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Posted: Sunday May 2, 2010 11:24PM; Updated: Sunday May 2, 2010 11:24PM
Allan Muir
Allan Muir>INSIDE THE NHL

Red-hot Pavelski leads Sunday's Three Stars

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Joe Pavelski (8) scored twice to give him a playoffs-best nine goals.
Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images

1. Joe Pavelski, Sharks. Ladies and gentlemen and poolies everywhere: your (entirely unexpected) goals leader for the playoffs. Pavelski continued his blistering scoring pace with a pair of markers -- giving him nine for the postseason -- to pace San Jose to a 4-3 win over Detroit on Sunday night. Little Joe was almost as dynamite starting the play (he was 13 of 16 in the face-off circle) as he was finishing it. Tonight marked his third consecutive multi-goal game, most in the playoffs since 1992.

2. Mike Cammalleri, Canadiens. With a pair of goals in Sunday's 3-1 win over the Pens, the pint-sized winger now has eight on the postseason ... and he hasn't sacrificed quality for quantity. His first of the afternoon not only stood up as the game winner, but gave sportscast producers everywhere an easy choice for the highlight of the night. Driving hard to the net on a second period power play, Cammalleri pounced on a puck that had just deflected off Pittsburgh defender Mark Eaton and was bouncing in the Pittsburgh crease. He kicked the biscuit up with his left foot then swatted it out of mid-air past Marc-Andre Fleury to give Montreal a 2-1 lead. He later added an insurance goal, picking off an errant Sidney Crosby pass before beating Fleury with a quick wrister.

3. Jaroslav Halak, Canadiens. Pittsburgh's power play shredded the Habs for four goals in Game 1. This time around? Shut out on three chances. Full marks to all of Montreal's penalty killers (especially the surprisingly effective P.K. Subban), but the star of the show was Halak. The netminder rebounded magnificently from his disappointing performance on Friday to heighten the unit's effectiveness this afternoon. In all, Halak ended up with 38 saves in Game 2, including a couple of spectacular stops in the dying minutes on Evgeni Malkin and Tyler Kennedy that helped seal the deal for the Habs.

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