Scott, Atkinson, Eichel named stars of week

John Scott, the Most Valuable Player of the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson and Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel were announced Monday as the NHL's Three Stars for the week ending Sunday, Jan. 31.
Scott was named MVP of the NHL All-Star Game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Sunday after scoring two goals with a plus-2 rating for the Pacific Division in its 9-6 win against the Central Division in the semifinals. The Pacific went on to win the All-Star Game with a 1-0 win against the Atlantic Division in the final.

Scott was named Pacific Division captain while a member of the Arizona Coyotes. He was traded to the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 15 and sent to St. John's of the American Hockey League. He tipped a Brent Burns shot for his first goal and beat goalie Devan Dubnyk on a breakaway for his second of the game.

Atkinson scored four goals to help the Blue Jackets sweep a home-and-home against the Canadiens. He had his third career hat trick in a 5-2 win at Nationwide Arena on Jan. 25, then added a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win at Bell Centre the following night. Atkinson has 17 goals and 32 points in 50 games this season, and is on pace to surpass his career-highs of 22 goals and 40 points.

Eichel had back-to-back multipoint games, assisting on two goals in a 6-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Monday and scoring twice, including the game-winning goal, in a 3-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. Eichel tied the score with a power-play goal in the second period before scoring unassisted 1:08 into the third. His 16 goals are one behind Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings for the rookie lead; his 34 points are second to Artemi Panarin of the Chicago Blackhawks.