NHL Three Stars: Kane leads Hawks’ comeback; Leafs forgo shooting, lose

Douglas Murray after a fight with John Scott.

No. 1 Star: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Hedman led the way in the Lighting's 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, scoring twice and adding an assist in 22:08 of ice time. Only Martin St. Louis played more minutes.

No. 2 Star: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

Kane spearheaded the Blackhawks' third-period comeback in a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames. Trailing 2-0, the winger scored the club's first goal, cutting the lead in half, at 9:42 of the third. Then, exactly 10 minutes later, at 19:42, with just 18 seconds remaining in the game, he put the Blackhawks ahead with this nifty backhand:

No. 3 Star: Evgeni Malkin

Malkin was a beast versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, registering his first two-goal game and his first three-point game of the season. (Related: for all the people saying there's something wrong with his game, the dude's got 20 points in 13 games this month and has only been held pointless once.) In addition to that, he scored a goal in the shootout as the Penguins beat the Leafs 6-5. The only minor quibble with his game is that his second goal probably should't have counted. Since when can you pitchfork the goalie into the net then tap the puck in after him?

Honorable mention: Alexander Steen scored his 20th goal of the season as the St. Louis Blues topped the Colorado Avalanche, 4-1… Radim Vrbata scored twice, and the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Minnesota Wild, 3-1… Rick Nash had a two-point night in the New York Rangers' 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers… Johan Franzen had three points in a 6-1 rout for the Detroit Red Wings over the Boston Bruins… Marek Mazanec registered his second career shutout, stopping all 19 shots he faced in a 4-0 Nashville Predators victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets… Bobby Ryan scored twice, his second the empty-netter to seal a 6-4 Ottawa Senators win over the Washington Capitals. Marcus Johansson broke the net cam in this one, by the way:

… The Winnipeg Jets scored thrice in the second period, and it was all they would need to triumph over the New York Islanders, 3-2… The Carolina Hurricanes held on for a 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils, thanks in large part to Cam Ward… Andrei Markov had a three-point night in the Montreal Canadiens' 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres… Joe Thornton scored a goal in regulation and the shootout winner in the San Jose Sharks' 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

Did You Know? With his 691st goal, a late tally versus the Hurricanes, Jaromir Jagr took over sole place of 9th all-time in the category, moving one ahead of Mario Lemieux.

Dishonorable mention: Tonight, this section belongs to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who managed to go the entirety of the third period and overtime in their loss to thePenguins without registering a single shot on goal. 19-0, they were outshot over this span. No other team in the NHL this season has gone shotless in the third period, and the Leafs haven't done it since 1990. It's a rare and special feat. Amazingly, they still almost won the game, as Jonathan Bernier shut the door and forced a shootout…