Smith, Stamkos, Crosby named NHL's 'Three Stars'

Apr 9, 2012 - 4:10 PM New York, NY (Sports Network) - Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby were named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the final week of the regular season.

Smith helped vault the Coyotes to their first-ever division title by going 3-0-0 with a 0.67 goals-against average, .982 save percentage and one shutout.

The 30-year-old Ontario native set an NHL record for most saves in a regular- season whitewash with a 54-save performance in a 2-0 win over Columbus on April 3, and eventually put together a shutout streak of 234 minutes, 25 seconds.

Stamkos, the "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner, posted four goals and five points last week to earn Second Star honors. The fourth-year center picked up his 60th goal of the season in a 4-3 overtime win at Winnipeg last Saturday, becoming just the second player (Alex Ovechkin in 2007-08) to reach the plateau since 1996.

Third Star went to Crosby, who recorded six points in his club's final three games to ensure the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. His best performance of the week came on April 3, with two goals and a helper in a 5-3 win at Boston.