NHL Three Stars: Crawford's seventh shutout; Ryan's 'puppy' goal
No. 1 Star: Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks
In a key divisional match up, Crawford stepped up for Chicago with 25 saves in a 2-0 shutout win over the St. Louis Blues. Crawford improved to 28-11-2 with a 2.08 goal-against average .932 save percentage. The shutout was Crawford’s league-leading seventh. It’s the first time a Blackhawks goaltender has earned seven shutouts in a season since Antti Niemi in 2009-10.
No. 2 Star: Bobby Ryan, Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators forward scored his 17th goal of the season, which proved the game-winner in a 3-0 victory over the New York Rangers. Ryan’s goal helped two children win a bet over their father. By scoring a goal, the family must get a puppy. With the win, Ottawa moved to 23-20-6 with 52 points, three back of the New Jersey Devils for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
No. 3 Star: Vincent Lecavalier, Los Angeles Kings
The 35-year-old Lecavalier continued his strong pace with the Kings. He scored the game-tying goal against the San Jose Sharks with 12.2 seconds left in regulation – his fifth point (and fourth goal) in nine games with LA. The Kings beat the Sharks 3-2 in overtime on a Marian Gaborik goal.
Honorable Mention: Blackhawks rookie Artemi Panarin scored a goal. Linemate Patrick Kane notched an assist … Chicago forward Andrew Shaw scored a goal … Carolina Hurricanes forward Kris Versteeg scored two goals in a 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames. Teammate Eddie Lack stopped 33 shots on goal in the victory… Forward Jordan Staal notched two assists for Carolina … Calgary forward Joe Colbourne scored one goal and added an assist … Forward Eric Staal also picked up an assist for the Hurricanes … Ottawa forward Mike Hoffman scored one goal and added an assist … Sharks forward Joe Pavelski scored a goal and Joe Thornton picked up an assist on Pavelski's score … Center Logan Couture also scored a goal for the Sharks … Defenseman Drew Doughty scored for the Kings and Los Angeles goaltender Jhonas Enroth stopped 30 of 32 Sharks shots on goal.
Did You Know? On this date in 1981, Mike Bossy became the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in his first 50 games. This season, Kane leads the NHL with 30 goals in 52 games.
Dishonorable Mention: Calgary goaltender Karri Ramo was pulled after allowing three goals on 19 shots on goal by the Hurricanes … Henrik Lundqvist's three-game winning streak was stopped in spite of stopping 30 of 32 shots on goal for the Rangers ... By allowing the late goal by Lecavalier, the Sharks fell to nine points behind the Kings for first place in the Pacific Division. With a regulation win, they could have been six points behind.
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