NHL Three Stars: Kessel, Dvorak goals power wins; Schneider blanks Coyotes

Ducks fans welcomed back Justin, uh, "Shultz" to Anaheim

No. 1 Star: Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs

Kessel scored twice and assisted on another as the Maple Leafs edged the New York Rangers 4-3 and moved four points ahead of the Ottawa Senators for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. His first goal gave Toronto a 3-1 lead in the second period, but the Rangers tied things nine minutes into the third period. Just 39 seconds after Derek Stepan's game-tying goal, Kessel put home his own rebound to give the Maple Leafs the lead for good:

No. 2 Star: Radek Dvorak, Anaheim Ducks

On the night Justin Schultz gave Anaheim fans plenty to boo, Dvorak was the reason they would cheer. His pair of goals were enough for the Ducks to double up the Edmonton Oilers 2-1. Jonas Hiller made 27 saves in his first game back after missing four due to the flu. Dvorak has three goals in five games since signing with Anaheim on March 24.

No. 3 Star: Cory Schneider, Vancouver Canucks

Needing just 19 saves, Schneider earned his fifth shutout of the season, and second in three starts, with a 2-0 win over the Phoenix Coyotes. He's now tied with Mike Smith and Pekka Rinne for the NHL lead in shutouts. Ryan Kesler scored in his first game back from injury after missing 20 games. This shorthanded goal was credited to Dan Hamhuis, but it was Antoine Vermette who had to watch his pass back to the Coyotes' blue line travel all the way into his own empty net:

Honorable mention: After the Colorado Avalanche opened the scoring early in the second period, the Calgary Flames would score three unanswered goals en route to a 3-1 victory. Roman Cervenka, Mike Cammalleri and Alex Tanguay would net goals for the Flames, while Joey MacDonald stopped 39 shots for only his second win since mid-February. With the victory, Calgary ended a 13-game winless streak away from Saddledome. Avs rookie forward Brad Malone scored his first NHL goal ... Brad Marchand scored his 15th and 16th goals of the season ten minutes apart in the first period to help build up a 3-0 Bruins lead. That was more than enough for Boston as they downed the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 to move within a point of the idle Montreal Canadiens for tops in the Northeast Division. Tuukka Rask made 40 saves for the second time in three starts. Rich Peverley, Jaromir Jagr, Andrew Ference, and Gregory Campbell each recorded two points. Dennis Seidenberg had three helpers.

Did you know? Oilers defenseman Nick Schultz scored for the first time in 58 games.

Dishonorable mention: Justin Peters allowed two goals on the first four shots he faced and was pulled eight minutes into the opening period ... Carolina has lost 12 of 13 ... The Coyotes have been shutout 7 times this season, tying them with Nashville for most in the NHL this season.