The weekend certainly had its share of exciting matchups. The Pittsburgh Penguins continued to roll, even without their all-world center Evgeni Malkin. Their rivalry game against in-state foe Philadelphia went to overtime before Tyler Kennedy extended the winning streak to 12.

The Detroit Red Wings swept a two game, away mini-series with the secon-best (by record) team in the NHL. The miniature fairy tale unbeaten (in regulation) run by the Columbus Blue Jackets finally came to an end. The Tampa Bay Lightning unofficially threw in the towel on their season by firing coach Guy Boucher.

The Northwest Division is officially competitive with the Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild each owning winning streaks of at least four games. The Washington Capitals appear poised to make a run to the playoffs and the New York Rangers look like they might need some CPR to revive their season.

There’s a trade deadline coming up on April third and the Pittsburgh Penguins have already made a move, acquiring Brenden Morrow from the Dallas Stars for prospects and a draft pick. We’ll keep an eye on the buyers and sellers in the next ten days. Here are your three stars from this past weekend.
 

3rd Star: Niklas Backstrom, Goalie, Minnesota Wild

The Wild have won their last five and are sitting right behind Vancouver for the top spot in the division. Backstrom was brilliant on Saturday, stopping 33 shots for his first shutout of the season against the San Jose Sharks.

2nd Star: Alexander Ovechkin, Left Wing, Washington Capitals

With the Washington Capitals’ season hanging in the balance, Ovechkin has put the team on his back and led them to wins in their last three games. After sweeping two games in Winnipeg, Ovechkin helped the Capitals take a shootout win in New York against the Rangers.

1st Star: Jimmy Howard, G, Detroit Red Wings

Detroit has won four consecutive road games for the first time since 2011. Thanks to Jimmy Howard they’ll have a chance to make it five on Monday night. Howard stopped 66 of 68 shots sweeping the number two team in the conference on their ice.