No. 1 Star: Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
Giroux took over the NHL's scoring lead with a goal and three assists during a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres. After Buffalo scored three times in the first period, the Flyers answered with three of their own in the second before the game moved to overtime. In the extra frame, it was Giroux who netted the winner with a Gir-beauty:
No. 2 Star: John Carlson, Washington Capitals
Three goals in the span of 4:20 midway through the third period powered the Capitals past the Ottawa Senators, 5-3. Carlson assisted on two of those three goals and added an empty netter to seal the deal as the Caps won their second game under new head coach Dale Hunter. Tomas Vokoun stopped 31 shots to snap a personal 3-game losing streak.
No. 3 Star: Jeff Skinner, Carolina Hurricanes
Skinner scored the first of four unanswered tallies for the Canes en route to a 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers to give Kirk Muller his first victory as head coach. Notching his 12th of the season on a power play late in the first period, the 19-year old Skinner led all players with eight shots and even managed to shake this big hit from Oilers defenseman Andy Sutton:
Goal of the Night: That honor goes to Nick Foligno for this individual effort:
Honorable mention: Troy Brouwer assisted on Jeff Halpern's goal and fought Jesse Winchester in the first and completed the Gordie Howe Hat Trick by scoring his eighth of the year in the third period ... Here's some vintage Jaromir Jagr:
Luke Adam, Zack Kassian and Ville Leino hooked up for a very pretty tic-tac-toe goal:
Did you know? "Ryan Nugent-Hopkins becomes the fastest Oilers rookie to reach 30 points, doing it in 28 games. Jason Arnott did it in 38." via @DanTencer
Dishonorable mention: Incoming discipline for Ovechin, Marc-Andre Bourdon and Ville Leino? ... Andy Sutton might also get a call from the NHL after his hit on Alexei Ponikarovsky in the third period made contact with the Canes forwards head ... Jason Spezza won just 11 of 31 draws ... The Sabres have lost six of their last seven at home.
Photo credit: Getty Images
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