Stempniak, Howard and Henrik Sedin named NHL three stars of month

NEW YORK - Phoenix Coyotes right-winger Lee Stempniak was named the NHL's first star of the month Thursday after leading the league with 13 goals in March.

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard was the second star and Vancouver Canucks centre Henrik Sedin took the third star.

Stempniak, acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline, also recorded three assists last month and had a plus-7 rating.

Howard posted a 12-2-1 record with a 2.24 goals-against average in March. He also had a .918 save percentage and one shutout.

Sedin led all NHL players with 24 points (four goals, 20 assists) to help the Canucks win nine of 15 games. He concluded the month with a five-game point streak, moving into first place in the NHL scoring race with 104 points (29-75) in 76 games.