It seems oddly appropriate that Lee Stempniak would be named the first star for the month of March on April Fool’s Day. (By the way, I can’t speak for Brandon or Joe, but I see little point in trying to run some kind of prank today. Seems like a waste of energy, but perhaps I’m wrong.) Stempniak’s wild post-trade transformation for the Phoenix Coyotes has been absolutely stunning. He was named the first star while Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard received second star honors and possible Hart trophy nominee Henrik Sedin took the third spot. Let’s take a look at some of the stats and a highlight for each player.
Lee Stempniak: Since being traded to the Coyotes, Stempniak scored a stunning 13 goals in only 14 games. This insane run helped him to meet his career high in goals (27) that he set in the 2006-07 season as a member of the St. Louis Bues. Here’s one of his more exciting goals. NHL.com has a gallery of every one of his tallies, if you want to see more.
Jimmy Howard: Howard has generated some Calder trophy (and even in some areas, Hart and Vezina trophy buzz) for his outstanding play for the Detroit Red Wings. He’s been a catalyst for the team’s red hot run lately, with a 2.24 GAA and a 91.8 % save percentage in the month of March. Once again, NHL.com has a bunch of highlights of his saves. Here’s one of my favorites.
Henrik Sedin: Yesterday, I dissected the unheralded Swede’s amazing assist-heavy season. He lead the league in scoring during the month with 4 goals and 20 assists. Along with being No. 1 in the NHL right now with 104 points, he’s also apparently the Canucks’ all-time highest scoring center. Not bad for a goofy looking ginger twin. Check out his heads up play on an Ilya Bryzgalov blunder.