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NHL Three Stars: Dubnyk blanks Sabres; Laine downs Stars
No. 1 Star: Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild
Dubnyk stopped 38 of 38 shots on goal to pick up his second straight shutout in a 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Dubnyk has raced out to a fast start with a 1.67 goal-against average and .944 save percentage. Minnesota currently has the best record in the Central Division at 5-2-1.
No. 2 Star: Patrik Laine, Winnipeg Jets
The rookie sniper fired two goals past Dallas Stars netminder Antti Niemi in a 4-1 win. Laine, the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, has six goals, which is a four-way tie for the NHL lead. It’s also the same amount of goals as 2016 first overall pick Auston Matthews.
No. 3 Star: Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh Penguins
Kessel scored a goal and added two assists in Pittsburgh’s 4-2 home win over the New York Islanders on Thursday. His power play goal at the 18:07 mark of the third period was the Penguins’ fourth goal of the game. Pittsburgh has won both of their games since captain Sidney Crosby returned from a concussion. Kessel has five points in his last four games and seven points in eight games on the season.
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Honorable Mention: Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price stopped 30 of 31 shots on goal in his team’s 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning … Montreal captain Max Pacioretty scored his second goal of the season … Habs forward Alex Galchenyuk scored a goal … Tampa Bay forward Alex Killorn scored his sixth goal of the season … Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner notched three assists in a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers … Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bozak scored two goals … Toronto forward James van Riemsdyk scored his fourth goal of the season … Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped 29 of 31 shots on goal to pick up his second win of the year. He now has a 3.91 goal-against average and .866 save percentage … Panthers forward Jonathan Marchessault scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season … Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored his fifth goal of the season in a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The win broke a five-game losing streak for the Coyotes. Both of Arizona’s wins this season have come against Philadelphia … Arizona forward Brad Richardson scored a goal and added an assist … Coyotes forward Max Domi notched his fifth assist of the season … Flyers forward Brayden Schenn scored a goal and added two assists … Philly forward Wayne Simmonds scored a goal … Minnesota defenseman Ryan Suter scored a goal, added an assist and was a plus-3 … Wild rookie forward Joel Eriksson Ek fired his second goal of the season … Minnesota captain Mikko Koivu scored a goal … In his second game back from a concussion, Crosby scored a goal and added an assist in the win over the Islanders. His goal came at the 17:35 mark of the third period and proved to be the game-winner … Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 35 of 37 shots on goal in the win over the Islanders … Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin scored a goal and added an assist … Islanders forward Brock Nelson notched two assists … New York forward Shane Prince scored a goal and added an assist … The Detroit Red Wings picked up their sixth win in a row in a 2-1 shootout victory over the St. Louis Blues … Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg scored the shootout winner in the eighth round… Detroit goaltender Petr Mrazek stopped 31 of 32 shots on goal to pick up his fourth win of the season … Red Wings forward Frans Nielsen scored his second goal of the season with his new team …Winnipeg forward Kyle Connor scored his first career goal … Jets defenseman Tyler Myers scored a goal … Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 38 of 39 shots on goal in the win … San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl scored two goals in a 3-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets … Sharks forward Joonas Donskoi scored his first goal of the season … San Jose defenseman David Schlemko notched two assists … Forward Scott Hartnell scored Columbus’ only goal … Los Angeles Kings forward Jeff Carter scored the overtime winner in a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators … LA forward Tyler Toffoli scored his second goal of the season … Nashville forward Viktor Arvidsson scored a goal and added an assist … All four of Los Angeles’ wins this season have come past regulation. It’s the first time in franchise history they have won four straight games after regulation.
Did You Know? The Montreal Canadiens are the first team in NHL history to win at least seven of their first eight games in three straight seasons.
Dishonorable Mention: Flyers forward Shayne Gostisbehere was a minus-3 in the loss to the Coyotes … Philly goaltender Steve Mason allowed five goals on 25 shots on goal … The Sabres have lost four games in a row. They have won just one of their first six contests on the year … Nashville’s Pekka Rinne hasn’t won since the team’s season opener on Oct. 14 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
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