NHL

• Colorado's Anderson named top player for October

  
  

  NewYork, NY(Sports Network) - Colorado Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson has been selected the NHL's First Star for the month of October.

  Joining Anderson on this month's honor roll are Capitals superstar forward Alex Ovechkin and Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

  Anderson posted a record of 10-2-2 in October and helped propel the Avs into first place in the Western Conference. In the process he tied the NHL record for goaltender victories in the first month of the season, set by Detroit's Manny Legace in 2005, and matched the franchise record for wins in a single month. The 28-year-old led the league in save percentage (.939) in October.

  Ovechkin, this month's second star, led the league in goals (14), points (23) and shots (85) as the Caps went 8-2-3 and opened a seven-point lead in the Southeast Division. He also tied Mario Lemieux for the NHL record for October with six two-goal games, and became the third player in league history to tally at least three points in each of his first three games of a season.

  Bryzgalov earned the third star after posting an 8-3-0 record with a league- leading 1.78 goals-against average, .930 save percentage and NHL-best three shutouts to push the Coyotes to a 9-4-0 mark, good for second in the Pacific Division.

  11/02 15:02:23 ET