No. 1 Star: Todd Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
Todd Bertuzzi scored twice in this game -- once on a breakaway in the first period and again in the overtime frame as the Red Wings' edged the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2. Bertuzzi's breakaway goal came on an absolutely nutso backhand pass from Pavel Datsyuk, which deserves to be marveled at. So marvel away, friends:
No. 2 Star: Martin Biron, New York Rangers
He only needed to make 16 saves, but Biron picked up the shutout in the Rangers 3-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Michael Rupp's goal early in the second period stood as the game-winner. It was pretty:
No. 3 Star: Michael Grabner, New York Islanders
Michael Grabner scored twice in the New York Islanders 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. His first was the game-winner; his second was the empty-netter three minutes later. John Tavares, P.A. Parenteau, and Matt Moulson all had two-point nights as well.
Honourable Mention: Patrik Elias scored the game-winner as the New Jersey Devils came back in the third period to top the Winnipeg Jets, 2-1... Paul Stastny picked up a helper and a game-winning goal in the Colorado Avalanche's 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars... After Milan Lucic gave the Boston Bruins the lead early in the third, Justin Faulk, Jay Harrison, and Eric Staal scored in a five-minute stretch to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 4-2 victory... Joe Finley and Matt Martin gave us the fight of the night...
... Patrick Marleau scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period in the San Jose Sharks' 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Curtis Sanford deserved better. Tomas Plekanec scored scored in the first minute of the third period to give the Montreal Canadiens a 1-0 lead and Maxim Pacioretty scored in the final minute to tie the game 2-2, but Daniel Alfredsson scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Ottawa Senators the 3-2 win... Nick Spaling scored the game-winner as the Nashville Predators knocked off the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2. Pekka Rinne made 36 saves. Wayne Simmonds and Sean Couturier combined for both Flyers goals. Speaking of Simmonds, here he is doing a flip:
... Kevin Shattenkirk scored the shootout winner as the St. Louis Blues got by the Minnesota Wild 3-2. Josh Harding deserved better. He made 47 saves in the game... Mike Richards and Dustin Brown had a goal and an assist in the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Michael Cammalleri scored the Flames' lone goal.
Did you know? The Red Wings' win was their 14th straight at home, a franchise record.
Dishonourable Mention: Jimmy Howard made some quality saves and he got the win in Detroit, but he'd have an easier time of things if he tightened up on the stickwork. First, there was this blunder, which narrowly resulted in a goal for Michael Frolik:
Then there was this blunder, which did result in a goal for Aaron Shaw:
... And finally, nothing dishonourable about this massive hit by Justin Falk on David Perron, but David Backes, who stepped in to defend his teammate, received 19 minutes in penalties in the aftermath: 5 for fighting, 2 for instigating, 2 for unsportsmanlike conduct, and 10 for instigating the fight while wearing a visor. That's a dumb rule.
Follow Harrison Mooney on Twitter at @HarrisonMooney
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