This weekend had some pretty memorable games with equally impressive performances. Teams that looked promising out of the gate took a few steps back towards reality.

It looks like the balance and normalcy has been restored to the NHL somewhat and teams may now be playing like the units we projected them to be. We might still be waiting for some players to step up to the level we are used to, or thus might be the level that they have come to set for themselves.

We’re still waiting for Chicago to lose in regulation; New Jersey and Boston don’t seem to be missing key offseason subtractions (Zach Parise and Tim Thomas respectively). All of a sudden, St. Louis and San Jose can’t win. The Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks are stepping to the top of their divisions, and the Los Angeles Stanley Cup hangover continues.

Of my weekend predictions, only the Anaheim-St. Louis matchup materialized as a really good game. The Montreal-Toronto game featured plenty of spilled blood and even a “biting” accusation hurled at Mikhail Grabovski. That was supposed to happen in the Boston-Buffalo game, which ended up disappointing on all fronts, unless you’re a Bruins fan.

So here are my three stars from this weekend’s action:

Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

Two goals and an assist. The dangling center dazzled both Edmonton and Los Angeles as the Red Wings swept back-to-back matinees in dramatic fashion.

Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks

Selanne was held off the scoreboard in Friday nights’ 3-1 loss to Dallas, but exploded for a goal and three helpers on Saturday night for the thriller in St. Louis. Did I mention he is 42?

Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks

In the same game that teammate Selanne was blowing up, Ryan doubled his goal total for the season. Ryan added two assists for a four-point night in the Duck’s shootout win.