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NHL Three Stars: Blues shutout Caps; Ducks OT comeback; Pens thump Detroit

Jen Neale
NHL Three Stars: Blues shutout Caps; Ducks OT comeback; Pens thump Detroit

No. 1 Star: Jake Allen, St. Louis Blues

Thanks to Allen's 32 save performance against the Washington Capitals, the St. Louis Blues have a shutout streak that is now FOUR (4!!) games in length. Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 35th goal of the season in the Blues 4-0 victory.

No. 2 Star: Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks

Coming into the third period, the Ducks were down 0-3 to the Ottawa Senators. Rakell and Corey Perry fed Hampus Lindholm to tie the game with 57.2 seconds on the clock. In overtime, Rakell netted the game winner on the power play.

No. 3 Star(s): Phil Kessel & Nick Bonino, Pittsburgh Penguins

Both Penguins earned 5-points (1G, 4A) each in Pittsburgh's 7-2 beatdown of the Detroit Red Wings. Carl Hagelin scored 2 goals. As for Sidney Crosby, he added 1 assist.

Honorable Mention: The Winnipeg Jets were up 2-0 by 5:09 of the first period. The Buffalo Sabres went on to score three straight goals. Sam Reinhart had a goal and an assist. Jack Eichel earned point No. 50 against the Jets. Hudson Fasching scored his first NHL goal in the first period of his first NHL game:

... The Dallas Stars had a 3-0 lead going into the third period. Joel Ward and Tomas Hertl brought the San Jose Sharks within a goal before Jamie Benn iced the game on an empty-netter ... Derick Brassard (1G, 2A) and Chris Kreider (2G, 1A) helped the New York Rangres dominate the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. Antti Raanta earned his 10th win of the season ... Cal Clutterbuck scored 30 seconds into the third period to tie the game with the Carolina Hurricanes at 3-3. In overtime, Clutterbuck netted the game winner on a deflection that fluttered behind Eddie Lack:

... Zdeno Chara's goal in the second period proved to be the game winner in the Boston Bruins 3-1 defeat of the Toronto Maple Leafs ... The Nashville Predators dominated the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 5-1. The Preds sent 48 shots on goal, with 27 coming in the first period. To Joonas Korpisalo's credit, he stopped 43 shots while his teammates only put up 19 on Pekka Rinne. Roman Josi led the Preds with 3 assists. All 5 Nashville goals were scored by 5 different players ... The Colorado Avalanche needed the game against the Minnesota WIld, and Devan Dubnyk would not have it. The netminder posted a 29 save shutout in the 4-0 victory. Zach Parise scored 2 of the Wild's goals:

... Frederik Andersen improved to 21-9-7 for the Ducks ... Roberto Luongo made 33 saves in the Florida Panthers 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning for sole possession of first place (for now) in the Atlantic Division. Jaromir Jagr, Jussi Jokinen, and Jonathan Huberdeau each netted a goal and an assist ... Andrew Ladd earned 3 points in the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames. Scott Darling made 31 saves in his 8th win of the season ... Patrick Maroon scored two goals in the third period to bring the Edmonton Oilers within a goal of the Los Angeles Kings. Check out this setup by Connor McDavid on Maroon's second goal:

An empty netter iced the game for the Kings at 6-4. Tyler Toffoli led the statline for the Kings with 4 points, followed by Jeff Carter and Milan Lucic at 3 points each. Jonathan Quick earned his 38th win of the season ... The Arizona Coyotes did their part as spoiler to the Philadelphia Flyers road to the playoffs in the 2-1 win. Mike Smith nearly had a shutout before Sean Couturier scored on the power play with 40-seconds left.

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Dishonorable Mention: Petr Mrazek gave up 4 goals on 27 shots. His replacement, Jimmy Howard, allowed 3 goals on 14 shots. Brian Dumoulin left the game with an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return; he is unavailable for Sunday's game. Pavel Datsyuk will not face supplemental discipline for this collision that caused Chris Kunitz to leave the game and not return; Kunitz is a game-time decision for Sunday.

... The first time Patrick Roy pulled Semyon Varlamov, there was 10:21 left to go in the game. The Wild scored a shorthanded, empty-net goal 45-seconds after ... Both Shane Doan and Claude Giroux were knocked out the game in the third period in separate incidents. The players underwent the concussion protocol and their status for their team's next games are unknown. Michael Stone is probably done for most, if not all, of the regular season after injuring his left leg in a freak collision with one of the Flyers ... San Jose could not convert on six power play opportunities against the Stars. Tommy Wingels fights Antoine Roussel. Roussel pulls Wingels hair. Just another day in paradise.

... Ben Scrivens started the third period for the Habs after Mike Condon went 14 for 19 against the Rangers ... Bobby Ryan's high sticking double minor against his former team in overtime put the Ducks on the power play, which they scored on ... T.J. Oshie did not play against the Blues due to the flu ... John Tortorella's postgame press conference with the media lasted between 19 to 21 seconds.

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.

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