Three Stars of the Night: Olympic Edition, Feb. 17, '10

This article was originally published on Hockey Primetime.

First Star

Jarome Iginla, Canada — What was this talk this season about Iginla slowing down? The Calgary Flames captain had a hat trick that sparked Team Canada to a 8-0 victory over Norway, despite a slow start that saw them not score a goal until the second period. Iggy opened the scoring with a power-play goal early in the second, then added two more in the third to cap a memorable night.

Second Star

Alexander Ovechkin, Russia — Alex the Great picked up in the Olympics right where he left off in the NHL season and showed everybody that he does everything well, but one thing very, very well: score goals.  Ovie scored with just over 30 seconds left in the first period with what would end up being the game-winner, and answered just 26 seconds after Latvia’s first goal in the third period, squashing any hope that the underdogs might have had for a comeback.

Third Star

Sidney Crosby, Team Canada — I think that The Kid found someone that he works with.  After all of the talk of the chemistry between Crosby and Patrice Bergeron, Sid found chemistry with a different line-mate, assisting on all three of Iginla’s goals and playing his general, solid all-around game.  But, come on. 

What would the Olympics be without the ensuing debate of who helped their team more: Crosby or Ovechkin?