NHL Three Stars: Leafs line dominates, Kucherov to rescue
No. 1 Star: James van Riemsdyk, Toronto Maple Leafs
JVR had a hat trick and an assist in the Leafs’ 6-2 thumping of the Pekka Rinne-less Nashville Predators. His line with Mitch Marner and Tyler Bozak generated 10 points.
No. 2 Star: Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning forward scored two goals, including the game-winner with 1:10 left in regulation, to give Tampa Bay a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings. He also assisted on Steven Stamkos’s first period goal, before the Lightning star left the game with a lower body injury.
No. 3 Star: Chad Johnson, Calgary Flames
The backup goalie made 27 saves, backstopping a Johnny Gaudreau goal in the Flames’ 1-0 win over the Minnesota Wild. That ended a four-game losing streak for the Flames.
Honorable Mention: Cam Ward didn’t exactly face a barrage from the San Jose Sharks, but he still managed 22 saves in their 1-0 win. Joakim Nordstrom had the game-winner. … Break up the New York Rangers. Two goals from J.T. Miller, two goals from Kevin Hayes, three points from Mats Zuccarello and 36 saves from Henrik Lundqvist in a 7-2 spanking of the Vancouver Canucks. … John Gibson made 33 saves as the Anaheim Ducks tied for the lead in the Pacific Division with a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. … Patrick Wiercioch had a goal and an assist in the Colorado Avalanche’s impressive 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Semyon Varlamov had 32 saves. … Adam Henrique scored in overtime to lead the New Jersey Devils to their fifth straight win, 2-1 over the Dallas Stars. … Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves and Patrik Laine scored his NHL-best 12th goal in the Winnipeg Jets’ 4-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. … Third-period goals by Jaden Schwartz and Kyle Brodziak gave the St. Louis Blues a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. … Aaron Ekblad’s broken-stick shot deflected past Carey Price to with 2:01 remaining in overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens. … Cam Atkinson’s goal 37 seconds into overtime gave the Columbus Blue Jackets a 2-1 overtime win over the Washington Capitals. Rookie Zach Werenski scored his fifth. … Erik Karlsson scored the lone goal in a five-round shootout and assisted on Kyle Turris’s game-tying goal in the Ottawa Senators’ 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Did You Know? Josh Morrissey scored his first NHL goal in the Jets’ win.
Dishonorable Mention: The Canucks were 1-for-3 on the penalty kill. … Jakob Markstrom was in goal for all seven goals. … Edmonton lost its fourth straight. … Devin Setoguchi, Dustin Brown and Nic Dowd were a minus-4. Alex Martinez was a minus-3. … Taylor Hall missed the Devils’ game, and headed back to New Jersey, with a lower body injury. … Corey Crawford was pulled after giving up four goals in 48:43. … Brian Boyle earned an instigator penalty for his fight against Steve Ott. … Phillip Danault was a minus-3. … Filip Forsberg, Mike Fisher and P.K. Subban were a minus-3. … Mike Fisher (!!!) earned an instigator for a fight against Roman Polak.
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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
