Blue Jackets' Gagner named NHL's Third Star of the Week
COLUMBUS, OH – Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sam Gagner has been named the National Hockey League’s Third Star of the Week for the period ending December 11, the League and club announced today. Philadelphia Flyers winger Jakub Voracek was named First Star and New York Rangers goaltender Antti Raanta was the Second Star selection.
Gagner, 27, tallied three goals and three assists for six points with two penalty minutes, a +4 plus/minus rating and had 11 shots to help the Jackets win all three of their contests last week. He posted his fourth career four or more-point game with 2-2-4 and was +2 while figuring in all four of the Jackets goals in a 4-1 win over Arizona on December 5. He added his fourth multi-point outing of the campaign with 1-1-2 and was +2 in a 4-1 victory at Detroit on December 9.
The London, Ontario native has posted 11-8-19 with four penalty minutes and a +10 plus/minus rating in 25 games in his first season with the Jackets. He is 22nd-T in the NHL with a team-high 11 goals and is fourth-T on the club in plus/minus and fifth in scoring. He has already surpassed his 2015-16 totals in goals and points in which he posted 8-8-16 in 53 contests with the Philadelphia Flyers. The forward has registered 135-236-371 with 301 penalty minutes in 640 career NHL games with the Blue Jackets, Flyers, Arizona Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers. Originally the Oilers’ first round pick, sixth overall, in the 2007 NHL Draft, Gagner was signed by the Jackets as a free agent on August 1, 2016.
The Blue Jackets, who have won six-straight and have gone 7-0-1 in the past eight games to improve to 17-5-4 on the season, return to action on Tuesday when they visit the Edmonton Oilers. Game time at Rogers Place is 9 p.m. ET. Live coverage on FOX Sports Ohio begin with the Blue Jackets Live pre-game show starting at 8:30 p.m. The game will also be broadcast live on the Scioto Downs Blue Jackets Radio Network, including 97.1 The Fan, and online at BlueJackets.com.
