Fourth star to the NHL.com headline writer behind this gem.
No. 1 Star: Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres
Vanek was in on all but one of the Sabres' goals in their 5-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring twice and adding two assists. His second goal came on a breakaway with only five minutes to go in the game and would stand up as the game-winner. His first goal looked like this:
No. 2 Star: Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators
While much of the talk going into this one was about the stars that were out of the lineup, Spezza reminded everyone that he was just fine with a four-point night. He was in on the Senators' first three goals, scoring one and setting up two others, and he would add the final goal in Ottawa's 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
No. 3 Star: Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils
Not to be outdone in an evening full of four-point nights, Devils' captain Zach Parise would register a goal and three assists in the Devils' 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars. And yet the night belonged to former captain Scott Neidermayer, who had his number raised to the rafters prior to the game:
Honourable mention: Jared Cowen had a four-point night as well, with a goal and three assists for the Senators. Daniel Alfredsson had 1 and 2, as did Steve Sullivan for the Penguins... Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and an assist for New Jersey... Patrick Sharp had a goal and an assist in the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks... Stephen Weiss settled things in a shootout in the Florida Panthers' 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames. Sean Bergenheim scored both goals for the Panthers.
Did you know? Drew Stafford's first period goal was the 100th of his career, and Erik Karlsson's third assist of the evening was his 100th career point.
Dishonourable mention: Dion Phaneuf got 5, 10, and a game for this hit from behind on Zack Kassian. Will he see any further discipline? Should he even have seen the discipline he did?