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NHL Three Stars: Ovechkin hits 50; Pominville leads Wild over Bruins

Brett Bellemore's legs star in this lovely photo.

No. 1 Star: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Ovechkin had a three-point night, with 2 assists and a goal in the Capitals' 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. The goal was his 50th of the season, the 5th time he's reached the milestone, because he's pretty good:

No. 2 Star: Jason Pominville, Minnesota Wild

Pominville was in on every goal in the Wild's big 4-3 shootout win over the Boston Bruins, with 2 goals and an assist. He even set up Ryan Suter for a goal, which has been tough to do this season. The goal tied the game with just 65 seconds remaining:

No. 3 Star: Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators

Spezza had 2 goals and an assist for the Senators, who did their part in staving off playoff elimination with a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders. Unfortunately, they were eliminated anyway.

Honorable mention: Zemgus Girgensons scored twice in the Buffalo Sabres' 4-2 loss over the Detroit Red Wings, who bolstered their playoff hopes with the win... Victor Hedman had a three-point night as the Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 3-0 win. Hedman had quietly been amazing this season and doesn't get nearly enough credit for it... Ryan Johansen's goal was the overtime winner in a 4-3 win for the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Phoenix Coyotes...

Brad Richards scored twice, and Martin St. Louis had 3 assists for the New York Rangers in a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes... Erik Johnson and Nathan MacKinnon had two-point nights for the Colorado Avalanche as they triumphed 4-1 over the Edmonton Oilers... Claude Giroux scored twice for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers... Gabriel Bourque scored twice, but the Nashville Predators were eliminated from playoff contention with a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, who bolstered their own playoff hopes with the win.

Did you know? Don't look now, but the Avalanche are only two points behind the Blues, with three games to go and the ROW tiebreaker.

Dishonorable mention: Canada. Today your Maple Leafs and your Senators were eliminated from playoff contention, and your Canucks fired their General Manager. Get it together, nation of hockey. You're bad at your own thing.