* Toews (1-1—2) registered his seventh multi-point performance of the season; he shares second on the Blackhawks with 11-11—22 in 26 games.

* After making a career-high 40 saves Wednesday, Antti Raanta denied 38 shots to improve to 3-2-0 with a 2.02 goals-against average, .942 save percentage and one shutout in five appearances this season.

* Kris Versteeg collected one assist to stretch his point streak to four games (1-7—8) and now has 4-11—15 over his last nine outings.

* The Blackhawks swept their two-game season series with the Canadiens and improved to 5-0-2 in their last seven meetings dating to Oct. 30, 2009.

DUCKS SURRENDER LEAD, RALLY PAST WILD
Ahead 3-0 early in the second period, the Ducks yielded four consecutive goals before Tim Jackman and Matt Beleskey scored 4:51 apart in the final frame to power the club to its third consecutive victory.

* At 17-6-5 (39 points), the Ducks reclaimed first place in the Pacific Division and also moved into a tie for the most points in the NHL (with the Lightning: 18-6-3, 39 points).

* Beleskey found the back of the net for the third time in the past four games; he has scored a career-high 13 goals this season (28 GP), topping his previous best of 11 set in 2009-10 (60 GP).

* Beleskey also recorded his third game-winning goal of 2014-15, one shy of the League lead shared by Montreal’s Lars Eller and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin.

* Ryan Kesler posted 2-1—3 for his second multi-goal game and third three-point performance of the season. He is tied for third on the club with 8-13—21 in 28 contests.

* Cam Fowler collected one assist to stretch his point streak to four games (1-3—4), matching a career long achieved five previous times (most recently, Oct. 13-19: 0-4—4).

* The Ducks improved to 8-1-0 in their last nine meetings with the Wild dating to Feb. 14, 2012. They also have won five straight games at Xcel Energy Center dating to Oct. 27, 2011.

LITTLE’S HAT TRICK POWERS JETS
Bryan Little recorded his second career hat trick, including the final two goals in a span of 32 seconds, to lead the Jets to their fourth victory in their past five starts (4-0-1).

* Little earned the first hat trick by a Jets/Thrashers player since the team relocated to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season. Eric Boulton posted the most recent hat trick for the franchise, finding the back of the net three times Dec. 18, 2010, in a 7-1 Thrashers win vs. NJD.

* Little (3-1—4) also established a career high with four points. His lone other hat trick came on Dec. 26, 2008, for the Thrashers in a 5-4 loss vs. CAR.

* Andrew Ladd (1-2—3) and Blake Wheeler (0-3—3) both registered three-point performances. Wheeler now has 7-13—20 in 12 career games against the Avalanche, including 5-8—13 over the past two seasons (7 GP).

* Michael Hutchinson made 20 saves to improve to 5-1-2 in nine appearances this season. He paces the NHL in goals-against average (1.62) and save percentage (.943).

* The Jets improved to 6-1-2 in their last nine meetings with the Avalanche dating to Dec. 27, 2011, including three straight wins (all at MTS Centre).

LOOSE PUCKS
Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla scored twice to move past Joe Nieuwendyk and Mats Sundin for 21st place on the NHL’s all-time goals list (566) . . . Wild forwards Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise tallied power-play goals 11 seconds apart. Elias says that matches the record for the fastest two power-play goals in franchise history, established Nov. 5, 2007 vs. EDM (by Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Kurtis Foster). The last time any NHL team scored two power-play goals in 11 or fewer seconds was on Oct. 8, 2011, when Senators teammates Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson posted two such goals eight seconds apart at TOR . . . Jets defenseman Ben Chiarot recorded his first NHL assist/point . . . Ducks forward Devante Smith-Pelly played in his 100th NHL game . . . Canadiens defenseman Sergei Gonchar scored his first goal of the season. At 40 years, 236 days, Elias says he is the oldest player in Canadiens history to post a goal, breaking the record previously held by Mathieu Schneider (39 years, 301 days) . . . The Penguins acquired forward Rob Klinkhammer and a conditional pick in the 2016 NHL Draft from the Coyotes in exchange for defenseman Philip Samuelsson . . . Forward George Parros announced his retirement from the NHL after nine seasons . . . ICYMI: The Blackhawks held a moment of silence in honor of Jean Béliveau prior to their game against the Canadiens.

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Ottawa @ Pittsburgh, 1:00 p.m., RDS, TSN5, ROOT
St. Louis @ NY Islanders, 1:00 p.m., FS-MW, MSG+
Philadelphia @ Los Angeles, 4:00 p.m., SN, TVA2, CSN-PH, FS-W
Vancouver @ Toronto, 7:00 p.m., CBC
NY Rangers @ Detroit, 7:00 p.m., NHLN-US, SN, MSG, FS-D
Columbus @ Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m., FS-O, SUN
Buffalo @ Florida, 7:00 p.m., MSG-B, BELL TV, FS-F
Washington @ New Jersey, 7:00 p.m., CSN-DC, MSG+
Chicago @ Nashville, 7:00 p.m., FX-CA, CSN-CH, FS-TN
Montreal @ Dallas, 7:00 p.m., CITY, TVA, FS-SW
Boston @ Arizona, 8:00 p.m., NESN, FS-A
San Jose @ Calgary, 10:00 p.m., CBC, CSN-CA
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SIX GAMES HIGHLIGHT NATIONAL SCHEDULE
Six games highlight Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada schedule: the Flyers visit the Kings in their second and final meeting of 2014-15; the Canucks, winners of five of their last six, face off against the Maple Leafs; Original Six rivals the Rangers and Red Wings drop the puck for the second time this season; the Blackhawks and Predators battle for control of the Central Division; the Stars look to halt their four-game losing streak when they take on the Canadiens; and the Sharks, winners of three straight, try to knock off the red-hot Flames, winners of four in a row and eight of their past 10.

ISLANDERS HONOR NYSTROM
The Islanders will honor franchise legend Bobby Nystrom during a pregame ceremony when they play host to the Blues in a matinee at Nassau Coliseum. Nystrom, best-remembered for scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal in 1980, recorded 235-278—513 in 900 regular-season games, all with New York. He also collected 39-44—83 in 157 playoff contests, helping the team capture four straight Stanley Cups from 1980-83.

The Islanders, who lead the Metropolitan Division with 38 points, have won 19 of their first 26 games of the season for the first time in franchise history. They also have recorded 13 wins in their last 15 outings, the first time they have achieved that feat since Dec. 16, 1989 – Jan. 23, 1990 (13-2-0). The Blues, meanwhile, are looking to snap a two-game skid after consecutive losses to division rivals – the Blackhawks and Predators. The three squads are separated by just two points for the top spot in the Central Division.

thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above