1. Alexei Kovalev, Canadiens:
His retaliatory slash of Aaron Ward on a third-period penalty kill gave the Bruins a five-on-three advantage and paved the way for Boston's tying goal. But just as he was being fitted for the goat horns, the NHL's leading scorer with the man advantage made amends with slapshot of his own that lifted the Canadiens to a 3-2 overtime win and a 2-0 series lead.
2. Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings:
Though he only had one assist, Datsyuk was clearly the impact player during Detroit's 4-2 win over Nashville. He won 10 of 15 faceoffs, had two takeaways, delivered three hits, and consistently set the Predators back on their heels with his speed and playmaking.
3. Mike Ribeiro, Stars:
His breakaway goal opened the scoring and sucked the life out of the home crowd, but it was his pair of power play assists, including on Mike Modano's third-period game winner, that better exemplified what he brought to the game. He brought the passion out last night and single-handedly overwhelmed the Ducks.
12 years ago
