Snapshots: Three Stars, Coyotes, Point

The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week, with Dylan Larkin taking the top spot. The Detroit Red Wings captain scored five goals and seven points in three games, helping the club maintain a grip on the second Eastern Conference Wild Card spot. Larkin, seemingly rejuvenated by his upstart young teammates, has 29 points in 27 games this season. Should he finish with more than a point-per-game, it would be the first time in his seven-year career.

Vladimir Tarasenko and Nikolaj Ehlers took home second and third respectively after outstanding weeks of their own. The St. Louis Blues winger had four goals and six points in three games, proving once again that he’s healthy and ready to reclaim his place as one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the league. After two seasons marred by injury, Tarasenko is up to 29 points in 31 games. Ehlers meanwhile has grown into one of the most consistent players for the Winnipeg Jets and tallied seven points in just three games. The 25-year-old now has 24 points in 30 games, split evenly between goals and assists.

• The Arizona Coyotes have paid approximately $930K to the city of Glendale, Katie Sharp of The Athletic confirmed with city manager Kevin Phelps. The team has “satisfied” what the city asked for when they threatened to lock them out of Gila River Arena earlier this month. The Coyotes have now gotten up to date with debts owed to the city and state, while NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has repeatedly insisted that it wasn’t a problem and the team isn’t moving. In fact, Bettman suggested that Glendale had an “edge or agenda” in how they were dealing with the Coyotes. Phelps told The Athletic at the time that there was no agenda, only that the city wanted “assurances that the team pay all of their obligations to the city in a timely manner.”
• Brayden Point was back on the ice at Tampa Bay Lightning practice today, and he was wearing a regular white jersey, according to team reporter Gabby Shirley. Point was not included in the regular lines but skated alongside Gabriel Fortier and Nikita Kucherov. The star center is expected to return soon after the holiday break; he last played on November 20 and was given a four-to-six-week timeline.