No. 1 Star: Troy Brouwer, Washington Capitals
As much as everyone kvetched about the rivalry the NHL was trying to sell between the Caps and the Blackhawks, it ended up being a pretty great game. Brouwer, with his dad in the stands, sent the game winner past Corey Crawford with 12.9 seconds left in a 2-2 game.
No. 2 Star: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Ovi was beyond pumped for this outdoor home game. When it was all said and done, he had 1 goal, 1 assist (on the game winning power play goal), 4 hits, and the title of ‘rock star’ bestowed upon him by Coach Trotz.
No. 3 Star: Jarret Stoll, Los Angeles Kings
In non-outdoor game news: Stoll capped off the comeback by the Kings scoring the 3-2 game winner less than a minute after LA tied it up, and with 1:14 left on the game clock.
Honorable Mention: Los Angeles trailed 2-1 until the 2:07 mark of the third period when Justin Williams tied the game (stop me if you’ve heard that before) …
… The game could have been much worse. Ryan Miller faced 40 shots from the Kings and only allowed 3 goals … Radim Vrbata skated away with 2-points for the Canucks … Patrick Sharp scored a power play goal for Chicago and was credited with a game-high 10 shots … Mike Green added 2 assists for a total of 16 on the season.
Did You Know? Washington’s Eric Fehr is the goal scoring record holder for outdoor games with 3. He scored 2 goals in 2011 and 1 goal today.
Dishonorable Mention: Chicago was less than thrilled with the officiating in the Winter Classic … Kris Versteeg ‘could be out for a bit’ after blocking a shot with his hand in the early part of the third … Vancouver was held to only 16 shots on goal by LA despite leading nearly the entire game.
Jen Neale 