No. 1 Star: Ville Leino, Philadelphia Flyers
They weren't the prettiest goals, but they were enough to help keep the Flyers on top of the Eastern Conference with a 5-2 victory at the Pittsburgh Penguins. Leino assisted on Scott Hartnell's tying goal in the second period, and then scored twice in the third to ice it: One puck off the chest and in, another puck that floated over Marc-Andre Fleury. Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux had the other goals, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves.
No. 2 Star: Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
Thomas posted his second shutout in three games and ninth on the season with a 3-0 whitewash of the Chicago Blackhawks. His team outshot Chicago 30-17 through two periods, and Thomas made second-frame goals by Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk stand up.
No. 3 Star: Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings
The captain stepped up in the Kings' first game without Anze Kopitar, converting two great Trevor Lewis set-ups into the lone goals of the game. Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Bernier made 32 saves for his third shutout of the season, 2-0 over the Edmonton Oilers.
Honorable mention: Mark Recchi moved ahead of Paul Coffey into 12th on the all-time points list. ... The Toronto Maple Leafs are still alive in the East, as they knocked off the No. 8 seed Buffalo Sabres, 4-3. Clarke MacArthur had a goal and two assists, while Mikhail Grabovski had the game-winner. James Reimer stopped 28 shots, as the Leafs crept to within five of the finals playoff spot. ... Alex Burrows scored the game-tying and game-winning goals, on terrific Sedin setups, as the Vancouver Canucks clinched the top seed in the West with a 3-1 win at the Nashville Predators. … Jeff Skinner and Tuomo Ruutu scored in the shootout, while Cam Ward made 38 saves to spoil the return of Alex Ovechkin to the Washington Capitals, 3-2. Carolina is three in back of the Sabres. … Rookie Maksim Mayorov scored the only goal in the shootout while Steve Mason made 29 saves for the game, propelling the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers. … Marty St. Louis scored two goals and Steven Stamkos potted his 44th into an empty net to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. Dominic Moore had two goals for the Bolts, while Jason Spezza had a goal and an assist for the Sens. … Roman Hamrkik and Mathieu Darche scored 11 seconds apart in the first period, as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-1. Carey Price made 27 saves. … Mikko Koivu scored the lone winning goal of the shootout as the Minnesota Wild overcame two goals by Chris Stewart to defeat the St. Louis Blues, 3-2. … Finally, in yet another shootout, the Phoenix Coyotes received goals from Radim Vrbata and Ray Whitney in a 5-round skills competition, defeating the Dallas Stars, 2-1. Ilya Bryzgalov made 44 saves.
Did you know? Edmonton Oilers announcer Rod Phillips called his final game on Tuesday night after 37 years. Here's the video and ceremony that honored him:
Dishonorable mention: The Oilers have lost 10 straight. … The Blue Jackets failed on three opportunities and are 0 for 36 over the last 10 games on the power play. … After getting slashed by a skate, Shawn Thornton was ribbed by the Blackhawks' bench. … Shaonne Morrisonn and Max Talbot were both minus-3. … Finally, via The Daily Loaf, Chris Neil was Chris Neil in Tampa:
There was even some rough stuff late in the third period of this one, as can be expected anytime Chris Neil rolls into the St. Pete Times Forum. Neil threw an elbow at Steve Downie and then tried to rough him up before they both dropped the gloves and fought. Neil ended up getting 19 minutes in penalties for his efforts, while Downie, after showing great restraint, went to the box for the fighting major and earned his team a four minute power play in the process.