NHL Playoffs 2012: Monday Night's 3 Stars

It was another exciting night in playoff hockey as three series shifted venues. 

That being said, the home teams couldn't muster up anything as all three road teams won their respective games.

The Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals exploded for seven combined goals after a silent start to the playoffs. A late goal by Zdeno Chara gave Boston the game and the 2-1 series lead.

North of the border, the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators played a nail-biting thriller which was won by Brian Boyle's goal late in the third period.

Finally, out west, the St. Louis Blues showed that they weren't fazed by the wild crowd at San Jose's HP Pavilion as they downed the San Jose Sharks despite a late rally by the Sharks. 

Here are a few honorable mentions for the three stars:

Brooks Laich: The Capitals forward figured in all three goals for the Capitals as he scored a goal and dished two assists in Washington's loss. You definitely can't blame him for their loss.

Brian Boyle: Boyle's goal in the middle of the third period figured to be the only one in the Rangers 1-0 victory over the Senators. He was in the right place at the right time as he shot home a rebound to give his team the lead that would give them a 2-1 advantage in their series. It was his third goal of the playoffs.

Carlo Colaiacovo: Colaiacovo was active for the Blues, dishing out three assists, two of them on the power play, in the Blues win over the Sharks. He also blocked four shots defensively. He was instrumental on both sides of the ice for the Blues, who are now up 2-1 against the Sharks. 

3. Andy McDonald

After losing home advantage to the San Jose Sharks in Game 1, the Blues bounced back in two consecutive games to claim the series lead.

On Monday night, Andy McDonald had a lot to do with the Blues success. He scored a goal and added two assists in the Blues victory.

His goal early in the second period gave the Blues momentum in the middle frame and they added a goal later in the period for extra cushion.

Finally, McDonald set up a goal early in the third period which sucked the life out of the Sharks temporarily. The Sharks finally got going in the last few minutes of the third period and scored two goals, but the Blues barely survived because of their insurance goals and secured the win. 

2. Zdeno Chara

Zdeno Chara played a major role in Boston's Stanley Cup run last season. He continued his success on Monday night when he scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal with 1:53 remaining in the third period.

The one-timer from the blue line gave the Bruins a 4-3 lead over the Washington Capitals and a 2-1 series lead. 

Chara did more than score that big goal, though. He also added two assists, had seven hits and logged almost 27 minutes of ice time for the Bruins.

That's a solid day of work for the big man.

1. Henrik Lundqvist

If Henrik Lundqvist plays the way he did tonight for the rest of the playoffs, the New York Rangers are going to be an awfully difficult team to beat.

In a hostile road environment, Lundqvist stopped 39 shots and recorded a shutout in the Rangers 1-0 victory over Ottawa. His magnificence in net allowed the Rangers to stay in the game.

Once the Rangers took the lead, Lundqvist upped his game and survived an Ottawa onslaught in the third period, where the Senators outshot New York, 14-7.

Lundqvist was also instrumental in keeping the Senators power play scoreless, as they were 0-for-3 with the man advantage.