NHL Three Stars: Pacioretty, Carter drop four-spots
No. 1 Star: Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens
Pacioretty had two goals (including his 200th) and two assists, including a helper on Alex Galchenyuk’s overtime winner, in the Canadiens’ 5-4 win over the Arizona Coyotes, overcoming a subpar Carey Price performance to break a 4-game losing streak.
No. 2 Star: Ryan Miller, Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks goalie made 33 saves to shut out the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-0. Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist.
No. 3 Star: Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings
Carter continued his MVP-level season with two goals and two assists in the Kings’ 6-3 win over the Florida Panthers.
Honorable Mention: Jason Chimera scored his 12th goal of the season to break a second-period tie, as the New York Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1, to move two points out of the last wild card spot. … The Washington Capitals won their 11th straight home game, thumping the Detroit Red Wings, 6-3. Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie had three-point nights. … Andreas Athanasiou had two goals in the loss. … J.T. Miller had two goals, as the New York Rangers held off the Nashville Predators, 4-3. Michael Grabner scored his 26th goal. … Corey Perry had two goals and an assist in the Anaheim Ducks’ 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres, pumping 44 shots on Robin Lehner. … Bruce Cassidy won his first game as Boston Bruins coach, and first game in the NHL since Dec. 2, 2003. David Pastrnak had two goals, and Patrice Bergeron had a goal and three assists, as the Bruins defeated the San Jose Sharks, 6-3. … Joe Thornton scored his first goal against a goalie this season, and fourth overall. … Vladimir Tarasenko had the OT winner in the St. Louis Blues’ 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jake Allen made 31 saves. … The Ottawa Senators outlasted the Dallas Stars, 3-2, thanks to a Mark Stone third period goal. … Sidney Crosby is still in search of point No. 1,000, but Patric Hornqvist scored twice and Phil Kessel added a goal in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-1 win at the Colorado Avalanche.
Did You Know? Fatima Al Ali (above), the stickhandling star from the UAE, dropped the first puck and took a selfie with Henrik Zetterberg and Alex Ovechkin.
Dishonorable Mention: Alex Ovechkin went without a shot for just the seventh time in his career. … Mike Green and Danny DeKeyser were a minus-3. … Jonathan Huberdeau and Sasha Barkov were a minus-3. … James Reimer was pulled after giving up three goals on 14 shots. … Andre Burakovsky took a shot off his right hand and appears out for a while. … This Jiri Hudler own-goal was quite the blunder. … Patrick Sharp was a minus-3. … Martin Jones was pulled for the Sharks against his former team, the Bruins. … John Gibson had a skate issue, so Jonathan Bernier started the second for the Ducks.
