NHL Three Stars: Oilers win in 12-round shootout; Kings victorious, again; Ducks downward spiral

Posted on by Jen Neale

No. 1 Star: Darren Helm, Detroit Red Wings

Helm earned a goal and an assist in the Red Wings’ shootout win over Chicago. Helm scored the go-ahead goal for Detroit with 2:06 remaining in the game; however the most impressive play from Helm came on the game’s opening goal by Tomas Tatar. Check out Helm with the no look pass:

No. 2 Star: Andrew Hammond, Ottawa Senators

Who? Exactly. Hammond, starting for the injured Robin Lehner, earned his first NHL win with a 44-save performance against the Montreal Canadiens.

No. 3 Star: Ben Scrivens, Edmonton Oilers

Scrivens was activated off the IR and got the start against a struggling Boston team. In regulation and overtime, Scrivens made 41 saves. He put in additional work in the shootout, stopping all 12 of the Bruins attempts.

Honorable Mention: Despite leaving the ice before the end of the second period after blocking a shot, P.K. Subban still managed to play 30:45. Congrats to Montreal’s Nathan Beaulieu for scoring his first NHL goal. Bobby Ryan played in his 500th NHL game on Wednesday. Ottawa’s Mark Stone earned a three-point night with a goal and two assists in the Senators’ 4-2 win over Montreal; Erik Karlsson had two assists in his team high 26:59 TOI, including this beauty of a pass to Jean-Gabriel Pageau:

… After Detroit went ahead by a goal at the end of the third, Chicago’s Kris Versteeg forced overtime, scoring the tying goal 43 seconds later. Jimmy Howard made 34 saves in his first win since returning from a groin injury on Feb. 11; he can thank Tatar for icing the game in the shootout:

… Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk continues to save Mike Yeo’s job earning another win for the Wild. Minny went up 2-0 before Calgary completed a comeback midway through the third. It wouldn’t be enough as Mikko Koivu scored the game-winning goal 1:50 into overtime … Los Angeles appears to have shaken off whatever was ailing it earlier in the season. The Kings beat the Avalanche 4-1 for their sixth-straight win. Drew Doughty, Jeff Carter, and a mono-less Tyler Toffoli all recorded two-point nights. Jonathan Quick made 43 saves, including this incredible one on Alex Tanguay:

… Edmonton went up by two goals twice against Boston; however, the Bruins managed to tie the game at 3-3 in the second period, and hold on to that tie through the end of regulation and overtime. For those of you who had 12 rounds of goal-less shootout hockey and Martin Marincin netting the only score in the pool, you win:

… Anaheim went up 1-0 early in the first period on a goal by Patrick Maroon. That’s all she wrote the for the Ducks as Tampa Bay scored four straight goals in the second period to ice the game. Of the goal scorers, Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson each picked up their 22nd goal of the season. Steven Stamkos potted the fourth goal of the game, his 31st of the year. Anaheim recorded 26 hits in the game, nine came from Maroon and five from Devante Smith-Pelley.

Did You Know?

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Dishonorable Mention: Montreal lost defenseman Alexei Emelin 20 seconds into the game to an injury; Jared Tinordi was announced as a call up soon after the game ended … Jared Spurgeon played only 1:26 before sustaining an upper-body injury; the Wild did not have an update on his status following the game … Trade rumor target and Oilers defenseman Jeff Petry did not return to the game after taking a shot to the chest and sustaining a rib injury in the second period … The Ducks really suck right now. In their last 11 games, they’re 4-6-1. Hampus Lindholm did not play for Anaheim for unspecified reasons, leaving the defense short on talent. Here is a visual representation of just how badly things are going for the Ducks right now. Nikita Kucherov should not have scored this goal: