No. 1 Star: Evander Kane, Atlanta Thrashers
The Thrashers needed a hero, and his name was Evander Kane. His backhand goal from between the circles, off a Henrik Lundqvist rebound, tied the game with 5:51 left; then, on the power play, Kane grabbed a rebound, shot the puck, grabbed another rebound and then sent home the game winner in Atlanta's 3-2 win over the New York Rangers. Anthony Stewart had the other goal; Marc Staal and Brandon Dubinsky had the Rangers tallies.
No. 2 Star: Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks
Selanne's 16th goal of the season at 17:53 of the third period, on the power play, earned the Ducks a point before he assisted on Cam Fowler's overtime game-winner with 19 seconds before the shootout. The Ducks defeated the Calgary Flames, 5-4, as Selanne had a 4-point night (1 goals, 3 assists) Saku Koivu scored 2 goals and an assist. Jarome Iginla (23) and Curtis Glencross (16) led a third-period rally for the Flames.
No. 3 Star: John Tavares, New York Islanders
Lost in the utter chaos of the Islanders' 9-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins were a few outstanding performances by some of the Isles' key offensive players. Tavares had a 4-point night with a second-period goal and three assists, including helpers on both of Matt Moulson's goals. Michael Grabner scored twice, including an unassisted shorthanded goal. Tavares, Moulson and Grabner all hit the 20-goal mark in the win.
Honorable mention: The Devils did it again. Ilya Kovalchuk scored the game-winner with 3:59 left and assisted on Brian Rolston's game-tying goal earlier in the third period to top the San Jose Sharks, 2-1, and move to 12-1-2 in their last 15. Patrick Marleau had the Sharks goal. ... The Columbus Blue Jackets rallied to beat the Colorado Avalanche, 3-1, in Peter Forsberg's return to the NHL. Rick Nash had a goal and an assist while Mathieu Garon made 31 saves. ... The Detroit Red Wings had scored four goals in their last four games, but exploded for six goals in a 6-1 win at the Boston Bruins. Todd Bertuzzi had two goals and Henrik Zetterberg had a goal and 2 assists. Check out Bertuzzi's "bank shot" goal:
... Impressive rally from the Dallas Stars, overcoming the Chicago Blackhawks' 3-0 lead after the first period to tie the game and win in the shootout, 4-3. Stephane Robidas had a goal and an assist, while Brad Richards had a goal in regulation and a goal in the shootout, as did Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro. Marty Turco made 32 saves in his first game back in Dallas, while Patrick Sharp scored his 28th in the loss. ... Travis Hamonic had a Gordie Howe hat trick for the Islanders. ... The Minnesota Wild topped the St. Louis Blues, 5-4, in game that included a 9-round shootout. John Madden had the shootout winner; Martin Havlat scored the game-tying goal with 57.6 seconds left. Check out the full highlights:
Did you know? The Stars ran a brief tribute to Turco on the main scoreboard during a break in the first period. A large portion of the crowd stood and applauded Turco. (AP)
Dishonorable mention: Our recap of the Penguins/Islanders chaos is here. ... Forsberg played 17:38 and was a minus-2 with no points. ... Tuukka Rask was pulled after giving up five goals on 19 shots. ... Brent Johnson was pulled for Marc-Andre Fleury but returned to the game in the third period, when he fought Micheal Haley. ... Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, John-Michael Liles, Ryan Craig, Deryk Engelland, Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik, Max Talbot and Ryan Getzlaf were all minus-3; ... Ribeiro had what some felt was a knee-on-knee hit on Brent Seabrook. ... Finally, tough night for injuries for the Blackhawks. Ryan Johnson and Viktor Stalberg left the game with "upper body injuries," while Mark Fistric was given a double-minor for roughing and interference for this hit that knocked Fernando Pisani out the of the game, even if the top of the boards did the most damage:
Via the Sun Times: "All three [players] are officially considered day-to-day with upper-body injuries, but they will be re-evaluated today. Coach Joel Quenneville said the Hawks are unlikely to recall a player from the Rockford IceHogs for tonight's game."
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