No. 1 Star: Stephen Weiss, Florida Panthers
Stephen Weiss had six shots in the Panthers' interstate tilt with the the Tampa Bay Lightning, and -- get this -- two of them went in. He added two assists for a four-point night as Florida beat up on Tampa, 7-4. The Panthers won this one with superior special teams play, going 5-for-9 on the powerplay, and adding another during a Bolts powerplay, as Sean Bergenheim scored on a shorthanded breakaway midway through the second.
No. 2 Star: Shawn Horcoff, Edmonton Oilers
Horcoff led the way in Edmonton's 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators, picking up an assist on each of the three goals. The Oilers ignored the oil derrick hanging over their heads like the sword of Damocles (s/t Kelly for Greek myth reference) and took over the game in the final frame, scoring all their goals in the third period.
No. 3 Star: Kris Versteeg, Florida Panthers
Stephen Weiss wasn't the only Panther with a four-point night, as Versteeg matched his totals with two goals and two assists of his own. So why did Versteeg only get third star and Weiss got first? Because I'm from Vancouver, that's why.
Honourable Mention: Alexander Burmistrov picked up assists on both Jet goals to give Winnipeg their first win of the year, 2-1 over the Pittsburgh Penguins... Dan Ellis made 41 saves and Teemu Selanne scored twice in the first period to stake the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks... Marc-Andre Bergeron had three assists in the losing effort in Tampa Bay... Phil Kessel scored his fifth goal of the season and Dion Phaneuf had seven shots on goal in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche. David Jones scored the winner in the following fashion:
Did you know? Kyle Wellwood puts the Jets up 1-0 only eight seconds into their game versus the Penguins after defenseman Zbynek Michalek blew a tire on the opening faceoff. It was either the second fastest goal in franchise history after Doug Smail, tied for the fastest with Ron Petrovicky, or the fastest in franchise history, depending on whether you consider these Jets the old Jets, the old Thrashers, or their own separate, week-old franchise. Whatever. Here's the goal.
Dishonourable Mention: Well, it would have been preferable if Michalek hadn't fallen down... The Nashville Predators only mustered 12 shots on goal versus Edmonton... Dwayne Roloson was in net for all seven Panther goals, although he wasn't really give much of a chance to win, since the Lightning were shorthanded for so much of the game. Tampa Bay took nine minor penalties, including twice putting the puck over the glass. You're not supposed to do that.