JONES LIFTS COLUMBUS TO VICTORY WITH ANOTHER GAME WINNER
Seth Jones scored twice and Sergei Bobrovsky (22 saves) made a game-saving stop in the final seconds of regulation to propel the Blue Jackets (36-28-5, 77 points) to their fourth straight win. Columbus leapfrogged the idle Devils (34-26-8, 76 points) for the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Jones, who scored in overtime Thursday, became the sixth defenseman to score the game-winning goal in consecutive team games this season. In fact, only two other blueliners in Blue Jackets franchise history have accomplished the feat.

* Jones (13-33—46 in 69 GP), who has already established a career high in points, reached a new personal best for goals in a season (previously 12 in 2016-17). He sits five points shy of matching the single-season franchise record for most by a defenseman (James Wisniewski: 7-44—51 in 2013-14).

KEY POINTS EARNED IN WESTERN CONFERENCE RACE

The Wild (39-22-7, 85 points), Stars (38-24-6, 82 points), and Flames (34-25-10, 78 points) all survived tightly-contested matchups to earn crucial wins in the Western Conference playoff race:

* Five different players scored – including Eric Staal’s team leading 37th goal of the season – to power the Wild to their third consecutive victory and maintain their grip on third place in the Central Division. Staal, who sits three goals shy of reaching the 40-goal mark for the third time in his career and first since 2008-09, ranks fourth in the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race behind Alex Ovechkin (40), Patrik Laine (39) and Evgeni Malkin (38).

* Jamie Benn (1-1—2) and Tyler Seguin (0-2—2) each collected two points to help the Stars overcome a third-period deficit and improve to 3-0-2 in their last five games at American Airlines Center. With the win, Dallas maintained its hold on the first Wild Card position in the Western Conference and kept pace with the Wild in the Central Division standings.

* The Flames held a 2-0 lead midway through the third period and hung on for the win to wrap up their three-game road trip with a 2-0-1 record and move within one point of the idle Kings (37-25-5, 79 points) for the second Wild Card position in the Western Conference. Johnny Gaudreau (0-1—1) earned an assist on Matt Stajan’s game-winning goal to move into a four-way tie for the League lead in assists. Gaudreau paces the Flames with 20-57—77 this season, one point back of his career high (30-48—78 in 2015-16).

NHL ANNOUNCES 2018 NHL GAMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The NHL announced that registration for the 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship, an esports bracket-style tournament, is now open. Bragging rights, a $100,000 cash prize pool, tickets to the 2018 NHL Awards and capturing the Championship Trophy in Las Vegas are all up for grabs when the NHL crowns its first-ever esports champion in June. Click here for more information.

QUICK CLICKS

· Golden Knights proving to be kings of the road (via Nick Cotsonika)

· Brian MacLellan re-signs as general manager of the Capitals (via Tom Gulitti)

· ECHL teams wear SpongeBob SquarePants themed jerseys

· Hurricanes taking applications for general manager job through Twitter

· NHL Draft Diary: Brady Tkachuk

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION

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PLAYOFF JOCKEYING ON THE LINE SATURDAY

Saturday’s 11-game slate includes seven matinee games and features 16 teams who are either currently in a playoff position or within five points of one.

* The Western Conference-leading Predators (44-14-9, 97 points) look to extend their franchise-high win streak to 11 contests when they host the Devils (34-26-8, 76 points) – who own the second Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference. With a win, Nashville can become the first team this season to string together an 11-game winning streak.

* In addition, each of the other division leaders are in action on Saturday. The Atlantic Division-leading Lightning (47-17-4, 98 points) look to maintain their grip on first place in the overall NHL standings when they host Montreal. The Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights (43-19-5, 91 points) can set a record for most road wins by a team in its inaugural NHL season when they visit the Sabres. The Penguins (39-25-4, 82 points), who lead the tightly contested Metropolitan Division where seeds 1-3 are separated by just three points, visit the Maple Leafs (39-22-7, 85 points), who sit third in the Atlantic Division and have won nine straight home games.

* Patrik Laine looks to extend his point streak to 11 games (14-6—20 in 10 GP) when the Jets (41-17-9, 91 points) – who rank second in the Central Division – visit the Flyers (34-23-11, 79 points) – who rank third in the Metropolitan Division. Laine’s current 10-game run is the longest active point streak in the NHL.

* In the Western Conference Wild Card race, the Kings (37-25-5, 79 points) – who hold the second Wild Card position – host the Blues (35-27-5, 75 points), who are four points back of Los Angeles. Just one point back of the Kings are the Avalanche (35-24-8, 78 points), who host the Coyotes on Saturday.

information above was provided by the NHL PR department