NHL Three Stars: Kesler, Crosby key wins; missing fans in Florida

No. 1 Star: Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks

The Nashville Predators’ tormentor was at it again, scoring two third-period goals to give the Canucks a 3-1 win. He now has 14 on the year and back-to-back 2-goal games.

No. 2 Star: Kari Lehtonen, Dallas Stars

The Stars goalie turned away 47 of 50 shots on the road, as the Stars won at the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3. Antoine Roussel scored the game-winner on a penalty shot. Alex Chiasson scored his eighth.

No. 3 Star: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Sid’s unassisted wrist shot beat Anders Nilsson at 3:44 of overtime as the Penguins topped the New York Islanders, 3-2. Crosby now has 15 goals on the season, having previously scored to force OT. Evgeni Malkin had two assists in the win.

Honorable mention: Mike Ribeiro and Mikael Boedker had 3-point nights as the Phoenix Coyotes defeated the Edmonton Oilers, 6-2. … Kings rookie Martin Jones, making his first NHL start, stopped all nine shots he faced in the shootout as LA bested their rivals the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2. Dwight King had the game-winner in the skills competition. … Kyle Okposo had two goals for the Isles. … Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves before leaving with an injury, but Curtis McElhinney took the Columbus Blue Jackets all the way to the 1-0 shutout over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nick Foligno had the outstanding goal for the Jackets. … Brad Staurt had the game-winner and Logan Couture added he empty netter, as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2. … Jeff Skinner scored twice as the Carolina Hurricanes rolled to a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Justin Peters made 26 saves. … The Ottawa Senators scored four straight goals, including Bobby Ryan’s 14th, as they defeated the Florida Panthers, 4-2.

Did You Know? Phil Kessel scored goal No. 200 in his career, and the 15th goal of the season for the Leafs.

Dishonorable mention: Justin Schultz and Jesse Joensuu were minus-3. … The Lightning have been shut out in back to back games. … Braden Holtby gave up at least three soft goals among his four surrendered before being pulled. … Morgan Reilly was a minus-3. … Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johnansson were minus-3 for the Capitals. … Scottie Upshall was whistled for three minor penalties. … Finally, the Panthers announced a crowd of 10,074 fans, “the lowest home ‘announced’ crowd since Halloween 2008 -- 10,063” according to George Richards, who tweeted this before the game: