No. 1 Star: Mike Knuble, Washington Capitals
After having their nine-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday, the Capitals looked to start a new one with a 3-0 shutout of the New Jersey Devils. Rookie netminder Michal Neuvirth stopped 33 shots for his fourth shutout of the year, while Knuble had a hand inall three Washington goals. The 38-year old now has six points in his last five game after scoring twice and assisting on Jeff Schultz's first goal in 81 games.
No. 2 Star: Jason LaBarbera, Phoenix Coyotes
LaBarbera was dynamite between the pipes making 46 saves as Phoenix swept their Western Canadian foes 6-0 this year after a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. The win marks the second time this season that Phoenix has beaten the Canucks in Vancouver, the only team to do so. Radim Vrbata and Shane Doan scored power play goals 1:18 apart in the third period to break a scoreless tie before Lee Stempniak scored an empty netter to give him three goals in three games.
No. 3 Star: Jeff Skinner, Carolina Hurricanes
After Erik Cole's goal with 4:37 left in the third period sent the game to overtime, Joni Pitkanen put home the winner with just over a minute remaining in the extra frame to give Carolina a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders. The smooth-skating Skinner tallied his 25th goal late in the first and then added his NHL rookie-leading 52nd point assisting on Pitkanen's winner.
Honorable mention: In their annual tradition, the Devils wore their retro red and green uniforms before a sell-out crowd at Prudential Center ... Henrik Lundqvist became the first NHL goaltender to start a career with six straight 30-win seasons ... A five-goal first period, including three in a span of 1:07 helped power the New York Rangers past the Montreal Canadiens 6-3. Vinny Prospal, Artem Anisimov and Dan Girardi each had a goal and an assist in the win ... Brandon Prust and Travis Moen provided your only scrap of the night right off the opening faceoff:
Did you know? New Jersey has lost consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 6-8, the end of a four-game losing streak at the time.
Dishonorable mention: Martin Brodeur faced just 12 Washington shots and allowed three goals ... The Rangers blitzed Carey Price with five goals on 12 shots in the opening period before he was pulled ... Finally, did Alex Burrows deserve five-minutes for boarding and a game misconduct for his hit on Vernon Fiddler?