3 Stars of the Night: May 11

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It’s the most, wonderful time, of the yearrrrrrrr! Who doesn’t love playoff hockey right? This is what we wait all season for, this is why most of us became fans of the game, as the postseason captivates us year after year after year. My personal favorite part is the dying minutes of a one-goal game when everything is a scramble, bodies are diving everywhere, pucks are zipping around the zone and the intensity is as high as can be. Until we get to overtime that is, when it become full-on, tighten your butt cheeks, gasp and cringe with every shot end-to-end action (WITH NO COMMERCIALS!!).

Who will hoist the 2016 Stanley Cup?

http://gty.im/116730365

With the team I cover out of the playoffs (again), I relish the opportunity to write a little out of character and enjoy the playoffs as a fan of the game, and pick my three stars of each night like our friends over at Yahoo!/Puck Daddy blog do throughout the season. You can find player standings at the bottom of each post with three points for being the no. 1 star, two for no. 2 and one for no. 3 and on some nights we’ll have an honorable mention.

May 11, 2016

#3) Paul Stastny, St. Louis: GWG, 2 Assists

Paul Walnuts was the under-the-radar member of this lethal trio in Game 7, but he ended up with the GWG on his only shot on goal. Let’s not forget his face-off prowess in winning 55% of the draws he took. On another team he would likely be a star, but with the Blues he is a key piece of their puzzle and is playing on one of the best lines left in the NHL postseason — the Tampa Triplets line and the HBK (Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel) line in Pittsburgh may have something to say about that though.

#2) Troy Brouwer, St. Louis: Goal, 2 Assists

This is old news for Brouwer who was playing in his eighth consecutive series that went to a Game 7 and for the second consecutive Game 7 it was he who was on the winning side. His two assists in the opening period set the tone for the remainder of the game in which the Blues kicked the snot out of the Stars in their own rink. Brouwer was involved all over the ice with four shots on goal and three hits, and his late second period goal was the real nail in the coffin on Dallas’ season.

#1) Robby Fabbri, St. Louis: PP Goal, 2 Assists

They say once a rookie plays a full season and the playoffs begin, he is no longer a rookie and the 20-year-old Fabbri looked like anything but in Game 7. His early power play goal silenced the rowdy home crowd and the Blues went on the coast to a 6-1 win that saw them advance to the West Finals for the first time since 2001. Fabbri now has 13 points in 14 playoff games, which is tied for 4th in NHL playoff scoring, and obviously tops among rookie skaters.

3-Stars Standings:

Brian Elliott (StL): 9

Joe Pavelski (SJ): 8

Braden Holtby (Wash): 8

Nikita Kucherov (TB): 7

Victor Hedman (TB): 6

Michal Neuvirth (Phil): 5

John Tavares (NYI): 5

Pekka Rinne (Nash): 5

Tyler Johnson (TB): 5

Matt Murray (Pitt): 5

Patric Hornqvist (Pitt): 5

Ben Bishop (TB): 5

Troy Brouwer (StL): 5

Alex Ovechkin (Wash): 4

Nick Bonino (Pitt): 4

Thomas Hickey (NYI): 3

Antti Niemi (Dall): 3

Evgeni Malkin (Pitt): 3

Artemi Panarin (Chi): 3

TJ Oshie (Wash): 3

Radek Faksa (Dall): 3

Kris Letang (Pitt): 3

David Backes (StL): 3

Mike Fisher (Nash): 3

Kari Lehtonen (Dall): 3

Carl Hagelin (Pitt): 3

Phil Kessel (Pitt): 3

Robby Fabbri (StL): 3