NEW YORK — Minnesota Wild centre Eric Staal, Pittsburgh Penguins centre Evgeni Malkin and Vegas Golden Knights right-wing Reilly Smith have been named the NHL's three stars for the month of February.
Staal paced the league with 21 points (13 goals, eight assists) in 13 games to propel the Wild to a 9-2-2 February and into third place in the Central Division.
He registered at least one point in 11 of his 13 appearances, highlighted by his fifth career five-point effort and 14th career hat trick in an 8-3 win over St. Louis on Tuesday.
Malkin placed third in the NHL in both goals (10) and points (21) to power the Penguins to an 8-3-1 February. He collected at least one point in 10 of his 12 contests, highlighted by four three-point efforts.
Smith ranked fourth in the NHL with 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 14 games as the Golden Knights went 8-5-1 in February to maintain first place in the Pacific Division. He picked up at least one point in 12 of his 14 appearances and had a seven-game point streak from Feb. 4-17.
Earlier Thursday, Tampa Bay forward Yanni Gourde was named the league's top rookie for February after posting 16 points in 14 games for the league-leading Lightning.
The Canadian Press
