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NHL Three Stars: Ducks end Sharks’ unbeaten streak; Jamie Benn powers Stars

No. 1 Star: Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars

The Stars defeated the Avalanche, 3-2, and Benn had a hand in each goal. He picked the pocket of Matt Hunwick for the first goal; picked up a helper on Brenden Morrow’s goal; and then scored from the slot for the eventual game-winner in the second period. Kari Lehtonen made 29 saves.

No. 2 Star: Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes

Ward held the fort in the first period, stopping 17 of 18 shots in the first period before the Hurricanes took the game over in the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Carolina wins, 4-1, with Ward making 41 saves.

No. 3 Star: Chris Tanev, Vancouver Canucks

Tanev’s first NHL goal was a memorable one: He scored at 4:40 of overtime to give the Canucks a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on the road. Kevin Bieksa tied the game at 17:43 of the third period. It was Tanev’s 63rd NHL game.

Honorable Mention: Sheldon Souray’s blast from the top of the zone at 13:21 of the third period put the Ducks up 2-1, and that’s how it ended. Anaheim hands the San Jose Sharks their first regulation loss of the season. … Mike Smith made 21 saves while Lauri Korpikoski and Martin Hanzal had the goals in the Phoenix Coyotes’ 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. Zach Parise scored his sixth for the Wild. …. Logan Couture scored his sixth for the Sharks. … Eric Staal scored goal No. 7 for the Canes. Jordan Staal scored his first. Jeff Skinner had three assists. … Matt Frattin scored his fifth for the Leafs. … Milan Hejduk scored a goal in this 1,000th game as an Avalanche player. … Ales Hemsky had a nifty goal that impressed a Were-Horse.

Did You Know? San Jose C Michal Handzus has no points in his first nine games, the 14-year veteran's longest drought from the start of a season

Dishonorable Mention: Ryane Clowe was given the instigator and a misconduct for a first-period fight with Matt Beleskey. … Hunwick was a minus-2 and had his pocket picked for the first goal of the game. … Mark Fistric and Shawn Horcoff suffered injuries for the Oilers. … Taylor Hall failed to convert an overtime penalty shot. …