A head-spinner of a night

Having the NHL package on DirecTV just off my left elbow at work is both good and bad.

Tonight may have been the best night of the season so far. Every game seemed to have something compelling going on, whether it was a future Hall of Famer making his season debut or a rookie continuing a stellar campaign.

With that in mind, it's hard to pick just three stars ... so why stop there?

**FIVE** STARS OF THE NIGHT, FEB. 5
Bonus picks for all you puckheads!

1. Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks: Tell me the defending Stanley Cup champions didn't miss him. After putting off retirement, the 37-year-old Finn made his season debut and drew an assist on Anaheim's first goal as the Ducks snapped a six-game losing streak with a 3-0 victory over the New York Islanders.

2. Brett McLean and Tomas Vokoun, Florida Panthers: In an 8-0 rout of the Toronto Maple Leafs, McLean had a goal and four assists -- he had a total of 11 points (five goals, six assists) this season coming in. Vokoun also made 23 saves for his fourth shutout this season and 25th of his career.

3. Antero Niittymaki, Philadelphia Flyers: He continued his uncanny domination of the Atlanta Thrashers after making 23 saves in a 3-2 victory. Niittymaki is 8-0-0 with 1.63 goals-against average in his career against the reigning Southeast Division champions.

4. Peter Muelller, Phoenix Coyotes: A huge reason why I will soon be paying off my annual preseason steak bet to Gurnee-based blogstatician Christopher "White 3-point sharpshooter" Altruda. Mueller record a hat trick in the Coyotes' 4-3 shootout loss over the Calgary Flames, and leads all rookies with 19 goals.

5. Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens: Plekanec had two goals and an assist in a 4-3 win over Ottawa, snapping the Canadiens' six-game losing streak to the Senators and moving them within three points of the Northeast Division leaders.