NHL Three Stars: Darling, Kane lead Blackhawks; Hedman the OT hero

No. 1 Star: Scott Darling, Chicago Blackhawks

Darling was outstanding as the Blackhawks dispatched the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1. The netminder made 36 saves, including 29 over the final two periods to earn his sixth win in his last seven starts. Chicago is now three points behind Minnesota for the Central Division lead.

No. 2 Star: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

Kane stayed red-hot in tallying his second hat trick in three games during Chicago’s win over the Penguins. The Blackhawks have now won five in a row and 10 out of their last 11. Kane’s three points moved him ahead of Sidney Crosby for second in the NHL with 68. He has 10 points in his last five games.

No. 3 Star: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Hedman’s second goal of the night came at 46 seconds of overtime to give the Lightning a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Tampa has now won seven of their last 10 games.

Honorable Mention: Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson added a goal and two assists apiece … Blackhawks rookie Nick Schmaltz chipped in two assists to extend his point streak to five games … Richard Panik scored the goal of the night:

This fan was just trying to help the refs get the call right:

Ron Hainsey is already making good impressions with his new teammates:

Did You Know?

Dishonorable Mention: The Blackhawks lost Artem Anisimov with a lower-body injury in the second period … Marc-Andre Fleury has lost four of his last six starts … The Hurricanes couldn’t find a way to beat the Lightning despite holding Tampa to a season-low 16 shots. They’ve also only won once in their last nine games … How did this Ondrej Palat chance slip wide?

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