No. 1 star: Marc Savard, Boston Bruins
A distinction overdue because he's been a consistent scorer and received little publicity thus far, Marc Savard can't be overlooked any longer. The veteran center scored a goal and added three assists for a season-high four points as the Boston Bruins rallied from an early two-goal hole to beat the division-rival Buffalo Sabres going away. Savard started his assault with his seventh goal of the season, an even-strength tally that pulled the hosts to within one at the end of a seven-goal first period. Savard's assists came on a tying power-play goal, on another power-play goal that put the Bruins up by two and on an even-strength marker that provided insurance. Savard, with forward-leading 19:14 of ice time, has 23 points in his 18 games.
No. 2 star: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Equally as hot, Alexander Ovechkin had a very similar night to Savard's – one power-play goal and three secondary assists for four points – the only differences were Ovechkin did his work on the road and he didn't need to rally his team as the Capitals owned this one against Anaheim from the start. Ovechkin figured in the scoring of all three of Washington's first-period goals. After providing assists to stake the Caps to an early 3-0, Ovechkin scored his eighth goal early in the second. Ovechkin, with a team-high six shots and 24:03 of ice time, has six goals and 14 points during a current five-game scoring streak.
No. 3 star: Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks
Normally a star would not emerge from a nine-goal game, but Roberto Luongo was outstanding for the Vancouver Canucks, who got a big lead early and faced a barrage of Rangers' shots over the final 40 minutes. Luongo finished with 39 saves during his 14th straight start. New York put 30 shots on Luongo in the final two periods.
Honorable mention: The Bruins have scored 31 goals in their last eight games. … Alex Burrows scored two goals and Mattias Ohlund chipped in three assists during Vancouver's big night. … Boston's individual offensive stars besides Savard included Zdeno Chara, Chuck Kobasew – two goals apiece – and David Krejci, who added a goal and two assists. … Bobby Ryan had a career-best two goals and three points during a losing effort for Anaheim. … Tom Poti logged a league-wide best 29:13, picking up some of the third-period slack for injured Caps' teammate Mike Green.
Dishonorable mention: Pulled in Boston after allowing seven goals, Ryan Miller has followed shutouts in consecutive games on Nov. 1-3 by allowing 22 goals over five outings in which he's 1-3-1. … The Rangers surrendered a seventh short-handed goal 22 games into a season that follows a year in which they allowed just six. … Henrik Lundqvist isn't completely off the hook after allowing five goals on 17 shots, but most of it was thanks to a porous New York defense. … Defenseman Shane O'Brien took five of Vancouver's six penalties. … Anaheim's Jonas Hiller, one of three goalies pulled from a start on Wednesday, surrendered three goals on just six shots.
