No. 1 star: Simon Gagne, Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers continued to climb from their early season hole and Simon Gagne continued to display he hasn't lost his offensive touch after battling concussion issues for much of last season. Gagne scored two goals and assisted on two others as the Flyers rode into Atlanta and put a 7-0 hammering on the uninspired Thrashers. Gagne scored short-handed at 19:45 of the second period to give the visitors a three-goal cushion and added his seventh goal of the season in the third when Philadelphia turned the contest into a laugher by scoring four times. Gagne was a plus-3 with three shots in 16:24 of ice time as the Flyers won their third straight.
No. 2 star: Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay Lightning
A return to the native homeland is always special for Canadian hockey players, and Vincent Lecavalier took advantage of the big stage Toronto provides to shed a little of that Lightning frustration for at least one night. The native of Ile-Bizard, Quebec, scored two gorgeous goals to rally Tampa Bay to only its second win of the season, its first on the road and its first in regulation. Lecavalier scored at even strength at 15:37 of the first period to break a 1-1 tie and scored his second on the power play at 4:08 of the second period for what would count as the game-winner. Lecavalier was a plus-1 with four shots during 17:49 of ice time.
No. 3 star: Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
The second-year star stopped 31of 33 shots in the first 65 minutes, then was a perfect 3-for-3 in the shootout as the Canadiens wrapped up a 4-1 homestand with a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. One of the two goals Price allowed came on a Carolina power play.
Honorable mention: Tim Thomas makes 27 saves for his and Boston's second 1-0 win on the road in as many games. … Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith allowed only a pair of power-play goals on 39 shots to record a road victory. … Alexander Semin continued his hot start and picked up the slack for a missing Alexander Ovechkin by scoring a goal, adding an assist and converting a shootout attempt during Washington's win over Nashville. … Miikka Kiprusoff makes 22 saves for his 27th career shutout in the Flames' win. … The Flyers' special teams were special – 3-for-5 on the power play, 4-for-4 on the kill and a short-handed goal to boot. … J.P. Dumont had assists on all three Predator goals. … Matt Stajan and Dominic Moore combine to go 33-23 in the faceoff circle and take all but 19 of Toronto's draws.
Dishonorable mention: What did Keri Lehtonen do to have to absorb all seven goals on a night his Thrashers teammates clearly weren't into the game? … Speaking of the Thrashers, they've lost 11 straight to the Flyers. … They arrived on Sunday to get acclimated to the West Coast for a game Tuesday, then the Penguins took only 11 shots on goal against the Sharks, who traveled from the East Coast, too, on Sunday.
