Schenn, Allen and Elliott Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week

NEW YORK – St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen and Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Dec. 10.

FIRST STAR – BRAYDEN SCHENN, C, ST. LOUIS BLUES

Schenn led the NHL with 6-1—7, including at least one goal in all four of his appearances, to power the Blues (21-8-2, 44 points) to a perfect week and the top of the Western Conference standings. He notched his third career hat trick, including the decisive goal, in a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens Dec. 5. Schenn then scored the winning goal in a 3-0 triumph against the Dallas Stars Dec. 7 and registered 1-1—2 in a 6-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings Dec. 9. He closed the week with another tally, marking the second four-game goal streak of his NHL career (also Jan. 8-14, 2017: 4-0—4 in 4 GP w/ PHI), in a 3-2 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres Dec. 10. The 26-year-old Saskatoon, Sask., native ranks fifth in the NHL with 16-21—37 in 31 outings this season. He also paces the League in game-winning goals (t-6), shootout-deciding goals (t-2) and plus/minus (+25).

SECOND STAR – JAKE ALLEN, G, ST. LOUIS BLUES

Allen went 4-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average, .944 save percentage and one shutout to guide the Blues to their third four-game winning streak of the season (also Oct. 4-10 and Oct. 25-30). He made 22 saves in a 4-3 victory against the Montreal Canadiens Dec. 5. Allen then turned aside all 29 shots he faced, earning his 16th career shutout in a 3-0 triumph over the Dallas Stars Dec. 7. He added a pair of weekend wins, recording 28 saves in a 6-1 victory against the Detroit Red Wings Dec. 9 and 22 stops in a 3-2 overtime triumph over the Buffalo Sabres Dec. 10. The 27-year-old Fredericton, N.B., native shares second place in the NHL with 17 victories in 26 contests this season (17-6-2), compiling a 2.54 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and one shutout.

THIRD STAR – BRIAN ELLIOTT, G, PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

Elliott posted a trio of victories – along with a 1.67 goals-against average and .954 save percentage – to help the Flyers (11-11-7, 29 points) bounce back from a 10-game skid (0-5-5) and complete a perfect road trip through Western Canada. He made 43 saves in a 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames Dec. 4, 24 stops in a 4-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers Dec. 6 and 36 saves in a 4-1 triumph over the Vancouver Canucks Dec. 7. The 32-year-old Newmarket, Ont., native – who is in his first season with Philadelphia – owns a 9-6-6 record, 2.79 goals-against average and .912 save percentage through 22 appearances.

Allen, Talbot, Rinne named our 'Three Playoff Stars of the Week'

NEW YORK – The Neutral Zone has named Jake Allen, Cam Talbot, and Pekka Rinne their 'Three Playoff Stars of the Week' for the first week of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs ending April 16.

FIRST STAR - JAKE ALLEN, G, ST. LOUIS BLUES

Allen turned aside 114 of 117 shots through the Blues' first three playoff games this week. So far in the playoffs in 2017, Allen has a 0.91 GAA, and a .974 SV%. In the first game on April 12, Allen made 51 saves on 52 shots faced (.981 SV%) in St. Louis' Game 1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. In Game 2 on April 14, Allen made 23 saves on 24 shots faced (.958 SV%) in the Blues' win, putting them up 2-0 in the series. In Game 3 on April 16, Allen made 40 saves in 41 shots faces (.976 SV%), giving the Blues another win and a 3-0 series lead against the Wild.

SECOND STAR - CAM TALBOT, G, EDMONTON OILERS

Talbot is 2-1-0 with a .98 GAA and a .964 SV% in three playoff games this season, all in the past week. He made 80 saves in 83 shots faced in the three games. Although he made 41 saves on 44 shots (.932 SV%) faced in Game 1 of Edmonton's first round series on April 12, Talbot earned shutouts in the next two games. He made 16 saves on April 14 in Game 2 for his first career playoff shutout, and 23 saves on April 16 in Game 3. With the shutout in Game 3, Talbot became the second Oilers goaltender to record a shutout in consecutive playoff games, joining Curtis Joseph in the 1998 conference quarter-final.

THIRD STAR - PEKKA RINNE, G, NASHVILLE PREDATORS

Rinne turned away all 59 shots faced through the Predators' first two playoff games this week. Rinne made 29 saves in Game 1 against Chicago on April 13, and then made 30 saves in Game 2 on April 15. Rinne became the first goalie to record 2 assists and a shutout in a playoff game since Tom Barrasso in Game 2 of the 1993 division semi-final against the New Jersey Devils.

