No. 1 Star: Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Tonight we saw the Alex Ovechkin that we’re used to. He scored his 29 goal of the season (on the power play, naturally), and added two more assists to his point total. He also had 11 shots on goal. The Capitals went on to break the 11 game win streak of Calgary Flames goaltender Brian Elliott by a score of 4-2.
No. 2 Star: Kyle Turris, Ottawa Senators
The Senators needed this win very badly, coming into the game on a four game losing streak, and the opponent, the Boston Bruins, only four points behind them in the Atlantic. The Bruins and Sens traded goals. Turris scored his first of the game on the power play in the second period to give Ottawa the lead. Torey Krug tied it 17-seconds into the third. Turris followed it up a few minutes later with what would be the 3-2 game winning goal.
No. 3 Star: Ryan Miller, Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks had two two-goal leads on the Chicago Blackhawks and managed to squander them each time. Miller stuck it out with a 40-44 save performance. His team did him no favors in front of him, including when Ryan Hartman scored the game-tying goal with 1:03 in the third. The Canucks went on to win in OT.
Honorable Mention: Jimmy Howard made 35 saves as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens in overtime. Anthony Manta had seven shots on goal. His most impressive came in OT as he was breakin’ ankles for the game winner with 50 seconds left … The Senators now have a six-point lead over the Bruins with a game in hand. Craig Anderson was 34-36 against Boston. Torey Krug goes end-to-end for his seventh goal of the season while Bruins are on the power play:
Minnesota snapped a five game losing streak by beating the Sharks, 3-2 … Jeff Skinner’s two goal propelled the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers. In net for Florida was Reto Berra, playing his first game in nearly 15 months. He made 21 saves … The Winnipeg Jets helped play playoff spoiler for the Philadelphia Flyers beating them, 3-2. Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele netted a goal and two assists each … The Vancouver Canucks chased Corey Crawford after they scored four goals on 10 shots:
Daniel Sedin scored the game winning goal in OT. Daniel, Henrik Sedin and Brandon Sutter led the Canucks with two points each. Ryan Hartman had two goals for Chicago … Patrik Berglund’s two goal performance gave the St. Louis Blues a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. Jake Allen earned his 28 win of the season.
Did You Know? Per Sportsnet Stats: In Craig Anderson’s last nine games he’s 7-1-1, 2.09 GAA, and .930 save-percentage.
Dishonorable Mention: Rasmus Ristolainen was given a five minute major, a misconduct and tossed from the game in the first period after viciously hitting Jake Guentzel. After the game, Mike Sullivan confirmed Guentzel has a concussion. Conor Sheary got credit for this own-goal by Zemgus Girgensons to ice the game at 3-1 for the Pittsburgh Penguins … Of the 40 penalty minutes between the Rangers and Devils, 27 of which came in the final 17-seconds of the second period. Here’s why: