No. 1 star: David Booth, Florida Panthers
Their spirits sagging on a West Coast swing, the Florida Panthers needed a hero and David Booth was happy to oblige. His first career hat trick accounted for all the Panthers' goals in a 3-1 win at the Anaheim Ducks. A long backhander, a high blast and a power-play tally all found their way past Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who was thoroughly outplayed by Craig Anderson (44 saves). Those Ducks fans weren't "Boothing"; they were booing.
No. 2 star: Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix Coyotes
Bryzgalov made 30 saves, including 15 in the third period, as the Coyotes snapped the San Jose Sharks' seven-game winning streak with a 4-2 come-from-behind victory. He had a couple of big stops on Devin Setoguchi during the game, and was rock solid as Phoenix rallied from a 2-0 deficit.
No. 3 star: Martin Havlat, Chicago Blackhawks
Havlat's power-play goal got the Blackhawks on the board, and his brilliant pass down low to an open Patrick Kane gave Chicago a 3-0 lead en route to its 6-1 romp against the Calgary Flames. Havlat, who added another power-play assist in the third period, now has nine points in his last seven games.
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Honorable Mention: Marty Reasoner scored two goals and Johan Hedberg stopped 35 of 37 shots to power the Atlanta Thrashers to their fourth straight win, 5-2 over the Carolina Hurricanes. Don't look now, but the Thrash are four points off the Southeast lead. ... Goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers turned back some good chances to give the Edmonton Oilers a 2-1 victory at the New Jersey Devils, who added Brian Gionta and Bryce Salvador to their list of injuries. ... Olli Jokinen had two goals in Phoenix's win. ... Jonathan Toews finally left the ranks of the goal-less with a third-period blast from the slot. ... Miikka Kiprusoff's six goals allowed looks horrible on paper, but the Calgary keeper made some outstanding stops early in the game against Chicago.
Dishonorable Mention: Chad LaRose earns a minus-4 for the Hurricanes. ... Finally, nothing like 36 minutes in penalties during the third period of a 5-1 game. Even the Blackhawks fans sound exhausted.
