Kucherov, Crawford, Hayes named NHL's 3 stars

As is tradition Monday mid-day, the NHL's released its three stars for the week that was.

Nikita Kucherov earned first-star status, scoring three goals and sharing the league lead with seven points. He helped his Tampa Bay Lightning bag two wins and an additional point in a shootout loss to the Boston Bruins. He vaulted to third in league scoring, upping his season total to 15 points.

Corey Crawford had another brilliant week in the Chicago Blackhawks' cage. The goaltender won all three of his starts, highlighted by a 38-save shutout of the Colorado Avalanche to earn the NHL's second star. He's allowed seven goals in his last six starts, helping the Blackhawks to 11 points over that stretch.

Kevin Hayes has been the hottest of the New York Rangers scorers. He notched four goals and two assists last week, leading an offense that produced 20 goals in four games over the last seven days. The NHL's third star is already up to a third of his total production from last season with 12 points.