Tuesday’s Three Stars: Rookie Hackett boosts Wild; Daniel Sedin trick

December 7, 2011 · 0 Comments

No. 1 Star: Matt Hackett, Minnesota Wild

Hackett wasn’t supposed to play his first NHL game this way. Just over a minute into their game against the San Jose Sharks, Wild netminder Josh Harding took a knee to the head from teammate Nick Schultz and had to leave the game, pressing the 21-year old Hackett (nephew of former NHL goalie, Jeff) into duty. Down 1-0, the Wild got goals from Mikko Koivu and Pierre-Marc Bouchard at the end of the first period and Hackett made 34 saves for a 2-1 win. Minnesota improved to an NHL-best 12-6-0 when allowing the first goal.

No. 2 Star: Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

Sedin tallied his fifth career hat trick with a goal in the first period and two in the third during Vancouver’s 6-0 rout of the Colorado Avalanche. Brother Henrik, of course, had a hand in all three of Daniel’s goals as the Canucks won for the seventh time in eight games.

Cory Schneider made 20 saves in relief of Roberto Luongo, who left in the first period after taking a shot in the chest/neck area.

No. 3 Star: Brendan Morrison Calgary Flames

A wild third period between the Flames and Carolina Hurricanes saw seven goals and a final minute rally that fell short as Calgary held on for a 7-6 win. Morrison scored twice and assisted on two others as the Flames built a 7-4 lead with 1:09 remaining before the Hurricanes scored twice in the final minute to make things tense. Jarome Iginla chipped in a pair of goals and a helper as the win was Calgary’s fourth in their last six games.

Special edition No. 4 star: Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets

Pavelec stopped 39 shots and earned his third win in a row during a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins. Bryan Little’s goal 4:50 into the third period broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Jets the lead for good. The win puts Winnipeg over the .500 for the first time this season and was their sixth in their last seven at MTS Centre

Honorable mention: Behind Brian Elliott’s 27 saves and third period goals from David Backes and Patrik Berglund, the St. Louis Blues edged the Detroit Red Wings 3-2. St. Louis is now 9-3-2 under Ken Hitchcock and the win was their second over the Red Wings this season … Keith Yandle’s goal with 1:45 left in the third period was the difference maker as the Phoenix Coyotes got by the Nashville Predators 3-2. Jason LaBarbera stopped 30 shots to help send Nashville to their sixth defeat in eight games … Curtis Sanford made 18 saves in regulation, one in overtime and denied all three shootout attempts from the Montreal Canadiens in a 2-1 victory for the Columbus Blue Jackets. R.J. Umberger scored a goal and added an assist and Rick Nash put home Columbus’ second attempt in the shootout that stood as the winner:

John Tavares, Matt Martin and Milan Jurcina helped paced the New York Islanders to a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Al Montoya made 23 saves and the Islanders cashed in on two of their five power play chances to improve to 4-1-2 in their last seven games. Rookie David Ullstrom scored his first NHL goal for the Islanders. Martin St. Louis’ goal was his 800th NHL point … David Clarkson didn’t disappoint playing in front of friends and family in Toronto. The New Jersey Devils forward scored twice, including the winner in overtime during a 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs … The Ducks brought the dramatics in order to give head coach Bruce Boudreau his first win in Anaheim. After blowing another multi-goal lead, Ryan scored his second goal of the night with 49 seconds left in the third period to give the Ducks a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings:

Mike Murphy is the first goalie in NHL history to record a loss before allowing a goal, per Elias Sports Bureau.” via Hurricanes PR man @MikeSundheim

Dishonorable mention: Boston’s loss was their first in regulation since Oct. 29 … The Hurricanes have lost seven straight games, including their first four under new head coach Kirk Muller … Semyon Varlamov allowed six goals in 21 shots and saw his 3-game win streak snapped … San Jose took the first 16 shots of the game before Minnesota registered one … Devin Setoguchi appeared to suffer what looked like a knee injury in the first period and he did not return … Finally, Avalanche forward Kevin Porter was assessed a five-minute major for kneeing and given a game misconduct after colliding with David Booth. Booth did not return:

Photo credit: Getty Images

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Tuesday’s Three Stars: Rookie Hackett boosts Wild; Daniel Sedin trick

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