Wednesday’s Three Stars: Avs win thriller in Buffalo; Karlsson gives Desharnais a lift

No. 1 Star: Jamie McGinn, Colorado Avalanche

The trade deadline pickup continued his strong play, scoring a game-tying goal in the first period and then another game-tying goal with less than two seconds remaining to force overtime against the Buffalo Sabres. Peter Mueller's goal in the shootout, and Semyon Varlamov's strong play, led the Avs to a huge 5-4 victory.

No. 2 Star: Jonas Hiller, Anaheim Ducks

Hiller got solid support and made 23 saves in the Ducks' 4-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Rookie Kyle Palmieri scored two goals while Teemu Selanne scored his 660th career goal — with Jari Kurri in the house.

No. 3 Star: Antoine Vermette, Phoenix Coyotes

Vermette had the primary assists on the Coyotes' first-period goals by Rusty Klesla and Shane Doan, and then scored a key insurance goal on the power play in the third period as Phoenix defeated the Vancouver Canucks, 5-4. Ray Whitney had three assists, and Mike Smith made 39 saves.

Honorable mention: David Desharnais scored a goal and had the lone tally in the shootout, as the Montreal Canadiens stopped the Ottawa Senators from achieving a tie for the division lead, 3-2. Carey Price made 35 saves. Erik Karlsson scored for the Sens. … Andrew Ladd scored twice, Evander Kane scored goal No. 28 and Blake Wheeler had two assists in the Winnipeg Jets' 5-2 win over the Dallas Stars. Loui Eriksson had two goals for the Stars. … Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist while Taylor Hall scored his 27th in the Edmonton Oilers' 3-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves for the shutout. … Gabriel Landeskog scored his 20th goal for Colorado. … Alex Burrows had a goal and an assist for the Canucks. ... Marcus Foligno scored two goals for the Sabres, and did the famed Foligno Leap:

Did you know? Tomas Kaberle didn't play because his girlfriend gave birth. (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Kevin Bieksa was a minus-3. … The refs called three straight goalie interference penalties in the second period in Ottawa, two on the Sens and one of the Habs. … Adam Burish earned 14 penalty minutes and a game misconduct after he threw a Jets player's glove into the stands. … Finally, add this, ahem, unique defensive move to Erik Karlsson's Norris Trophy reel: