Friday’s Three Stars: Sens, Pens blank; rough night for Florida

No. 1 Star: Craig Anderson(notes), Ottawa Senators

Anderson stopped 31 shots, including 12 in the third period, as the Senators upset the Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals, 2-0, who had won 11 of their last 12. It's his second shutout of the season and with the Senators. He has now allowed one goal or less in 9 of the 13 games he's played with Ottawa.

No. 2 Star: Drew Stafford(notes), Buffalo Sabres

Stafford was clutch for the Sabres in their 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers. He broke a 1-1 tie in the second period by finishing off a nice passing play with Brad Boyes(notes) and Tyler Ennis(notes). In the third, he put the game away by scoring 13 seconds after he assisted on teammate Jordan Leopold's(notes) power-play goal. It was Stafford's fifth multi-goal game in 2011.

No. 3 Star: Marc-Andre Fleury(notes), Pittsburgh Penguins

The King of March 25 struck again. Fleury made 21 saves and pitched his fourth shutout in five seasons on that date, blanking the New Jersey Devils, 1-0, in the shootout. James Neal(notes) had the lone goal in the skills competition. The Penguins goalie faced one shot in a first period that saw his team put just three shots on Marty Brodeur (26 saves).

Honorable mention: Huge win for the Carolina Hurricanes to keep pace for the playoffs, topping the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-3. Erik Cole(notes) had two goals and Eric Staal(notes) scored a power-play goal and added an assist. Simon Gagne(notes) scored two power-play goals for the Bolts, who saw Dwayne Roloson(notes) peppered with 39 shots. … Roberto Luongo(notes) made 30 saves, including 12 in the third, as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-1. Mason Raymond(notes), Alex Bolduc and Alex Burrows had the goals. Bryan Little(notes) scored unassisted for the Thrash. … Colin Greening(notes) scored a goal that went to the review booth and Erik Condra(notes) had the other tally for the Sens. … Sergei Samsonov's(notes) goal gave him 10 points in 13 games since being acquired by the Panthers.

Did you know? Samsonov's goal 4:01 into the game ended the Panthers' scoring drought at 135:35. (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Close call for David Booth(notes) tonight. The Panthers forward took a puck to the throat with 2:31 left in the first period, and was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. He was cleared and accompanied the team to Pittsburgh. … The Panthers were eliminated from the playoff race, and will be out of the money for an NHL record 10th consecutive season. Ouch. … "I don't know how Buffalo played, but if they win I think we're done," said Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) after the Devils' loss. And so it was. … Steve Downie(notes) had a 10-minute misconduct for the Lightning. … Finally, Zack Smith(notes) was given 5 for fighting, 2 for instigating and a misconduct for this fight with Matt Bradley(notes). The Caps forward got 2 for boarding and 5 for the fight.

Related: Dwayne Roloson, Colin Greening, Erik Condra, Tyler Ennis, Mason Raymond, David Booth, Eric Staal, Drew Stafford, Steve Downie, James Neal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergei Samsonov, Roberto Luongo, Simon Gagne, Jordan Leopold, Matt Bradley, Erik Cole, Brad Boyes, Craig Anderson, Atlanta Thrashers, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals

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Super glue can't stop blister from ending C.J. Wilson's night

C.J. Wilson(notes) tried everything he could to keep going with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand.

He even poured super glue on it during the second inning to prevent it from popping.

Glue? That's crazy! Perhaps, but it's the World Series — and the Texas Rangers needed him out there in Game 2.

And Wilson's remedy worked, at least until the seventh inning. He and San Francisco's Matt Cain(notes) were working on quite a pitchers' duel. Until...

"My finger ripped open. Usually it's not as bad," [Wilson said after the game.] "I've been super-glueing it the past couple weeks to keep it together and it just kind of ruptured in that at-bat with Cody Ross(notes). [...]

"I couldn't throw anything beside the curveball for a strike."

Armed with only one effective pitch, Wilson told coach Mike Maddux the Rangers were better off using the bullpen. That's up for interpretation; Not long after Wilson left the game, the San Francisco Giants ripped open a big lead on their way to a 9-0 victory.

The Giants are two more victories from baseball heaven and the Rangers are reeling. Even if they launch a comeback and Wilson's turn in the rotation comes up again, what about his finger? More glue?

It's actually not uncommon for major league pitchers to take such lengths to fight blisters. Even glue. It's strong stuff. And very versatile.

The problem with Wilson's solution: Pitching with super glue on your hands is against the rules.

Back in 2003, Montreal Expos right-hander Zach Day was ejected after umpire Bill Miller discovered he had applied super glue to a blister.

From the A.P.'s account:

Under rule 8.02 (b), a pitcher is automatically ejected if he is found with any foreign substance on his fingers.

"We don't really believe the kid thought he was cheating, but that has nothing to do with it," home plate umpire Bill Miller said. "He had a foreign substance on his person and that means he is in violation of this rule."

The exact wording of the rule is somewhat ambiguous — "The pitcher is allowed to rub the ball between his bare hands" — and the propriety of Miller's actions in kicking out Day are still subject to dispute.

Wilson, who was probably unaware of how the rule applies to him, bemoaned the timing of his blister's bursting.

"It ripped open on the side and that's where the blood came out of," [Wilson said.] And once the blood was on my finger...

"If it would have happened in between innings, or something, then maybe I could have super-glued it (again). They're not going to let you super-glue your finger (in the middle of an at-bat) because maybe that's a 'performance-enhancer' or some crap like that."

