No. 1
Star: Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
Nathan Horton said the Bruins "weren't too good in front" of Rask, but that wasn't an issue when he played as well as he did. The Boston goalie made 33 saves for his second shutout, as the Bruins went a perfect 6-0 on their road trip with a 1-0 win at the Ottawa Senators. Horton had the game's only goal.
No. 2
Star: Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
With the Western Conference as tightly packed as it is, remember this one for the Dallas Stars. Benn scored a power-play goal with 4.8 seconds left in regulation to give Dallas a 3-2 win and keep a charity point away from the Phoenix Coyotes. It was a wild game, as the Coyotes rallied to tie with 38 seconds left in the third on a Ray Whitney goal. Radim Vrbata took a hooking penalty on Mike Ribeiro at 19:47, and Loui Eriksson found Benn wide open for the game-winner:
No. 3 Star: Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
After
Brooks Laich tied the game against the New York Islanders with 48 seconds left
(on a feed from Jason Arnott), it was Ovechkin who won it in overtime with a
vintage end-to-end power rush. The Capitals won, 2-1, and Ovechkin
also had an assist.
Honorable mention: Carey Price made 40 saves, many of them manageable thanks to his defense, in the Montreal Canadiens' 3-1 victory at the Atlanta Thrashers. He stopped Atlanta's first 35 shots. ... The Buffalo Sabres got traffic around Henrik Lundqvist and goals from Tyler Myers, newly acquired Brad Boyes and Jochen Hecht in their 3-2 victory at the New York Rangers. Ryan Miller made 29 saves for the Sabres. ... Last week, Cory Stillman was a member of the Florida Panthers. Tuesday night, he had a goal and an assist against them for the Carolina Hurricanes in their 2-1 victory over the Panthers. Eric Staal, questionable earlier this week, played and scored his 28th goal of the season for the Canes. ... The Calgary Flames blew open a 1-goal game with five third-period goals in their 6-0 win at the St. Louis Blues. Jarome Iginla had two goals and an assist, while Brendan Morrison had three assists. Miikka Kiprusoff made 25 saves for his sixth shutout of the season and second straight against the Blues. He hasn't allowed a Blues goal in 132 minutes and 11 seconds. ... Jordan Eberle and Linus Omark (with another glorious effort) scored in the shootout as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Nashville Predators, 2-1. Martin Gerber won his third straight with 34 saves. Blake Geoffrion scored his first NHL goal for the Preds. ... The Vancouver Canucks won an eight-round shootout with the Columbus Blue Jackets on a Raffi Torres goal, winning the game 2-1. Mason Raymond and Scottie Upshall, his first for the Jackets, had the regulation goals. Roberto Luongo had 30 saves. ... Ryane Clowe won his second straight shootout for the San Jose Sharks, who defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 2-1. Joe Thornton tied it with 2:58 remaining in regulation. Erik Johnson scored for the Avs, who got 34 saves from Brian Elliott.
Did you know? Dallas has not lost in regulation (18-0-2) when leading after two periods since Oct. 31, 2009 against Nashville. (AP)
Dishonorable mention: Aaron Rome was given a minor penalty in the third period after dropping his stick and playing with the broken stick of a Blue Jackets player. ... Patrik Berglund and Barret Jackman were a minus-3 for the Blues. ... Tomas Plekanec took three minor penalties for the Habs. ... Finally, Hugh Jessiman finally gets a chance to drop the mitts in the NHL, and the fight was a sadly a dud.