- Admin
- #1
Ward's first shutout of the season came on a 30-save effort against the Chicago Blackhawks, as the Carolina Hurricanes won, 3-0. Ward made 15 second-period saves, including one on a Jonathan Toews breakaway, to preserve the 1-0 lead Tim Brent's first-period goal established. Brandon Sutter (who had a great overall game) and Jiri Tlusty scored in the third to ice it.
No. 2 Star: Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks
Thornton scored on a breakaway at 18:18 of the second period to break a 2-2 tie, and then scored his third of the season into an empty net to give the Sharks a 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Joe Pavelski sprung Thornton on the breakaway. Said Coach Todd McLellan: "It was nice to see Jumbo shoot it, he had nobody to pass to. But he did look behind him. He worried me."
No. 3 Star: Devan Dubnyk, Edmonton Oilers
Don't hand that starting gig to Nikolai Khabibulin quite yet. Dubnyk was outstanding against the Colorado Avalanche, making 40 saves in the Oilers' 3-1 victory. That included 25 in the first two periods, as Cam Barker and Andy Sutton scored to give the Oilers the 2-0 lead. They eventually won, 3-1.
Honorable mention: Roman Horak scored a goal and assisted on Tom Kostopoulos's tally to help the Calgary Flames to a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Olli Jokinen scored an empty netter; Alex Steen had the St. Louis goal. Miikka Kiprusoff was strong, making 28 saves. … Corey Crawford was every bit as good as Ward, making 30 saves but not getting any offensive help. … Nicklas Lidstrom had two assists for the Wings, as Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom scored. Zetterberg was also 14-3 on faceoffs… Ryane Clowe and Patrick Marleau had the other Sharks goals; Antti Niemi made 30 saves. … Ryan Smyth had a three-point night, including a goal in the third that came 27 seconds after Ryan O'Reilly cut the Oilers' lead to one goal. … Matthew Hulsizer appears to be the new owner of the St. Louis Blues. … Brad Stuart did some quality goaltending for the Wings:
Did you know? Kiprusoff is now 19-4-2 against the Blues in his career. (AP)
Dishonorable mention: St. Louis squandered a two-man advantage in the third period while trailing by a goal, and continue to have the worst power play in hockey. ... Tomas Holmstrom had yet another goal taken away from him on a goalie interference call, as the ref ruled there was incidental contact with Niemi. … Patrick Kane was a minus-1, was 1-7 on faceoffs and picked up a double-minor for high-sticking in the first. … Finally, Andy Sutton might be getting a call from the NHL for this hit on Gabriel Landeskog.