No. 1 star: Michael Rupp(notes), Pittsburgh Penguins

Rupp's first NHL hat-trick gave the Penguins a 5-2 victory at MSG, sweeping a home-and-home with the New York Rangers. His first goal was a second effort past Henrik Lundqvist(notes) (28 saves). His second came after a startling end-to-end rush on left wing. But his chance for a trick was threatened after his left knee was crunched against the boards by Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi. Yet Rupp returned with a sore knee, completing the trick with an empty-netter. When a player is the story of a game in which Sidney Crosby(notes) and Marian Gaborik(notes) both score two goals, it's a special night.

No. 2 Star: Ryan Miller(notes), Buffalo Sabres

Miller stopped all 38 shots he faced in shutting out the Toronto Maple Leafs, a.k.a. the team managed by U.S. Olympic decision-makers Brian Burke and Ron Wilson. Coach Wilson said: "I hope he plays like this in February." Miller was the story for the first two periods, as goals by Tim Kennedy(notes), Henrik Tallinder(notes) and Jochen Hecht(notes) eventually made it a 3-0 Buffalo victory.

No. 3 Star: R.J. Umberger(notes), Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets forward tallied a hat trick with a goal in the first, at 5:20 of the third (the eventual game-winner) and an empty-netter at 19:41 of the third in Columbus's 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. Umberger ended up with a four-point night, assisting on Antoine Vermette's goal late in the third, which was also an empty-netter. His last plus-4 effort? Dec. 11, 2007 against the Penguins while with the Flyers.

Honorable mention: While the story of the night was Alex Ovechkin's(notes) knee-on-knee hit on Tim Gleason(notes), subsequent injury and game misconduct with 7:55 left in the first period, the Washington Capitals still had a game to play without their star. Nicklas Backstrom(notes) had two goals and an assist in the Caps' 3-2 win at the Carolina Hurricanes. ... Matt Duchene(notes) scored twice and Craig Anderson(notes) made 33 saves in shutting out the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-0, on the road. ... In the third shutout of the night, Miikka Kiprusoff(notes) made 22 saves as the Calgary Flames dominated the Nashville Predators, 5-0, to move to 10-1-3 on the road this season. ... Drew Miller(notes), Darren Helm(notes), Danny Cleary(notes) and Todd Bertuzzi(notes) scored for the Detroit Red Wings in their 4-1 victory at the Dallas Stars, as Jimmy Howard(notes) made 29 saves. ... Finally, on another night this Maxim Afinogenov(notes) game-winning goal with six seconds left in the third period would have earned him a star. Great pass by Nik Antropov(notes), great finish by Max for his 11th on the season. The Atlanta Thrashers defeated the Florida Panthers, 4-3, on what was a rather surreal night for the Cats (see below).

Did you know?: Marty Turco's(notes) career record at Joe Louis Arena is 1-9-2.

Dishonorable mention: Carolina's Joe Corvo(notes) was cut on the leg by the Capitals' Karl Alzner(notes) and taken to the hospital. ... The Thrash are fifth in the East. Attendance on Monday night was an announced crowd of 10,310, which the AP said was the smallest of the season. Time for some fannies in those seats. ... Chris Higgins was a minus-4 for the Rangers. ... Ovechkin's hit on Gleason has sparked a heck of a debate about what additional punishment he should receive; a debate clouded by his knee injury, which will be evaluated on Tuesday. ... Finally, Keith Ballard(notes) opted not to talk to the media after accidently whacking teammate Tomas Vokoun(notes) with his stick out of frustration (video), knocking the goalie out of the game and into the hospital. Vokoun received stitches on his lacerated ear and the team says he'll be OK. Can't wait until Ballard does speak to the press, so we can find out why he swung his stick a second time after that Gallagher/watermelon routine with Vokoun's noggin.