Tuesday 5 March 2013

NHL Three Stars: Nash’s pair sinks Flyers; Caps, Kings complete comebacks

No. 1 Star: Rick Nash, New York Rangers

Deadlocked at 2-2 in the third period, Nash stepped up and delivered for the Rangers scoring twice in nine minutes to help beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2. The goals were Nash's sixth and seventh of the season, boosting the Rangers to a three-game winning streak. Captain Ryan Callahan scored twice in the first period and also assisted on Nash's second goal.

No. 2 Star: Nate Thompson, Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa ended a five-game losing skid with a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. Thompson scored his first goals since Valentine's Day, tallying twice and adding an assist, while rookie Alex Killorn chipped in two points. Killorn has points in six of his previous 10 games.

No. 3 Star: Jake Muzzin, Los Angeles Kings

Muzzin's first career multi-goal game was part of a furious Kings comeback after being down 4-1 to the St. Louis Blues in the second period. The Kings would score five straight goals for the 6-4 win. Justin Williams recorded three assists and Jeff Carter scored his 15th goal after going unmarked off an offensive zone draw:

Honorable mention: Jonathan Huberdeau scored his second penalty shot goal of the season and Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves as the Florida Panthers downed the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 ... Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 21 shots he faced in relief of Steve Mason and Artem Anisimov and Mark Letestu notched the only goals in the shootout as the Columbus Blue Jackets got by the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 ... Bryan Bickell scored twice during a four-goal opening period as the Chicago Blackhawks extended their streak of consecutive games with a point to 23 during their 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild. It was also Chicago's 10th straight win. Before the game the Blackhawks honored Marian Hossa, who played his 1,000th NHL game on Sunday, by wearing jerseys with his name on them during warmups ... The Washington Capitals staged a comeback against the Boston Bruins after a 3-0 first period deficit by scoring four unanswered to win 4-3 in overtime. Tomas Kundratek scored his first NHL goal and it was this Eric Fehr beauty in OT that completed the comeback ... Joe Pavelski's goal in the fourth round of the shootout was the difference as the San Jose Sharks edged the Vancouver Canucks 3-2. Scott Gomez and Adam Burish both scored their first goals of the year and Antti Niemi made 36 saves for his third win in four starts ... Jimmy Howard made 36 saves and Niklas Kronwall took advantage of the lively boards at Joe Louis Arena to score one of Detroit's two goals in their 2-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche:

Three goals in the second and three in the third powered the New York Islanders to a 6-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Six different players scored for the Islanders, including John Tavares who notched his 14th of the season. In the loss, Canadiens captain Brian Gionta scored the franchise's 20,000th goal since joining the NHL ... Making his first start since Cam Ward went down with an injury, Justin Peters made 37 saves (including his one on Thomas Vanek), while Alex Semin and Eric Staal recorded three points as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3. Jiri Tlusty scored again and has 16 points in 13 games ... In the fight of the night, Kyle Clifford made quick work of Roman Polak:

Did you know? "Sharks coach Todd McLellan earned his 206th victory with the Sharks, tying Ron Wilson for the franchise record." (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Johan Hedberg lasted 33:13 and allowed three goals before being pulled ... The Devils are 0-5-1 in their last six games ... Niklas Backstrom was chased after allowing four goals in the first period ... Frightening moment in the third period for the Rangers as defenseman Marc Staal was hit in the eye with a deflected shot. As of late Tuesday night, Staal had not gone to a local hospital.



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