Three Stars: Richards, Smyth, and Witt double down in victories

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November 3, 2009

No. 1 Star: Ryan Smyth (notes), Los Angeles Kings

Mr. Smyth went to the desert and had himself a night. In front of a sparce Phoenix crowd (announce attendance: 5,855), Smyth scored twice, including the empty-net insurance marker with with :39 seconds remaining in a 5-3 Kings win. "Captain Canada" also on LA’s first goal and Justin Williams’(notes) game-tying goal in the third period.

No. 2 star: Brendan Witt (notes), New York Islanders

Brendan Witt almost never scores, but tonight he doubled his pleasure popping in two second period goals in a 3-1 Islanders in over Edmonton. It had been 92 games since the Islanders blueliner had scored, dating back to January of 2008. New York’s win now gives them a 5-1-2 record in their past eight games and into seventh in the Eastern Conference.

No. 3 star: Mike Richards (notes), Philadelphia Flyers

Ending his six-game goal scoring drought, the Flyers captain netted two goals and added an assist during Philly’s late-matinee rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2. Richards was one of three Flyers to net three-points on the night joining Jeff Carter (notes) (2 goals, 1 assist), Scott Hartnell (notes) (1 goal, 2 assists) and James van Riemsdyk (notes) (3 assists).

Honorable mention: van Riemsdyk’s three assists give him 10 points through nine games and place him atop the rookie scoring list … Steven Stamkos’(notes) goal gives him eight in his last six games … Rookie David Laliberte (notes) became the fifth Flyer in franchise history to score in his first two NHL games … Dwayne Roloson (notes) made 22 saves for the Islanders improving his record to 4-0-1 in his last five starts … Drew Doughty’s (notes) third goal of the season with 4:51 remaining broke the Coyotes backs and gave Los Angeles a 4-3 lead after going down 3-1 midway through the second period … Anze Kopitar (notes) took back the NHL’s points lead with a goal and two assists … Despite the loss, Phoenix captain potted a goal and added an assist … Scottie Upshall (notes) scored his 50th career NHL goal.

Did you know?: The Flyers have scored first in 10 of their last 12 games (AP).

Dishonorable mention: The Coyotes defense couldn’t prevent the Kings comeback being outshot 12-4 in the third period and allowing three goals … Matthew Lombardi (notes), Denis Grebeshkov (notes), Taylor Chorney (notes), Todd Fedoruk (notes), and Vincent Lecavalier (notes) were all minus-3 … Mike Smith (notes) allowed 5 goals on 18 shots before being chased.