It’s pretty rare when a guy can make his case for player of the week based around just one game but that’s exactly what Detroit’s Johan Franzen did with his five-goal game against Ottawa. Franzen was named the NHL’s number one star of the week thanks to his goal explosion and the Mule-Trick was the NHL’s first five-goal game since 2007 when Marian Gaborik scored five with the Wild against the Rangers.
Catching the runner up prizes this week were Vancouver’s Mikael Samuelsson as the number two star and Anaheim’s Corey Perry as the number three star of the week. Samuelsson led the NHL in scoring last week with two goals and four assists helping the Canucks go 3-0-0 on the week.
Perry had a hat trick of his own coming against Colorado last week. He also had two assists in a 4-3 loss to the Sharks. For Perry, it’s been a breakout season for him and one that’s seen him thrive while Ryan Getzlaf has been out of the lineup with sinus fractures. His 56 points leads the Ducks in scoring and puts him seventh in the NHL. He’s just four goals shy of his career high of 32.