No. 1 Star: Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
After spotting the Philadelphia Flyers a 2-0 lead through the game's first 10 minutes, Thomas bounced back and stabilized things for Boston as they came back for a 3-2 overtime victory to take a 2-0 series lead. Thomas made a career high (regular season and playoffs) 52 saves, including 46 after allowing Philadelphia's second goal.
No. 2 Star: James van Riemsdyk, Philadelphia Flyers
From the opening minute, van Riemsdyk was an offensive force for the Flyers. Opening the scoring 29 seconds later, JVR would put Philadelphia up 2-0 just 8:02 later with his seventh of the playoffs.
No. 3 Star: David Krejci, Boston Bruins
Krejci played the most minutes of any Bruins forward (24:36) and was the hero scoring the winning goal 14 minutes into the overtime:
Honorable mention: Claude Giroux won 13 of 20 faceoffs ... Matt Carle (seven) and Dennis Seidenberg (six) were the leaders in blocked shots ... Carle also led all players in giveaways with four ... Milan Lucic had three takeaways for the Bruins ... Sergei Bobrovsky was 6-for-6 in save opportunities in short relief of Brian Boucher ... After the world events of Sunday night, the Kate Smith/Lauren Hart duet of "God Bless America" was more emotional than usual:
Did you know? The Flyers set a team record for shots in a period in a home playoff game with 22 in the third. (AP)
Dishonorable mention: Boucher allowed both of Boston's first period goals before leaving the game with a hand injury. He returned in the third period ... Danny Briere had a golden opportunity to end the game in the dying seconds of regulation, but whiffed on this shot:
Conn Smythe Watch: 1. Danny Briere, Philadelphia Flyers; 2. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; 3. Ryane Clowe, San Jose Sharks; 4. Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning; 5. Michal Neuvirth,Washington Capitals; 6. Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks; 7. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators; 8. Nathan Horton, Boston Bruins; 9. Dwayne Roloson, Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers.