GOLDEN KNIGHTS EARN 17TH ROAD WIN, TWO SHY OF ANOTHER RECORD

James Neal scored the go-ahead goal with 4:50 remaining in regulation to help the Western Conference-leading Golden Knights(36-14-4, 76 points) conclude their six-game road trip with a 4-2-0 mark. Vegas improved to 17-11-2 (36 points) as visitors to move within two road wins of matching the NHL record for most by a team in its inaugural season.

* Jonathan Marchessault (1-1—2) became the fourth Golden Knights player to reach the 20-goal mark this season, joining William Karlsson (29), Neal (24) and Erik Haula (21), who all found the back of the net on Thursday. Vegas and Tampa Bay are the only teams with four 20-goal scorers this season.

* The Golden Knights became the seventh team in NHL history with at least four 20-goal scorers in its inaugural season, joining the Vancouver Canucks (6) and Buffalo Sabres (5) in 1970-71 and the Edmonton Oilers (6), Harford Whalers (4), Quebec Nordiques (4) and Winnipeg Jets (4) in 1979-80.

MONAHAN SCORES THIRD STRAIGHT GAME-WINNING GOAL

Sean Monahan scored twice, including his third consecutive game-winning goal, to help the Flames (28-18-8, 64 points) extend their road point streak to seven games (6-0-1) and move past the Sharks (28-18-8, 64 points) and Kings (29-19-5, 63 points) for second place in the Pacific Division standings.

* Monahan, who has scored at least once in four straight games (5-1—6), became the second player in Flames franchise history to score the winning goal in three consecutive team games, joining Al MacInnis (Feb. 5-9, 1994).

* Monahan leads the League with a career-high 10 game-winning goals in 2017-18, three more than the next-closest players. Only three players in Flames franchise history have scored as many in a season.

LEAGUE-LEADING LIGHTNING CONTINUE TO ROLL

Five different skaters collected multiple points – including 1-1—2 efforts by NikitaKucherov, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedmanand Yanni Gourde – to help the League-leading Lightning (37-14-3, 77 points) improve to 6-2-0 in their last eight contests.

* Kucherov boosted his NHL-leading totals to 28-40—68 this season (54 GP), three points more than Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel(24-41—65 in 55 GP). The two are among a group of 11 players with 60+ points.

* Stamkos reached the 20-goal mark for the ninth time in his NHL career (all w/ TBL). Only Vincent Lecavalier (12) has registered more seasons with at least 20 goals in franchise history.

* Hedman scored his 73rd career goal (all w/ TBL) to pass Pavel Kubina (72) for the most by a defenseman in franchise history. He is now the franchise’s all-time leader in goals, assists and points by a defenseman (73-264—337 in 598 GP); Kubina (662 GP) is the only blueliner with more games played for the Lightning.

CENTRAL DIVISION CLUBS EARN WINS

The Blues (33-20-3, 69 points) and Stars (32-19-4, 68 points) each earned wins to inch closer to the Central Division-leading Predators (32-12-9, 73 points), who suffered an overtime loss on Thursday:

* Vince Dunnassisted on three of six goals and Carter Hutton made 23 saves as the Blues improved to 5-2-0 in their last seven contests and maintained a one-point edge over the Stars for third place in the Central Division standings. Hutton improved to 15-5-1 with three shutouts in 25 games this season and leads the League in goals-against average (1.70) and save percentage (.944) among goaltenders with at least 20 GP.

* Tyler Seguin scored twice to help the Stars pick up their fourth consecutive win and strengthen their hold on the first Wild Card position in the Western Conference standings. Seguin shares fourth in the NHL with 28 goals this season, trailing only Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (32), Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin (30) and Vegas’ William Karlsson (29) for the League lead.

COYOTES STAGE THREE-GOAL COMEBACK, SABRES SURVIVE ONE

The Coyotes overcame a three-goal deficit to win on Thursday, while the Sabres won despite having their 3-0 lead erased. Teams that have overcome a deficit of at least three goals own a record of 7-7-8 this season.

