Downie, Roloson, Thornton comprise Monday's Three Stars

1. Steve Downie, Lightning: In a must-win situation, Downie provided the heroics with a goal and two assists. He was aggressive on the forecheck -- but under control. He played whistle to whistle and got to the net for the game-winner shortly after the Penguins had tied the game 2-all.

2. Dwayne Roloson, Lightning: Downie's game-winner came immediately after a superb save sequence by Roloson. It was a trio of shot save, rebound-save and then pad-stack right save. Downie went down and scored, but the fabulous triple play kept the score tied. It didn't allow the Pens to double up on their tying goal. In short, Roloson gave his team a chance -- and the impetus -- to win and force a Game 7.

3. Joe Thornton, Sharks: Dogged his entire career for being an underachiever come playoff time, Jumbo Joe came up big with the game-winner in OT. It also clinched the series for the Sharks over the Kings. All night though, Thornton was a force and a factor. He killed penalties, took critical faceoffs and threw some big body checks. I was really impressed with his work in the neutral zone. All the details were evident in Thornton's game all night long. His reward? A trip to the next round of playoffs.