Star power sells everywhere, but that seems to be especially true in Southern California.

Whether it is Arnold Schwarzenegger, Paris Hilton, Sidney Crosby, or Evgeni Malkin, Southern Californians love celebrities. And in the hockey world, it often seems the high-profile players have a top-notch game when playing in the glitz and glitter of SoCal. Just ask Alex Ovechkin, who recorded his first career hat trick last winter at the then-Arrowhead Pond.

Monday night at the arena now known as Honda Center, Crosby and Malkin did not find a similar fate. The young superstars recorded just one assist each as the hometown Anaheim Ducks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in overtime.

The Ducks picked up a point for the 15th consecutive game to start the season, tying the record set by the 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers. Under the rules of that era, the Ducks actually have one loss -- an overtime defeat to the New York Rangers -- but there is no denying Anaheim is on a roll.

Through much of the first fourteen games, the Ducks relied on a strong power play for their offense. Yet on Monday, the Ducks scored just once in eight power play opportunities in regulation time.

Fast forward to overtime, and Pittsburgh's Noah Welch was issued his third minor of the night -- this time for tripping -- just 21 seconds into overtime. Anaheim's Teemu Selanne tripped on the Welch's stick in a clearly inadvertent play, but at the same time, the trip did prevent a possible scoring chance.

On the ensuing power play, Scott Niedermayer made a perfect pass across the crease to Selanne, who was driving to the left side of the net from the left faceoff circle. Pittsburgh goaltender Jocelyn Thibault had no chance on the play, and the Ducks recorded their 11th win of the season.

Penalties were the theme of the game, as the Penguins found themselves shorthanded nine times and on the power play just twice. Some of the calls seemed to be borderline, but in the so-called new NHL, the standards are still being sorted out.

The Ducks started on the right foot when Chris Kunitz opened the scoring just 3:29 into the opening stanza. Kunitz was stationed at the left side of the slot and did his best Brett Hull impression, going to one knee to one-time a pass from Selanne and beating Thibault to the short side.

Just 21 seconds later, Dominic Moore brought the puck out of the right corner and skated into the low slot, where he deked goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere to tie the game.

Midway through the opening period, the Crosby and Malkin show started to get on track. Crosby impressively won a battle in the left corner and found Malkin inside the left point. Malkin's shot was stopped, but Chris Thorburn was stationed at the left side of the crease and batted home the rebound. The goal was Thorburn's first in the NHL and came almost immediately after being teamed with Crosby and Malkin for the first time.

It looked like a delayed replay when Anaheim's Corey Perry tied the game on the power play midway through the second frame. This time, it was Scott Niedermayer's shot from inside the left point that was stopped by Thibault and Perry who fired home the rebound from the left side of the crease.

The Ducks dominated the game after a slow opening period, outshooting Pittsburgh 40-17 overall and 32-11 after the first 2o minutes. With the Pens spending 14:34 shorthanded, Crosby and Malkin struggled to get ice time for much of the game. By the time it was all said and done, Crosby played 19:29 and Malkin 19:45, but much of that time was spent in the defensive zone as the Ducks again showed an aggressive forecheck.

Thibault was the main reason the Pens escaped with a point, as he was spectacular in just his second appearance of the season. He was inexplicably left out of the three stars, but he could not be faulted on any of the three goals. Even an average goaltending performance would likely have yielded at least six goals to the Ducks, who were firing on all cylinders after the first intermission.

The crowd of 16,599 -- disappointingly short of a sellout by a little more than 500 -- was enthusiastic and featured roughly 3,000 Penguins fans. Many fans were late for the game, as long security lines to enter the arena continue to be a major problem.

THREE STARS: Homerism is a common complaint for three star selections in several arenas, but the problem seems to be amplified in Southern California. Despite scoring two goals -- including the game winner -- Malkin was denied a star last week in Pittsburgh's overtime win at Staples Center.

It was the same story Monday, as Anaheim received all three stars in their overtime win at Honda Center.

As a result, Grimm's Tales will begin doing our own three stars, starting with Monday's game below.

FIRST STAR: Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim. A perfect pass on the overtime winner capped off a solid night at both ends for the blueliner.

SECOND STAR: Jocelyn Thibault, Pittsburgh. Thibault stood on his head to send this game to overtime.