* Nick Cousins (2-0—2) started Arizona’s rally in the second period and scored the tying goal with 18.3 seconds remaining in regulation, setting the stage for Clayton Keller’s overtime goal. The Coyotes overcame a three-goal deficit to win for the first time since Oct. 31, 2013 vs. NSH (5-4 SO W).

* Sam Reinhart (1-2—3) netted the go-ahead goal with 4:14 remaining in regulation – just 73 seconds after the Islanders tied the game – to help the Sabres snap a four-game slide (0-3-1). Jack Eichel (1-1—2) collected multiple points for the second straight game and sixth time in his past 12 outings to increase his totals to 22-31—53 this season (54 GP); he has had 24 goals in each of his previous two NHL campaigns and finished 2016-17 with a career-high 57 points.

QUICK CLICKS

· NHL Draft prospect Akil Thomas plans to be involved in Hockey Is For Everyone

· Vincent Lecavalier says Lightning ceremony retiring No. 4 'going to be great'

· VIDEO: Ottawa welcomes back Kyle Turris

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION

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SATERI, PANTHERS LOOK TO CONTINUE HOT STREAK

The Panthers (23-22-6, 52 points) aim to match a season-high with a fifth consecutive victory when they host the Kings (29-19-5, 63 points), who have won four of their past five. Florida has moved within six points of a playoff spot with their recent win streak, with Harri Sateri recording the victory in each of the four contests – the first four wins of his NHL career. Sateri, a fourth-round selection (106th overall) by the Sharks in the 2008 NHL Draft, is 4-3-0 in 8 GP this season and aims to become the first Panthersgoaltender to record each of his first five career wins in consecutive games.

CAPITALS, BLUE JACKETS TO CLOSE HOME-AND-HOME IN DIVISIONAL BATTLE

The Capitals (31-17-5, 67 points) and Blue Jackets (27-22-4, 58 points) close their home-and-home set when they face off at Capital One Arena, the third of four meetings this season (finale: Feb. 26 at CBJ). Washington has won each of the first two contests in regulation, including a 3-2 victory on Tuesday in which Nicklas Backstrom scored the go-ahead goal with 42.9 seconds remaining in the third period. The Capitals sit in first place in the Metropolitan Division, while the Blue Jackets rank fifth and currently hold the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

HIGH-SCORING TRIO AIMS TO HELP PENGUINS MOVE CLOSER TO FIRST PLACE

The Penguins (30-22-3, 63 points) will look to move closer to first place in the Metropolitan Division standings when they visit the Stars (32-19-4, 68 points), winners of four straight. Pittsburgh has moved from seventh to second in their division since Jan. 1, posting an 11-4-0 record in 2018, with the high-scoring trio of Evgeni Malkin (16-10—26), Sidney Crosby (3-22—25) and Phil Kessel (8-15—23) ranking first, second and third in NHL scoring in that span. Overall, all three players are among the top 15 in points in 2017-18, with Kessel (24-41—65 in 55 GP) ranking second behind Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (28-40—68 in 54 GP) – who has at least shared the League lead in points every day since Oct. 13 (119 of 128 days, 93%).

FLAMES, DUCKS HUNT DOWN PLAYOFF POSITION

The Flames (28-18-8, 64 points) and Ducks (26-19-10, 62 points) – who rank second and fifth in the Pacific Division, respectively – look to advance in the standings on Friday:

* The Flames have earned three consecutive wins – with Sean Monahan notching the game-winning goal in each outing – and have earned at least a point in 14 of their last 16 contests (10-2-4).

* The Ducks, meanwhile, return home from a five-game road trip (2-2-1) during which Rickard Rakell (4-5—9 in 5 GP) collected nine of his team-leading 45 points (22-23—45 in 50 GP).

the information above was provided by the NHL PR department