2011 NHL Playoffs: Wednesday's Game 1 Stars of the Night

Some incredible NHL games were played to open the first round last night. Hard-fought overtime games, dominating performances, big saves, snipes and celebs were all available to watch in a great start to the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

I watched as much of every game as I could (I had a hockey game of my own last night, so cut me some slack if I miss something) but I'm going to go over the stars of the game for each team in the five games from last night.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Dwayne Roloson

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PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 13: Dwayne Roloson #35 of the Tampa Bay Lightning makes a save against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on April 13, 2011 in

The Lightning may not have won Game 1 but they sure did put forth a valiant effort, none more so than by Dwayne Roloson.

The 41-year-old goaltender again proved that he has still got it and if his team could have maybe penetrated the Penguins net at some point, they may have had a solid chance.

Rolly made a huge 37 saves on 39 shots, most of which were giant saves that any human goaltender would have no chance at saving (except maybe Marc-Andre Fleury...spoiler alert). It took until almost midway through the third for the Pens to break the wall down.

If Roloson can play like that while his team learns how to put pucks in at the other end, the Lightning may be able to come back from this deficit.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc-Andre Fleury

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PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 13: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a save on Vincent Lecavalier #4 of the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Cent

It's tough to argue with a shutout. The Penguins had a solid game all around but it took nearly 45 minutes for them to put a puck past Dwayne Roloson on the other end.

While the Pens took their sweet time to figure out how to break down that wall, Marc-Andre Fleury put up a wall of his own and kept the Pens in the game with some huge saves.

"Flower" always puts on a show, and with his lateral movement and relentless effort it's a wonder teams can ever score. Thirty-two shots faced and 32 saves in a scoreless game up until the third period? Good enough for first star to me.

Phoenix Coyotes: Kyle Turris

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DETROIT, MI - APRIL 13: Kyle Turris #91 of the Phoenix Coyotes celebrates his first period goal with teammate Shane Doan #19 as theyplay the Detroit Red Wings in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at

I had the opportunity to watch this entire game and personally I believe the Coyotes got dominated for two solid periods. But for the first period it was quite the opposite, with Kyle Turris seemingly everywhere.

Shane Doan always has an effect out there being the pest that he is, but I have a feeling he'll get in a such a slideshow sometime during this series, so why not give this one to the guy who brought the Yotes some major hope in the first.

Turris played very well in the offensive end and had a good amount of chances, including putting in the game's first goal for his first playoff goal. Congrats on that.

Detroit Red Wings: Jimmy Howard

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DETROIT, MI - APRIL 13: Shane Doan #19 of the Phoenix Coyotes is stopped on a shorthanded breakaway by Jimmy Howard #35 of the Detroit Red Wings as they play in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at

I know a lot of people may disagree on this one, but let me explain my point here.

Yes, Johan Franzen got a big goal and so did Pavel Datsyuk and personally they both deserve a star, but Jimmy Howard stood tall when it really meant the most.

Detroit was down 1-0 midway through the first and took about 100 penalties in a span of 10 minutes. Howard had three HUGE saves in particular that kept the score at 1-0. If the Coyotes could have put one more goal in while on their 5-on-3 power play, it would have altered the ending of this one going into the second down 2-0.

Howard is probably the most criticized goalie coming into these playoffs, but he did a spectacular job silencing those critics at least for today.

New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist

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WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 13: Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers comes up with a first period save on Mike Green #52 of the Washington Capitals (not shown) in Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

I hate making these articles all about the goaltenders, but how can you not give this one to Henrik Lundqvist?

He came up huge most of the game when most of the play was in the Rangers zone. I did catch bits and pieces of this one and every time I did it seemed like Henrik was making another big save.

The Rangers are definitely the underdogs in this one regardless of the season series, but Lundqvist is the X-factor, as you could see last night. He gave the Rangers a chance to win, which is all you can ask for from your goaltender.

Washington Capitals: Alexander Semin

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WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 13: Alexander Semin #28 of the Washington Capitals scores the game winning goal at 18:24 of overtime against the New York Rangers in Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Veriz

Well it looks like he decided to show up to this game. Semin has seemed to only show up to the games he wants to this year, and good thing he wanted to last night.

He did all the work on the goal that Alexander Ovechkin chipped in and of course let loose with a haymaker in OT to give Game 1 to the Caps. He had a solid offensive effort for most of the game and finished with four shots on net.

It looks like the Caps' big guns are finally looking to make something of a playoff run this year and they started with a solid game last night.

Chicago Blackhawks: Patrick Sharp

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VANCOUVER, CANADA - FEBRUARY 4: Patrick Sharp #10 of the Chicago Blackhawks chases the loose puck with Cody Hodgson #39 of the Vancouver Canucks in pursuit during the third period in NHL action on February 04, 2011 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Co

Corey Crawford could have gotten this slide but I thought Patrick Sharp played a solid game for the Hawks. He may have been a minus-two and probably could have played a bit better defensively, but he had four shots on net and was involved in anything that went toward Roberto Luongo.

The Blackhawks really did not play a bad game; they had a tough deflection matched with one disastrous giveaway that took them out. It didn't help that Luongo looked like his regular-season self, but it was still a solid offensive effort by Sharp.

I wouldn't count the Hawks out just yet.

Vancouver Canucks: Ryan Kesler

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VANCOUVER, CANADA - FEBRUARY 4: Ryan Kesler #17 of the Vancouver Canucks tries to poke the puck away from Tomas Kopecky #82 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the first period in NHL action on February 04, 2011 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia

I thought Ryan Kesler was the best player on the ice for the Canucks, both offensively and defensively.

He assisted on the first goal while screening Crawford and, if shin pads could get an assist, he would have one on the second goal as well. But even without the assists, he had several good defensive plays.

He won 50 percent of his faceoffs, which was tops among his team, and had five solid shots on goal. Even in NHL.com's highlight reel you saw his No. 17 in almost every clip. It was definitely a solid game from Kesler.

Anaheim Ducks: Teemu Selanne

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ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 13: Goaltender Pekka Rinne #35 of the Nashville Predators makes a save on a shot by Teemu Selanne #8 of the Anaheim Ducks in the first period of Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff

It was a tough game for the Ducks as anything they got going, it seemed Pekka Rinne was there to keep it out.

Many people assumed goaltending would be a big question mark for the Ducks during this series, and that seems to be the case as Dan Ellis was less than terrific.

Teemu Selanne, however, looked like the youngest guy out there, playing with more heart than a rookie. He had some solid chances just being in the right place at the right time and put in the Ducks' only goal of the game.

If the rest of the Ducks could take a few notes from this guy, maybe they'll have a chance. It was a great game from the granddaddy of the Ducks.

Nashville Predators: Mike Fisher

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ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 13: Mike Fisher #12 of the Nashville Predators is checked by Francois Beauchemin #23 of the Anaheim Ducks in the third period of Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Honda Center

This guy could have won the game on his own with two goals, including a laser snipe past Dan Ellis, and he chipped in an assist to go with it.

The Preds are happy they picked up this guy at the trade deadline as he lead the way to a dominating Predators victory in Game 1. If they can keep this up they might be able to make my prediction of a Nashville upset in the first round come true, and, more importantly, help the Predators get their first-ever playoff series.