No. 1 Star: Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators
Anderson stopped 31 shots, including 12 in the third period, as the Senators upset the Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals, 2-0, who had won 11 of their last 12. It's his second shutout of the season and with the Senators. He has now allowed one goal or less in 9 of the 13 games he's played with Ottawa.
No. 2 Star: Drew Stafford, Buffalo Sabres
Stafford was clutch for the Sabres in their 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers. He broke a 1-1 tie in the second period by finishing off a nice passing play with Brad Boyes and Tyler Ennis. In the third, he put the game away by scoring 13 seconds after he assisted on teammate Jordan Leopold's power-play goal. It was Stafford's fifth multi-goal game in 2011.
No. 3 Star: Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
The King of March 25 struck again. Fleury made 21 saves and pitched his fourth shutout in five seasons on that date, blanking the New Jersey Devils, 1-0, in the shootout. James Neal had the lone goal in the skills competition. The Penguins goalie faced one shot in a first period that saw his team put just three shots on Marty Brodeur (26 saves).
Honorable mention: Huge win for the Carolina Hurricanes to keep pace for the playoffs, topping the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-3. Erik Cole had two goals and Eric Staal scored a power-play goal and added an assist. Simon Gagne scored two power-play goals for the Bolts, who saw Dwayne Roloson peppered with 39 shots. … Roberto Luongo made 30 saves, including 12 in the third, as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-1. Mason Raymond, Alex Bolduc and Alex Burrows had the goals. Bryan Little scored unassisted for the Thrash. … Colin Greening scored a goal that went to the review booth and Erik Condra had the other tally for the Sens. … Sergei Samsonov's goal gave him 10 points in 13 games since being acquired by the Panthers.
Did you know? Samsonov's goal 4:01 into the game ended the Panthers' scoring drought at 135:35. (AP)
Dishonorable mention: Close call for David Booth tonight. The Panthers forward took a puck to the throat with 2:31 left in the first period, and was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. He was cleared and accompanied the team to Pittsburgh. … The Panthers were eliminated from the playoff race, and will be out of the money for an NHL record 10th consecutive season. Ouch. … "I don't know how Buffalo played, but if they win I think we're done," said Ilya Kovalchuk after the Devils' loss. And so it was. … Steve Downie had a 10-minute misconduct for the Lightning. … Finally, Zack Smith was given 5 for fighting, 2 for instigating and a misconduct for this fight with Matt Bradley. The Caps forward got 2 for boarding and 5 for the fight.