Kassian, Guentzel, Allen named our 'Three Stars of the Night'

NEW YORK – UNB! Network NHL/hockey blog "The Neutral Zone" has named Zack Kassian, Jake Guentzel, and Jake Allen their 'Three Stars of the Night' for all NHL Playoff games taking place on April 17, 2017.

FIRST STAR - ZACK KASSIAN, F, EDMONTON OILERS

Kassian is the first Oilers player to score a GWG in consecutive playoff games since Fernando Pisani (2006 F vs. CAR).

SECOND STAR - JAKE GUENTZEL, F, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Guentzel scored his third goal of the contest at 13:10 of overtime as the @penguins took a 3-0 series lead. Guentzel is 2nd rookie in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to score a hat trick which included an OT goal (G. Plamondon, Game 2 of 1949 SF).

THIRD STAR - JAKE ALLEN, G, ST. LOUIS BLUES

Allen has turned aside 114 of 117 shots through three games (0.91 GAA, .974 SV%).

Jason Pominville leads 3 Stars of the Week

NEW YORK - Minnesota Wild right wing Jason Pominville, St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen and Nashville Predators left wing Viktor Arvidsson have been named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the week ending Feb. 12.

FIRST STAR - JASON POMINVILLE, RW, MINNESOTA WILD

Pominville paced the NHL with six assists and eight points in four games to power the Western Conference-leading Wild (37-12-6, 80 points) to a 3-0-1 week. He registered 2-2-4, his fourth career four-point performance and first since Jan. 1, 2011 (w/ BUF), in a 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets Feb. 7. He then collected one assist in both a 4-3 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks Feb. 8 and a 2-1 shootout win against the Tampa Bay Lightning Feb. 10. Pominville capped the week with two more helpers, his sixth multi-point effort of 2016-17, in a 6-3 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings Feb. 12. The 34-year-old Repentigny, Que., native has 10-25-35 in 55 outings this season, including 2-7-9 during a five-game point streak.

SECOND STAR - JAKE ALLEN, G, ST. LOUIS BLUES

Allen went 3-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average, .967 save percentage and one shutout to propel the Blues (29-22-5, 63 points) to a perfect week and third place in the Central Division. He earned his 13th career shutout with 30 saves in a 6-0 win over the Ottawa Senators Feb. 7. Allen then made 31 stops in a 2-1 overtime victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs Feb. 9 and 28 saves in a 4-2 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens Feb. 11. The 26-year-old Fredericton, N.B., native owns a 21-14-3 record with a 2.67 goals-against average, .904 save percentage and two shutouts in 41 appearances this season.

THIRD STAR - VIKTOR ARVIDSSON, LW, NASHVILLE PREDATORS

Arvidsson shared the League lead in goals (5) and ranked second in points (7) to guide the Predators (27-21-8, 62 points) to a split of their four games. He posted 2-1-3, his second career three-point performance, in a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks Feb. 7. Arvidsson was held off the scoresheet in a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers Feb. 9, but rebounded with his first career hat trick in a 7-4 defeat against the Florida Panthers Feb. 11 and one assist in a 5-3 win over the Dallas Stars Feb. 12. The 23-year-old Skellefteå, Sweden, native ranks second on the Predators with 18-21-39 in 54 contests this season after totaling 8-8-16 in his first 62 career games.

- NHL Public Relations

Allen, Blues defeat Sharks in Game 4

Game Recap from NHL.com.

SAN JOSE -- Goaltender Jake Allen provided the momentum change the St. Louis Blues were looking for in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final at SAP Center on Saturday.

Allen made 31 saves in his first start of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Kyle Brodziakand Troy Brouwer each scored two goals, and the Blues defeated the San Jose Sharks 6-3 to tie the best-of-7 series 2-2.

Game 5 is at Scottrade Center in St. Louis on Monday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, NBCSN, TVA Sports).

Allen started instead of Brian Elliott, a move coach Ken Hitchcock hoped would help St. Louis recapture an edge in the series. Hitchcock also shuffled his top three lines, leaving only the fourth line from Game 3 intact: Brodziak centered Dimitrij Jaskin andMagnus Paajarvi.

"He gave us exactly what we needed," Hitchcock said of Allen. "He's a competitive son of a gun. We needed a battler in there. We needed somebody to really help us play better defense. We played with more passion in front of him in our own zone because I made the goalie change. I had to make that decision.

