NHL 3 Stars: Rinne shuts the door; J.T. Miller has two-goal home debut for Rangers

A confused Olli Jokinen and Tobias Enstrom line up against each other for a faceoff, five feet away from the dot. You're doing it wrong!

No. 1 Star: Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

The shot total tells a very different story than the final score: the Kings outshot the Predators 32-14. But Rinne stopped all 32 shots he faced Thursday night for his first shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings. He got goal support from Colin Wilson, who contributed two.

No. 2 Star: J.T. Miller, New York Rangers

In his second NHL game, Miller scored his first NHL goal just outside the first minute of the first. Then, in the second period, Miller scored his second NHL goal for his first multi-goal game. (So many firsts and seconds!) That was all the Rangers would need, but Marian Gaborik and Ryan McDonagh added goals just for giggles in a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders.

No. 3 Star: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins ran roughshod over the Capitals in a 5-2 win with 3 point-nights from both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, both of whom had 1 and 2. Crosby gets the nod for the third and final star because he batted this puck out of mid-air, and that looks hard:

Honourable mention: Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist in the Capitals' loss... Alex Tanguay scored the overtime winner as the Flames took their match with the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-3. Roman Cervenka added his first NHL goal... Mason Raymond had a goal and an assist the Vancouver Canucks' 4-1 romp over the Minnesota Wild... The game-winning goal in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 3-2 triumph over the Winnipeg Jets was scored by none other than Phil Kessel! His first of the season was also his 100th as a Leaf... Ilya Kovalchuk broke his 6-game pointless streak with a 2-point night and Patrik Elias added 1 goals and 2 assists as the New Jersey Devils took it, 4-2, over the Tampa Bay Lightning... Jonathan Huberdeau scored one of two shootout goals for the Panthers in their 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, and it was lovely:

Claude Giroux took 30 of the game's 57 faceoffs in the loss... The Buffalo Vaneks beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-4. Thomas Vanek scored twice, as well as potting a shootout tally, because he is clearly better than everybody. Tyler Ennis had a 1 goal and 2 assists, which is great because he's on my fantasy team... Cam Ward made 45 saves and Jay Harrison scored the OT winner in the Carolina Hurricanes' 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators... Cory Emmerton had a 1 and 1 and Petr "Jason" Mrazek made 26 saves as the Detroit Red Wings beat up on the St. Louis Blues, 5-1... The Patricks led the way for the Chicago Blackhawks in a 6-2 walloping of the Phoenix Coyotes. Patrick Kane had 2 goals and an assist and Patrick Sharp had 3 assists. Raffi Torres had an eventful night as well. On his first shift, he fought Jamal Mayers, as expected, and on his last, he scored a goal. Here's the fight:

Did you know? A Devils' second period goal marked the first time all season that David Clarkson has been on the ice for a goal and didn't get a point. [@CJ_Richey]

Dishonourable mention: The Washington Capitals: still not good... The Blues were bad, losing their third regular-season game in a row for the first time under Ken Hitchcock, and Hitch wasn't pleased. "We're cheating all over the ice," he said. We're cheating to get on the offense, we're cheating to score, we're cheating each other and we're cheating the game, and we're paying the price for it." So less cheating, then.