Wilson was kidding, but he also stumbled onto another point: If umpires were to catch Wilson with super glue on his finger, they at least would make him remove it. Coincidentally, Bill Miller is umpiring in the World Series, and you know he's hip.

So, what's left for Ceej to do? Pickle juice? Stan's Rodeo Cream?

For now, he says he'll just glue the blister back together and be ready in case the Rangers need him in Game 6.

After that, he has an entire offseason to heal.

Follow Big League Stew (and @AnswerDave) all through the postseason on Twitter and on Facebook.

Related: C.J. Wilson, Matt Cain, Cody Ross, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, 2010 Postseason, 2010 World Series

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The 8 questions about tonight's Hockey Night In Canada games

CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, brought to you by Yahoo! Sports Canada, will stream three interesting games for your Saturday night hockey pleasure: The Toronto Maple Leafs at the Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET); the Montreal Canadiens at the Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET); and the San Jose Sharks at the Edmonton Oilers (10 p.m. ET).

(Ed. Note: HNIC streams available to Canadian readers only; but everyone can check out Hockey Night on Y! Sports for the New York Rangers at the Boston Bruins at 7 p.m. and the Los Angeles Kings at the Colorado Avalanche at 9 p.m.)

Here are eight questions we have entering the HNIC games tonight:

1. Can the Leafs' top line play uglier?

Coach Ron Wilson is playing early psychological games with his top line, having benched both Phil Kessel(notes) and Tyler Bozak(notes) in recent games for motivation. Those two, and Kris Versteeg(notes), need to take the "dirtier route" according to Wilson, via James Mirtle:

"We need that line to compete a little bit harder on nights when it's going to be difficult," Wilson said. "Because they are going to be closely monitored by the other team.

"Get to the front of the net, get your nose dirty, score an ugly goal. We have to figure out how to do that."

The offense carried the Leafs to an undefeated start, averaging four goals per game; they've score one in each of their last two, both losses.

2. Will Kerry Fraser say something outrageous?

The well-coiffed former NHL referee is promoting a book and will be on HNIC after an Elliotte Friedman report on concussions. Fraser has been critical of the League lately for its policies on hits to the head; how pointed will his comments be on HNIC?

3. Will Mike Richards(notes) begin showing up for the Flyers?

Chuck Gormley of the Courier-Post writes that the Flyers are off to a rough start (2-3-1), and that Richards' lack of production is one factor: "The Flyers are still looking for captain Mike Richards to score his first goal of the season. Richards had six goals through six games last season en route to a career-high of 31 but has none on 15 shots this season and is a minus-3."

4. Are the San Jose Sharks reuniting their mega-line?

David Pollack of Working The Corners reports that Todd McLellan has reunited Joe Thornton(notes), Patrick Marleau(notes) and Dany Heatley(notes) on one line after having them split up to start the season. McLellan said it's how they "potentially" could look against the Oilers. The trio is a combined minus-13, but have 5 goals.

5. Can Shawn Horcoff(notes) continue the stats smackdown?

Yes, Edmonton is such a hockey town that their players get name-checked at WWE events. As for Horcoff, the Oilers forward has three goals and an assist so far this season, but David Staples said his production goes beyond that:

So far, even though Horcoff plays a far more difficult defensive position than anyone on the ice save for the regular defencemen, his scoring chances true plus/minus is tied with Ales Hemsky(notes) at a team-best plus-16.

Horcoff has helped to create 19 scoring chances at even-strength and has been a culprit on just three against, the same numbers as Hemsky, but Hemsky plays a less difficult defensive position, making it less likely he will pick up minus marks.

In both cases: Happy and healthy starts for two key Oilers.

6. Can Lars Eller(notes) get rolling for the Habs as a center?

Interesting lineup move for Jacques Martin for the Canadiens: Shifting struggling rookie Lars Eller to center on a fourth line with Travis Moen(notes) and Mathieu Darche(notes). From Pat Hickey of Habs Inside/Out:

Eller said yesterday that he feels more involved when he's at centre and Martin is hoping the move will produce some offence. Eller, who was acquired from St. Louis in the trade which sent Jaroslav Halak(notes) to St. Louis, is still looking for his first point as a Canadien.

Like we said ... interesting. In the sense that Martin moved Eller to center on a line that wouldn't appear to kick-start anyone's offense. Why not put him at the pivot with a couple of offensive aces and see what comes of it?

7. Will Mike Fisher(notes) step up in Spezza's absence?

Jason Spezza(notes) is expected to be out tonight with groin issues, and Mike Fisher will skate in between Daniel Alfredsson(notes) and Milan Michalek(notes). Mr. Underwood picked up a helper on Alfredsson's empty-netter last night; can he make the most of this chance?

8. Finally, where will the Rick Rypien(notes) conversation lead?

Ron MacLean writes that the Hot Stove discussion on Rick Rypien's 6-game suspension for contact with a fan could include "on-ice behaviour, class inequality, natural impulse, historical change, psychological need, even the media." Sounds ... involved.

(Ed Note: Canadian readers can watch these games live via Hockey Night in Canada Presented by Y! Sports Canada tonight)

Related: Lars Eller, Phil Kessel, Kris Versteeg, Rick Rypien, Jaroslav Halak, Mike Richards, Jason Spezza, Travis Moen, Ales Hemsky, Milan Michalek, Mathieu Darche, Dany Heatley, Shawn Horcoff, Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher, Tyler Bozak, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs

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