"I just felt like we were allowing them too much open space with [Elliott] in there, and [he] was getting bombarded. We needed to just dig in a little bit deeper defensively if we were going to have a chance in this series."

Hitchcock said he'll wait until Sunday to name a starting goaltender for Game 5, but Allen appeared to have earned that role.

Sharks goaltender Martin Jones, who was coming off back-to-back shutouts, gave up four goals on 19 shots and was pulled at 10:11 of the second period with San Jose trailing 4-0. He was replaced by James Reimer, who allowed one goal on seven shots in his first playoff appearance with San Jose.

Joe Pavelski, Chris Tierney and Melker Karlsson scored in the third period for the Sharks, who outshot the Blues 16-5 in the period.

"We got away from our game," Sharks forward Tommy Wingels said. "Our game is going north with it, it's making plays when they're there. It's getting pucks past their [defensemen], through the neutral zone and in on the forecheck. And we got away from that. We turned pucks over, we turned it into a track meet for the first 20-30 minutes, and this team's not going to win when we play that way."

The Blues, on the other hand, got back to playing their strong, no-frills game.

"It's two teams that want to play pretty similar, possess the puck in the other team's end, and it seems whoever has controlled that has really controlled the games," St. Louis defenseman Jay Bouwmeester said.

The Blues took a 1-0 lead at 6:14 of the first period on Brouwer's power-play goal withBrent Burns in the penalty box for trippingJaden Schwartz.

Robby Fabbri sent a pass from below the goal line to Brouwer, and he beat Jones with a wrist shot from the right circle to the far side for his sixth goal of the playoffs.

The goal was St. Louis' first since 9:15 of the second period of Game 1 when Lehtera scored in a 2-1 victory. It ended San Jose's streak of eight penalty kills in the series.

Jones' shutout streak ended at 153:57, short of Evgeni Nabokov's Sharks record of 178:14 set in 2004.

St. Louis extended its lead to 2-0 when Jori Lehtera scored from the slot at 10:11 of the first period. Jones made a diving stick save of Fabbri's shot from the low left circle, but Lehtera capitalized on a Burns turnover and beat Jones with a wrist shot.

Brodziak made it 3-0 at 6:09 of the second period with a shorthanded goal, his first goal of the playoffs. A long pass by Sharks forward Joe Thornton turned into a turnover in the offensive zone, igniting a 2-on-1 rush the other way. Schwartz made a cross-ice pass, and Brodziak beat Jones from the right circle to the upper left corner of the net.

"He made a great pass over to me," Brodziak said. "Fortunately I was able to put it in the net. It feels good to chip in."

Brodziak scored again at 10:11, taking a pass from Jaskin and beating Jones from the left circle through the five-hole.

Allen, who hadn't started a game since April 3, said he was ready.

"I've tried to practice as hard as I can," he said. "My comfort level is really high, and I felt confident out there."

Pavelski made it 4-1 at 1:05 of the third period with his playoff-leading 10th goal. He tapped in a pass from Thornton from along the left boards.

Brouwer redirected Alexander Steen's shot from the point past Reimer for a power-play goal at 3:55, making it 5-1.

"We knew they were going to come out like that," Tierney said. "The problem was our game. We weren't hard enough. We didn't do the little things. We were lazy a couple times. We made a bad change, our line, on the second [goal]. Just stuff like that we usually don't do.

"They came out harder and outworked us tonight. We were lazy. They were beating us inside, at their net, along the walls. It seemed like we got outbattled early, and we could never really recover from it."

Tierney scored an unassisted goal on a sharp-angle shot at 6:57 of the third. Alex Pietrangelo scored into an empty net at 15:39 for St. Louis, and Karlsson scored an unassisted goal from close range at 16:28 for San Jose.

"We have to play a lot of the way we played today if we expect to win," Hitchcock said. "We played fast. We played physical. We created turnovers. We have to play like that. If we do it like that, continue down this path, I like our chances. I like our chances to win."

Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said he expects his team to bounce back.

"We've been consistently good for a while," DeBoer said. "We didn't execute tonight. We got burnt. We got what we deserved because of our execution. Short memory. We'll move on to the next game. We've had one or two of these games throughout the playoffs and we've always responded the right way."

Blues captain David Backes didn't play in the final two periods after sustaining an undisclosed injury in the first. Fabbri did not play the final 16:05. Hitchcock said he expects them to be ready for Game 5.

Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson, who was scratched in Game 3, returned to the lineup in place of Robert Bortuzzo