For the second time this season, the Anaheim Ducks have a player named as the NHL’s First Star of the Month. Corey Perry won the award in October for scoring ten goals and 14 points in 12 games. For December, Ryan Getzlaf won the NHL’s First Star of the Month for his terrific play during the team’s past 14 games.
Getzlaf led the league in scoring for the month of December, scoring five goals, 15 assists, and 20 points. The 15 assists were also a league-leading total in the month of December. Getzlaf had points in 12 of 14 contests, including an eight game point streak starting against the Edmonton Oilers on December 12th through December 28th against the Vancouver Canucks. In that stretch, Getzlaf scored four goals and nine assists. The Ducks finished the month of December 10-3-1, and they boast a 24-9-6 record through 39 games. Their 54 points in the standings are tops in the NHL as well, and Getzlaf’s strong month pushed him to fourth in the league in scoring with 42 points (12 goals, 30 assists).
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Joining Getzlaf in the Three Stars of the Month were Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks and Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Kane and the Blackhawks went 10-2-1 in the month of December, with Kane scoring eight goals and 17 points along the way. Chicago boasts the second best record in hockey at 25-11-2 through 38 games, and the team has a game in hand against the Ducks. Kane scored in 10 of 13 games in December, including a six-game point streak. He is now tied with Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin for fifth in the NHL in scoring (41 points, with 18 goals and 23 assists), and he is tied for the league-lead in game-winning goals (five, with Lars Eller and Oliver Ekman-Larsson). For his outstanding month, Kane received the NHL’s Second Star of the Month.
Bobrovsky was instrumental for the Blue Jackets in December. Columbus was 6-15-2 entering December through 23 games and had a league-low 14 points. Bobrovsky started in 11 of the Blue Jackets’ 12 games, going 9-1-1 with a 2.14 GAA and .937 SV%. Columbus went 10-1-1 in December and has roared back into the standings, sporting a true .500 record at 16-16-3 while sitting nine points back of a wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference. Bobrovsky faced at least 25 shots in 10 of his 11 starts, including a whopping 55 against the Florida Panthers on December 4th, and faced 378 shots on goal total through 11 starts (34.4 per game). The outstanding performance by the Russian earned Bobrovsky the Third Star of the Month.