No. 1
Star: Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs star scored for the eighth time in eight games with a deflection goal at 5:07 of the third period to tie the Pittsburgh Penguins. In overtime, Dion Phaneuf's brilliant puck-protection into the offensive zone led to a quick Kessel pass that found Mikael Grabovski alone in front of Marc-Andre Fleury for the game-winner, in the 3-2 victory. The Leafs are now four points out of the No. 8 seed, as James Reimer made 27 saves.
No. 2
Star: Ilya Kovalchuk, New Jersey Devils
Speaking of redemption stories, Kovalchuk heard his name chanted by the home fans in support of his 2-point night in the Devils' 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. After Dominic Moore scored on the power play for the Bolts in the second, Kovalchuk set up Henrik Tallinder for his fourth of the year. In the third period of the tightly played game, Kovalchuk fired the puck home while falling to the ice for his eighth game-winner of the year.
No.
3 Star: Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks
Ryan was taken down by Ruslan Salei on a breakaway in overtime, leading to a rare OT penalty shot against Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings. Ryan converted for his 30th of the season, earning the Ducks a huge extra point in the West, 2-1 over Detroit. Dan Ellis made 28 saves in the victory. Here's the first penalty shot of Ryan's career:
Honorable mention: Blake Comeau scored two goals and Frans Nielsen had three assists as the New York Islanders dominated the Minnesota Wild, 4-1. Al Montoya made 33 saves in the victory. The Isles blitzed the Wild with 33 shots in the first two periods. ... Jonathan Toews scored two goals, Michael Frolik scored his first goal since Dec. 17 and Marian Hossa put the game away with an empty netter as the Chicago Blackhawks won their sixth in a row with a 6-4 win over the Calgary Flames. Rene Bourque (2) and Jarome Iginla scored in the third period as the Flames rallied but fell short.
Did you know? The Penguins have lost 151 man-games to injury since Jan. 1.
Dishonorable mention: The Red Wings were 1-9 on the power play, including 1:33 of 5-on-3 and 1:47 of 4-on-3 time. ... Nicklas Backstrom was lifted after giving up three goals on 19 shots. ... Miikka Kiprusoff was pulled after giving up four goals on 19 shots. ... Kris Letang was a minus-3 for the Penguins. ... Trevor Gillies of the Islanders returned from a 9-game suspension and was ejected for this hit on Cal Clutterbuck. The hockey world waits to see what the NHL does next. ... Finally, Viktor Stalberg's first career NHL fight against Mark Giordano was ... less than successful. Patrick Sharp said after the game he was hoping Stalberg's face would gain a little character: "Maybe a little broken nose or something. Maybe knock a tooth out, cuz he's got a pretty face."