NHL Three Stars: Jeff Carter powers Kings over Ducks

No. 1 Star: Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings

The Kings defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2, and Carter had a hand in all three goals. He assisted on Drew Doughty’s goal to open the scoring. He then tallied two goals in 1:14, giving him nine on the season. All that scoring came in the second period.

No. 2 Star: Nick Foligno, Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets forward scored his seventh goal of the season and assisted on Alexander Wennberg’s game-winning power-play goal with 54 seconds left in regulation, as the Jackets won their fourth straight, 3-2, over the Washington Capitals. But it was his head-snap that drew a high-sticking call on Nicklas Backstrom and earned the late-game power play, and the ire of Barry Trotz.

No. 3 Star: Dougie Hamilton, Calgary Flames

The Flames defenseman had three assists in their 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. That included a helper on Mikael Backlund’s game-winner with 7:46 left in the game. He was also a plus-3.

Honorable Mention: Victor Rask and Noah Hanifin scored third-period power-play goals to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to their fourth straight win, 3-1, over the Winnipeg Jets. … Mark Scheifele scored his 11th goal in the loss. … Peter Budaj made 28 saves in the Kings’ win. … Garnet Hathaway scored his first NHL goal for Calgary. … Chad Johnson made 21 saves. … Aleksander Barkov put the shootout away with a wicked move, joining Vincent Trocheck in beating Henrik Lundqvist for the 3-2 win over the New York Rangers. James Reimer made 33 saves.

Did You Know? The Blue Jackets went 2-for-3 on the power play and lead the League in power-play percentage (31.8). (NHL.com)

Dishonorable Mention: Red Wings defenseman Alexey Marchenko sustained an upper-body injury in the second and did not return. … The Wings have lost four straight. … Mika Zibanejad was lost to 6-8 weeks with a broken fibula after an end-boards collision. … Jared Boll and Jordan Nolan threw down.