No. 1 Star: Johan Franzen, Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings scored seven goals against the Ottawa Senators. Johan Franzen had five of them, becoming the first NHL player to notch five in a game since Marian Gaborik in Dec. 2007. The Mule scored two in the first and three in the third period -- two on the power play and one empty netter. He took 10 shots on goal. Here's Franzen's 5-spot in Detroit's 7-5 win:
No. 2 Stars: Ryan Smyth/Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
The former Oiler did what he does best: Scoring two gritty goals on the power play to help the Kings to a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. They both came in the second period, and the first was scored 24 second after Magnus Paajarvi put the Oilers on the board. Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson assisted on both, with Johnson scoring a third-period goal to ice it. Jonathan Quick made 32 saves in the 3-1 win.
(UPDATE: We've added Doughty's name to the second star here for a good reason: Smyth claims, via the LA Times, that he didn't touch either Doughty shot. Said Smyth: "I didn't get the goals. He got the goals. It's just nice to get the win." Thanks to reader JKearns for the tip. Officially, for now, they're Smyth's goals.)
No. 3 Star: Brent Johnson, Pittsburgh Penguins
Despite stopping 20 of 20 shots against the New York Islanders in Pittsburgh, Johnson didn't technically earn the shutout. That's because he was ejected with about 16 seconds left in the game following a glorious one-punch fight with Rick DiPietro. But his effort for the Penguins, missing both Crosby and Malkin, and the fact that he became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter, earn him the No. 3 star. Tyler Kennedy, Chris Kunitz and Max Talbot had the goals in the 3-0 blanking.
Honorable mention: After a bad loss at home at the Sharks on Tuesday, the Phoenix Coyotes were played out of their building on Wednesday and not just because there were so many Vancouver Canucks fans in the arena. Ryan Kesler scored twice, giving him 30 on the season, and Cody Hodgson scored his first NHL goal in a 6-0 rout of the Coyotes. Mikael Samuelsson has two assists and Mason Raymond had a goal and an assist while paying to a plus-4. Roberto Luongo had the shutout with 23 saves. ... The San Jose Sharks chased Jonas Hiller with first-period goals by Dany Heatley, Ben Eager and Jason Demers, and then hung on for dear life in the third period to defeat the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3. Ryane Clowe had the game-winner while Bobby Ryan scored goal No. 23 in a losing effort. ... Chris Campoli had a goal and two assists and was a plus-4 for the Senators. ... Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta had third-period goals in the Montreal Canadiens' 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers. Alex Auld made 33 saves while Tomas Vokoun made 37. Scott Timmins scored his first NHL goal for Florida. ... Finally, here's Keaton Ellerby with a huge hit on Andrei Kostitsyn:
Did you know? Edmonton coach Tom Renney was behind the bench for the Oilers despite the death of his father on Tuesday. (AP)
Dishonorable mention: Nikolai Khabibulin lost his 12th straight start. ... Ilya Bryzgalov was pulled after giving up five goals on 31 shots. ... Keith Yandle was a minus-4 for the Coyotes. ... Robin Lehner was pulled after giving up four goals on 19 shots for Ottawa. ... Jonas Hiller was pulled after giving up three goals on 10 shots for the Ducks. ... Finally, this decision on this no-goal in the Red Wings' win over the Senators was rather problematic.
Natalie Imbruglia Patricia Velásquez Jennifer Morrison Adrianne Palicki Amanda Righetti
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