Rally baby!
No. 1 Star: Sergei Gonchar, Ottawa Senators
Legendary night for Gonchar versus the New York Islanders. On yet another evening when the Senators lost a player to injury -- this time Marc Method -- Gonchar stepped up in a big way with a three-point outing. He had 2 assists and a goal, this game-winning blast to cap off a stunning Senators comeback in the third.
What's more, he finished a plus-5 in the Senators 5-3 win.
No. 2 Star: Shane Doan, Phoenix Coyotes
Shane Doan was incredible, scoring twice for the Phoenix Coyotes and registering an insane 11 shots and 13 hits. He wanted this one. Unfortunately, his two goals were no match for the Los Angeles Kings' three goals. Jonathan Bernier made a career-high 40 saves in the 3-2 Kings win.
No. 3 Star: Vinny Prospal, Columbus Blue Jackets
3 assists for Prospal, who led the Blue Jackets to a 4-3 triumph over the Nashville Predators, pushing their point streak to a franchise-best 11 games. Plus they're now tied for eighth in the West! It's the year of Columbus, y'all.
Honourable mention: Blake Wheeler scores the first of two goals the Winnipeg Jets would score in under a minute to take the lead versus the Boston Bruins, then added the empty netter in his club's 3-1 win. With the victory, the Jets took over first place in the Southeast Division and third in the East... The Sabres lose this game if Jhonas Enroth doesn't make this save of the night:
Daniel Sedin had 2 assists and Cory Schneider made 32 saves at the Vancouver Canucks held off the St. Louis Blues, 3-2... Matt Niskanen scored a back-breaking game-winner as the Pittsburgh Penguins killed off a four-minute penalty then rushed down the ice for the 2-1 goal versus the Washington Capitals:
Michael Del Zotto had a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers skated to a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils... Jakob Markstrom made 33 saves and Filip Kuba had 2 assists for the Florida Panthers in their 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes... Steve Ott scored the first and last goals in the Sabres' 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. The first was unassisted. The second was the overtime winner 2:16 into the extra frame.
Did You Know? Sidney Crosby had two assists in the Penguins' win. It was the 200th multi-point game of his career.
Dishonourable mention: The Islanders didn't just blow a three-goal lead in the third period. They couldn't even get the game to overtime, giving up the game-winner at the 19-minute mark... Buffalo really, really didn't deserve to win... P.K. Subban's high-sticking penalty in overtime was a rough call, especially since he didn't appear to even make contact... Barry Trotz wasn't happy with his club after the loss to Columbus. ""I know some guys are playing over their heads," he said, "some guys quite clearly can’t play at this level, that’s plain and simple..."