No. 1 star, Matt Ellis, Buffalo Sabres:
Matt Ellis has played less than 100 career games, but none will probably stand out as much as Saturday's contest in Boston. Ellis scored two goals to help the Buffalo Sabres snap the Bruins' 10-game winning streak and hand the hosts their first loss at home since the first month of the season. Ellis, who was in training camp with the Los Angeles Kings before getting claimed off waivers by Buffalo just before the start of the season, was recently recalled from the minors. Ellis scored the game's first goal 3:20 after the opening faceoff, added his second 3:04 into the second period and chipped in an assist for a three-point game on Buffalo's final goal. Ellis, a plus-3 with three shots a faceoff win, did all of his damage in only 9:51 of ice time.
No. 2 star, Dwayne Roloson, Edmonton Oilers:
The veteran Oilers' goalie was almost a one-man show for the hosts, stopping 38 shots as Edmonton beat Dallas 4-1. The Stars, who outshot the Oilers 39-19, went 0-for-5 on the power play as Roloson was on top of his game.
No. 3 star, Nathan Horton, Florida Panthers:
Nathan Horton scored a pair of even-strength goals to lead the Florida Panthers to a 6-1 win over the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins. Horton was a plus-1 with three hits and enjoyed a 9-8 night in the faceoff circle during 17:23 of ice time.
Honorable mention: Vesa Toskala makes 30 stops in Toronto's conquest of Ottawa. … The Blues' power play went 4-for-9 and their fifth goal came short-handed as special teams really were special for a win over the Blue Jackets. … Alexander Ovechkin scored short-handed against the Rangers, a 23rd goal in his last 27 games that counted as a game-winner. Washington is 27-1-1 when Ovechkin scores a goal. … Ryan Miller had 29 saves in Boston. … Chris Osgood stopped 33 shots in regulation and two more in the shootout for a win in his first game back after missing seven with an injury. … Todd Bertuzzi scored a game-winner for Calgary with 23.4 seconds left in the third period. … Manny Legace improved to 18-4-1 against Columbus with his ninth straight win against the Blue Jackets. … Mike Grier enjoyed his first two-goal game since January of 2007 as the Sharks beat the Islanders. … Dustin Brown scored the shootout winner for the Kings.
Dishonorable mention: Say what you want about the way Sidney Crosby went about his second career fight on Saturday, but the mere fact he feels like he needs to that tells you something about how much Pittsburgh misses some of the real character players that slipped away in the last year. … The Rangers have surrendered a league-high 12 short-handed goals. … The Lightning are 5-17 in one-goal games. … The Penguins' power play is zero-for-24 in their last six games. … And last, but certainly not least, the All-Star voting is a complete joke. Hey, they may only play the first 30 seconds, but that's not the point. The current system has become a mockery.
