No. 1 Star: Devin Setoguchi, San Jose Sharks
Maybe it's a Game 3 thing. The last goal Setoguchi scored before his hat trick against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night was in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings. In Game 3 vs. the Wings, he had a power-play goal in the first, another in the second and then the game-winner in OT to complete a frustrating sequence. Sharks won, 4-3, taking a 3-0 lead in the series.
No. 2 Star: Sean Bergenheim, Tampa Bay Lightning
The unsung hero of the Lightning struck again in Game 4, as Tampa Bay completed its sweep of the Washington Capitals. Bergenheim scored twice in the second period, both on feeds from Dominic Moore, giving the Bolts a two-goal lead at the time. Tampa won, 5-3, and Bergenheim now has seven goals in the postseason.
No. 3 Star: Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
The hulking defenseman had a monster night in the Bruins' 5-1 laugher against the Philadelphia Flyers. Chara blasted a shot past Brian Boucher just 30 seconds into Game 3, giving Boston all the momentum leading to its second goal just 33 seconds later by David Krejci. Chara would add an assist and score his second of the night in the third period for the 5-1 win. Chara was also a plus-4. Boston leads the series, 3-0.
Honorable mention: Dan Boyle tied the Sharks' game at 15:52 of the third period, sending it into OT with a goal off of Jimmy Howard's glove. ... Nicklas Lidstrom, Patrick Eaves and Pavel Datsyuk scored goals for the Wings. … Jimmy Howard made 34 saves for the Wings. … Tim Thomas made 37 saves for the Bruins. … Daniel Paille scored his first for the Bruins, who also got a Gordie Howe Hat Trick from Nathan Horton (1 goal, 1 assist and a fight with Sean O'Donnell). … Andrej Meszaros had the lone Philly goal. … Dwayne Roloson made 33 saves in the win over the Caps. Ryan Malone, Marty St. Louis and a clutch tally from Marc-Andre Bergeron helped clinch it. … Henrik Zetterberg had two power-play assists. ... Joe Thornton had three assists. ... Dany Heatley was Kronwall'd in Game 3, but returned to the game:
Did you know? Boston's two goals were "the fastest a team had scored two goals to start a playoff game since the Red Wings tallied twice in 61 seconds against Phoenix in 1998, according to STATS LLC." (AP)
Dishonorable mention: The Boston goals were the fastest allowed by the Flyers at the start of a playoff game in franchise history. … Both Alex Semin and Nicklas Backstrom didn't have a point in the Capitals' elimination loss. … Boucher was pulled by the Flyers after giving up 4 goals in 35:14. Sergei Bobrovsky gave up one on eight shots. … Did we mention the Capitals were swept?
Conn Smythe Watch: 1. Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning; 2. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; 3. Ryane Clowe, San Jose Sharks; 4. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators; 5. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; 6. Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins; 7. Nathan Horton, Boston Bruins; 8. Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks; 9. Vinny Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Danny Briere, Philadelphia Flyers;