chipped in three points. Three minutes after Ennis scored his sixth of the season, Girgensons caught James Reimer way out of his net to put home an easy shorthanded goal:

No. 3 Star: Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins

The Bruins rebounded after two big losses by shutting down the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1. Seth Griffth and Patrice Bergeron provided the goals and Rask made 33, including 15 in the final period.

Honorable Mention: Brad Marchand recorded his 100th career assist … After his wondergoal earlier in the week, it seems as if the bounces are all going Seth Griffith’s way:

Darcy Kuemper made 27 saves and Mikael Granlund broke a 1-1 tie 40 seconds into the third period as the Minnesota Wild edged the Dallas Stars 2-1 … The LA Kings’ special teams did the heavy lifting in their 4-3 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks. Tyler Toffoli’s shorthanded goal tied the game 1-1 in the first; then in the third it was Anze Kopitar evening the score at two with a power play tally. Finally, to end the game, Jarret Stoll put home the overtime winner as LA carried the extra man:

Let's not forget how great it is to have Rick Jeanneret back in the Sabres’ broadcast booth:

Evgeni Malkin had a goal, assist and a huge hit on Dan Girardi as the Pittsburgh Penguins got by the New York Rangers 3-2 after a shootout. It appeared the Rangers had won the game at first, but a review showed that Dan Boyle’s attempt was a double-touch, opening the door for the Penguins to win in the extra round … Rick Nash played in his 800th NHL game … P.A. Parenteau and Dale Weise each scored twice as the Montreal Canadiens doubled up the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3. In his second game with the Habs, Sergei Gonchar recorded a pair of assists and reached the 800-point plateau … Matt Duchene’s goal with 2:53 left in the third helped the Colorado Avalanche get by the New Jersey Devils 3-2. Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves for his second win in a row … Ryan Callahan, Valtteri Filppula and Jason Garrison each had two points as the Tampa Bay Lightning downed the New York Islanders 5-2 … Craig Smith broke a 1-1 tie with 2:07 left as the Nashville Predators squeaked by the Winnipeg Jets 2-1. Pekka Rinne made 21 saves and James Neal scored his ninth of the season as the Predators won for the fourth time in five games … The STL Line continued to dominate for the St. Louis Blues, factoring in on two of their four goals in a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz each had a goal and an assist and Brian Elliott made 23 saves as the Blues won for the tenth time in 11 games ... Josh Jooris and Lance Bouma both scored in the third period and finished the night with two points apiece as the Calgary Flames got by the Ottawa Senators 4-2. Mark Giordano recorded an assist to extend his points streak to nine games. He has 14 points over that stretch ... Early in the game, Giordano needed four stitches near his eye after taking a Chris Neil stick to the face:

Did You Know?

Dishonorable Mention: Dallas has dropped six straight games at home … Philadelphia failed to kill off any of Montreal’s three power plays … Lightning rookie Jonathan Drouin was a healthy scratch for the first time this season … Justin Peters is going to want a second crack at this one: