NHL Playoffs 2012: Sunday's 3 Stars

The Vancouver Canucks and the Pittsburgh Penguins were projected by many (including myself) to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Los Angeles Kings and the Philadelphia Flyers are making the pundits look like idiots.

The Flyers won a fight-filled affair on Sunday afternoon to take a 3-0 lead over the Penguins. The Kings, meanwhile, got the help of a Jonathan Quick shutout to open up their own commanding 3-0 lead over the Canucks.

In other action, the rats came flying down from the stands in South Beach as the Florida Panthers won their first playoff game in ages. 

The Nashville Predators also earned a hard-fought victory in Game 3, taking advantage of a slow start by the Detroit Red Wings, to take a 2-1 series lead.

Here are some honorable mentions for Sunday night's three stars:

Shea Weber: After a controversial hit earlier in the series, Weber came out with a huge goal in the first period on the power play to give the Predators some momentum on the road. They would later go on to win, 3-2.

Jaromir Jagr and Max Talbot: The two former Pittsburgh Penguins haunted their former team in a big way. Talbot scored two goals and Jagr added three assists, including a dazzling one-handed pass to set up a goal early in the third period to put the game out of reach.

Matt Read: Behind all the fighting and destruction on the ice, Read scored two goals of his own for the Flyers in their huge win.

Claude Giroux: He scored, he dished and he dropped the gloves. Giroux had the Gordie Howe hat trick on Sunday afternoon with a goal, assist and seven penalty minutes. 

Dustin Brown: The Kings forward scored on a rebound in the third period to give them a 1-0 lead they would not relinquish. 

And without further ado, here are the three stars from Sunday.

3. Stephen Weiss

The Florida Panthers hadn't won a playoff game since 1997 coming into tonight. Stephen Weiss, the longest tenured Cat, had been with the team through all the down years.

It's fitting that he's the one who led the charge to help his team get their first playoff win in ages. 

Weiss started the scoring early just 23 seconds into the first period on the power play on a rebound. Then, early in the second, he added to the lead with another rebound goal. 

The New Jersey Devils would make a comeback, but it wouldn't be enough. The Panthers now head to Jersey with a win under their belt. 

2. Danny Briere

Danny Briere's second goal gave the Philadelphia Flyers a 3-1 lead and it might as well have ended the series.

After the goal, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost their cool and engaged in roughhousing for the remainder of the first period. As a result, Arron Asham and Kris Letang were both ejected and Sidney Crosby was lost for five minutes due to fighting.

Briere's early goal scoring brought the crowd into the game, took the Penguins out of it and gave the Flyers a boost in momentum to become one step closer in advancing to the second round. 

1. Jonathan Quick

Coming into the series, one would think that the Vancouver Canucks had the slight goaltending advantage with Roberto Luongo right?

Wrong.

While Luongo watched his backup, Cory Schneider, take his place in Game 3 for the Canucks, his counterpart, Jonathan Quick, was lights out for the third straight game.

After making 48 saves in Game 2's victory, Quick stopped 41 more in Southern California as the Los Angeles Kings stunned the Canucks again, opening up a 3-0 series lead.

Quick was sprawling left and right, keeping the Kings in the game until Dustin Brown scored in the third period to give the team a lead they wouldn't give up.

There is no doubt that Quick stood on his head on Sunday night and they'll need him to continue to do so if they're going to wrap up this series.