No. 1 star: Joffrey Lupul, Philadelphia Flyers
The line of Simon Gagne-Mike Richards-Mike Knuble helped account for three goals, and Antero Niittymaki improved to 11-0 lifetime against the Atlanta Thrashers with a 29-save effort. But none of them factored in the key goal in Philly's 4-3 victory, which snapped Atlanta's five-game winning streak. After the Thrashers rallied to tie the game with two goals in the third, Lupul skated from center ice into the offensive zone, cut through two defenders into the slot and snapped a shot that beat Johan Hedberg for his seventh goal of the season.
No. 2 star: Jonas Hiller, Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks' backup keeper stopped 29 shots to defeat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-0, for his first NHL shutout. Some of the saves went beyond the norm: A poke-check of a rebound may have robbed Kyle Calder of a goal, and a huge stop on Brian Boyle in the third period preserved the lead. Hiller played well with traffic in front of his crease all night, as the Ducks adjusted to life without defenseman Francois Beauchemin.
No. 3 star: Devin Setoguchi, San Jose Sharks
Absolutely insane game in Chicago last night, as the Sharks and Blackhawks traded goals and leads. Dan Boyle scored two huge goals for the Sharks, including a game-tying tally on the power play in the third. But it was Setoguchi's seeing-eye shot on the power play later in the period proved to be the game-winner in the 6-5 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks. San Jose went an incredible 4-for-6 with the man advantage; teams were 2-for-19 against Chicago in the previous three games.
Honorable Mention: Stick-taps to Erik Christensen of Atlanta, Bret Hedican of Anaheim and Jeremy Roenick of San Jose (in another return to Chicago) for their first goals of the season. ... The St. Louis Blues dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Montreal Canadiens, but winger Steve Regier scored his first two goals of the season in just 6:24 of ice time. ... Rod Brind'Amour's quick shot tied the game, and his shootout goal helped clinch a 3-2 win for the Carolina Hurricanes, spoiling the debut of Tampa Bay Lightning interim coach Rick Tocchet.
Dishonorable Mention: The Blues going 1-for-9 on the power play was bad enough; the Canadiens going 0-for-10 and sporting the fifth-worst power-play percentage in hockey is just embarrassing. ... Steven Stamkos's ice time jumps by six minutes; he responds with a minus-1 and one shot on goal. ... With his six goals surrendered against the Sharks, Cristobal Huet has now given up three or more goals in four of his seven starts this season. ... Finally, bummer: Blues center Andy McDonald left his game against Montreal in the first period, and Coach Andy Murray said it's a fractured left leg.
