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NHL Three Stars: Pacioretty OT hero (again), King Henrik's triumph

Jen Neale
DALLAS, TX - JANUARY 4: Max Pacioretty #67 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates a goal against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on January 4, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – JANUARY 4: Max Pacioretty #67 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates a goal against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on January 4, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

No. 1 Star: Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens

For the second game in as many nights, the Habs’ captain played hero as he scored the game winning goal in overtime. He sets a new Canadiens overtime goal record with eight. It was also Pacioretty’s second goal of the game.

No. 2 Star: Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

This is as close to ‘normal King Henrik’ we’ve seen in a while. He made 30 saves; 24 of which came in the second and third period. The Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2.

No. 3 Star: Ondrej Kase, Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks rookie is beginning to earn Randy Carlyle’s trust more each game. He assisted on Nick Ritchie’s goal to open the game and then scored one of his own to beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-0. Kase’s goal came on an incredible, intentional deflection from Antoine Vermette’s skate directly to the front of the net where Kase was waiting.

Honorable Mention: Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu led all Canadiens in game scoring with a goal and two assists. Pacioretty, Shea Weber and Phillip Danault had two points each. John Klingberg led the Dallas Stars with a goal and an assist. In a rare start, Al Montoya stopped 39-42 for the Habs … Michael Grabner and Kevin Hayes netted two goals each for the Rangers. Jakub Voracek scored both goals for Philly and topped the team with seven shots on goal … Antoine Vermett assisted on both Ducks goals. John Gibson made all 23 saves in the shutout … Johnny Gaudreau is not human. He is a magic little elf on the shelf. Check out this goal:

Mark Giordano, Sean Monahan and Alex Chiasson earned two points each in the Flames 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche. The Flames held Colorado to only 18 shots on goal while Calgary put up 37 on the Avs. Calgary’s power play was 3 for 7 … Patrik Laine now holds the rookie goal lead (21) and scoring lead (36) in the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 against the Florida Panthers. Jaromir Jagr now sits in fifth place all time with 1,136 assists.

Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves to improve his record to 15-12-1 … Ryan Miller needed only 22 saves for the Vancouver Canucks to shut-out the Arizona Coyotes. Sven Baertschi scored his 11th goal of the year. Brandon Sutter was given a penalty shot and beat Mike Smith for his 10th goal. Bo Horvat also beat Smith to score and earned this young man a wiener dog.

Did You Know? The Dallas Stars have lost 8 games in overtime and not made it to the shootout once this season.

Dishonorable Mention: Brendan Gallagher left the game in the third period after being struck in the hand by a Shea Weber shot. He is returning to Montreal to be evaluated by team doctors. Patrick Sharp hit Paul Byron causing Byron to leave the game. Sharp then fought Torey Mitchell despite just coming off the IR with another concussion.

Jamie Benn did not play due to injury breaking a streak of 221 games played … Mark Giordano and Jarome Iginla wanted to throw down and the OFFICIALS STOPPED IT FROM HAPPENING. BOOOO.

… Marc Staal was a late unhealthy scratch for New York … Ryan Getzlaf was scratched for Anaheim with a lower-body injury. Brendan Smith left with 5:16 to go in the second period after injuring his leg and did not return. Niklas Kronwall played one shift in the third period … Nikolaj Ehlers hit Seth Griffith, causing Griffith to leave the game and not return. Dirty or not?

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter!