OSHIE LIFTS BLUES INTO TOP SPOT IN CENTRAL
T.J. Oshie netted the overtime winner just 1:03 into the extra frame to lift the Blues to their fourth consecutive victory with a 3-2 win in Colorado. With the win, the Blues (20-8-2, 42 points) moved into top spot in the Central Division and kept pace with the Ducks (21-6-5, 47 points) for first place in the Western Conference and the NHL standings.

* Oshie’s goal was his second straight decisive tally (also: Thursday vs. NYI) and the second overtime goal of his career (also: Feb. 6 vs. BOS).

* Three defensemen combined for all four regulation goals as Kevin Shattenkirk (1-1—2) and Alex Pietrangelo (1-0—1) erased a 1-0 deficit before Erik Johnson tied the score with his second tally of the game.

* Shattenkirk’s marker was his third power-play goal of the season, moving him into a share of the League-lead with 16 power-play points (tied with Claude Giroux).

* Vladimir Tarasenko recorded a point for the fifth straight game (3-3—6) while Jori Lehtera (0-4—4), Pietrangelo (1-3—4) and Barret Jackman (1-4—5) each stretched their streaks to four games.

* Jake Allen stopped 23 shots to improve to 10-3-1 (15 GP) and surpass his win total from last season (9-4-0 in 15 GP).

MAPLE LEAFS CONTINUE SUCCESS AT HOME . . .
After falling behind 1-0 in the first period, James van Riemsdyk evened the score exactly one minute later with the first of four unanswered goals to power the Maple Leafs to their fourth consecutive victory.

* Toronto has won seven of their past eight games at Air Canada Centre and its 12 home wins are tied with the Lightning for the most in the NHL this season. Per Elias, the Maple Leafs (12-7-0) have won 12 of their first 19 home games for the first time since 2001-02 when they started 13-5-1 in their own building.

* Overall the Maple Leafs are 8-1-1 in their past 10 games and occupy the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. At 17-9-3 (37 points), they sit fourth in the Atlantic Division, three points behind the Canadiens (19-10-2, 40 points) with two games in hand.

* van Riemsdyk scored his 12th goal of the season (fourth on the power-play) to stretch his point streak to three games (2-2—4); he shares second on the club with 25 points.

* Jonathan Bernier stopped 27 shots to record his third straight victory and improve to 12-6-3 this season. Bernier and James Reimer have combined for a .966 save percentage during the club’s four-game winning streak, allowing only five goals in that span.

. . . SHARKS DO TOO
Tomas Hertl netted the eventual game-winning goal just 5:01 after the opening face-off and Antti Niemi stopped all 29 shots he faced to guide the Sharks to their sixth straight win at SAP Center. Overall the Sharks (17-11-4, 38 points) have won seven of their past eight outings to move into third place in the Pacific Division.

* Niemi registered his second shutout of the season and 29th of his career. He has won each of his past five games, posting a 2.20 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in that span.

* Hertl tallied his third game-winning goal of the season (32 GP), matching his total from his rookie campaign (37 GP).

* Joe Thornton (1-1—2) posted his third straight multi-point game (1-5—6) and moved within one assist of Phil Esposito (873 assists) for 22nd on the all-time list. Thornton last registered three straight multi-point performances from Jan. 20 to 27, 2013 when he racked up 3-10—13 over five such games. He leads the club with 8-20—28 in 32 games this season.

SABRES RALLY FOR OVERTIME WIN . . .
After building a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes, the Sabres yielded three straight goals before Brian Gionta scored at 8:27 of the third period to force overtime where Nikita Zadorov netted the winner just 29 seconds into the extra frame.

* Buffalo has won four consecutive games for the first time since a five-game stretch from Mar. 19 to 27, 2012. In addition, the Sabres have won each of their past five contests at First Niagara Center and have earned nine wins in their past 12 contests overall (9-1-2).

* Zadorov (1-1—2) recorded his first career game-winning goal and first multi-point game while equaling his point total from his first 25 NHL games (1-1—2).

* Per Elias, Zadorov (19 years, 242 days) is the youngest Sabres defenseman ever to score an overtime goal. In addition, he is the second-youngest player in franchise history to net an overtime winner, behind Pierre Turgeon (19 years, 146 days on Jan. 21, 1989 vs. BOS). He is the first teenage defenseman to score an overtime goal this season.

* Jhonas Enroth stopped 25 shots to improve to 8-2-0 with a 2.04 goals-against average and .940 save percentage in his past 10 appearances.

* Cody Hodgson snapped a 19-game goal drought while Marcus Foligno has goals in consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 17 and 19, 2013.

* Tyler Ennis (8-13—21) and Zemgus Girgensons (9-8—17) – Buffalo’s leading-scorers – each notched an assist on the overtime goal. Drew Stafford also had a helper to push his point streak to four games (1-3—4).

BLUE JACKETS EMERGE WITH SHOOTOUT WIN
In their first meeting since Game 6 of their First Round series in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Cam Atkinson and Ryan Johansen scored in the shootout to lift the Blue Jackets to their sixth consecutive victory. Columbus erased a 2-1 third-period deficit before Kris Letang tied the game with just 10.9 seconds left on the clock to force overtime (the ninth last-minute tying goal in the NHL this season).

* The Blue Jackets have won three straight games that required extra time (also 3-2 OT wins vs. PHI and WSH) for the first time since an equal stretch from Apr. 13 to 17, 2013 (1 SO, 2 OT).

* Johansen, who notched an assist on the overtime goal in the club’s previous two victories, improved to 6-for-18 (33.3%) in career shootout attempts, including four game-deciding goals. CamAtkinson also netted a shootout tally (5-for-13, 38.5%).

* The Blue Jackets snapped a six-game regular-season skid vs. PIT and improved to 2-7-1 in their past 10 regular-season meetings (dating to Oct. 30, 2009).

NEVER SAY NEVER
In addition to the Sabres and Blue Jackets, three other clubs (MIN, OTT and NYI) rallied from third-period deficits for victories:

* Trailing 3-2 after 40 minutes, Zach Parise forced overtime with 5:53 remaining in regulation and added a shootout tally to lift the Wild to their sixth win in their past seven visits to Arizona (dating to Dec. 10, 2011). Parise (38-for-86, 44.2%) and Mikko Koivu (38-for-87, 43.7%) share the NHL record with 38 career shootout tallies; Koivu netted his 16th career game-deciding goal to move into a tie with three others for the all-time lead. Ryan Suter and Jason Pominville each added two assists.

* Down 2-1 after 40 minutes, David Legwand scored at 4:17 of the third period to force overtime and both MikaZibanejad and Bobby Ryan scored in the shootout as the Senators rallied for a 3-2 win over the Bruins. Zibanejad also scored in regulation and now has 5-3—8 in his past six games; he is 6-for-11 (54.5%) in his shootout career. Ryan improved to 9-for-31 (29.0%) in career shootout attempts. The victory marked the first win of Dave Cameron’s NHL head-coaching career.

* Down 2-1 with less than 10 minutes left in the third period, Kyle Okposo and Lubomir Visnovsky erased the deficit with goals 51 seconds apart to rally the Islanders past the Blackhawks. The victory snapped New York’s three-game skid and halted Chicago’s eight-game winning streak. John Tavares notched an assist on the tying goal to stretch his point streak to four games (2-2—4). At 20-10-0 (40 points), the Islanders moved within two points of the Penguins (19-6-4, 42 points) for top spot in the Metropolitan Division.

AROUND THE RINKS
Highlights from the rest of Saturday’s action:

* Nicklas Backstrom scored a natural hat trick – the first regular-season three-goal game of his career – to power the Capitals to their fourth win in their past five outings (4-0-1). Backstrom had posted 27 three-assist games before recording his first career hat trick. Per Elias, only two players have recorded more three-assist games before tallying their first NHL hat trick: Adam Oates (33 games) and Al MacInnis (29).

* The Rangers opened a 5-0 lead through two periods – highlighted by multi-point performances from Mats Zuccarello (2-0—2), Rick Nash (0-2—2) and Derick Brassard (0-2—2) – en route to a 5-1 win in Vancouver. Nash stretched his point streak to nine games (6-5—11), tying a career-high established from Dec. 30, 2005 to Jan. 16, 2006 (9-7—16).

* Nash’s point streak is the longest active streak in the NHL and the longest by a Ranger since 2007-08 when Scott Gomez had points in 13 consecutive games. Nash has recorded a point in 22 of the club’s 27 games this season, making him just the fifth Rangers player since 1991-92 to record a point in at least 22 of the team’s first 27 games. The others to accomplish this feat: MarkMessier (23 games with a point; 1991-92), Jaromir Jagr (22; 2005-06), Brendan Shanahan (22; 2006-07) and Marian Gaborik (22; 2009-10). (via Elias)

* Jakub Voracek recorded 1-1—2 to move into sole possession of second in League scoring (11-26—37) and power the Flyers to a 5-1 win over the Hurricanes. Philadelphia snapped a four-game skid in head-to-head matchups against Carolina and improved to 9-2-1 in their past 12 meetings at Wells Fargo Center. Wayne Simmonds (1-1—2), Scott Laughton (1-1—2), Brayden Schenn (0-2—2) and ClaudeGiroux (0-2—2) also posted multi-point performances as nine Philadelphia forwards found the scoresheet. Giroux has 2-6—8 on his five-game point streak and is tied for fifth in NHL scoring (8-26—34). Laughton registered his first NHL goal and multi-point game.

* After the Stars had their 2-0 lead erased early in the second period, Trevor Daley and Shawn Horcoff scored less than two minutes apart before the end of the frame to lift Dallas to a 4-3 win over New Jersey. Tyler Seguin (1-1—2), Jason Spezza (1-1—2) and Antoine Roussel (0-2—2) each posted multi-point performances. Seguin has 5-2—7 in his past four games and continues to lead the League with 23-15—38 in 29 games this season.

LOOSE PUCKS
Blues forward Paul Stastny logged 12:43 TOI and won 9-of-13 face-offs (69.0%) in his return to Colorado after departing as a free agent in the offseason; he tallied 160-298—458 in 538 games with the Avalanche from 2006-07 to 2013-14 . . . Hurricanes forward Eric Staal scored his 100th career power-play goal, extending his franchise record . . . Senators forward David Legwand stretched his point streak to five games (3-2—5), his longest since an equal stretch from Mar. 8 to 15, 2013 with NSH (3-3—6) . . . Flyers forward Sean Couturier scored his seventh goal of the season to match a career-high and extended his point streak to six games (3-4—7; also 5-2—7, Jan. 8-19, 2012) . . . Henrik Lundqvist stopped 29 shots to record his 320th NHL victory and surpass MiikkaKiprusoff for sole possession of 23rd on the NHL’s all-time wins list . . . Jaromir Jagr recorded his 1,063rd career assist to tie Steve Yzerman for seventh on the NHL’s all-time assists list . . . Bruins forward Craig Cunningham (7 GP) scored his first NHL goal . . . Panthers goaltender Al Montoya made 28 saves in his 100th NHL game . . . Devils forward Steve Bernier recorded his 200th NHL point . . . Blackhawks goaltender Scott Darling made a career-high 38 saves in his fourth consecutive start . . . Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin earned a point for the fourth straight game (3-3—6); he is third among all players with 15-21—36 . . . Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons played in his 100th NHL game.

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Los Angeles @ Toronto, 5:00 p.m., TVA, FS-W, SNO
Calgary @ Chicago, 8:00 p.m., NHLN-US, CITY, CSN-CH
NY Rangers @ Edmonton, 9:30 p.m., MSG+, SNW
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ROGERS HOMETOWN HOCKEY
The Flames head to Chicago to face the Blackhawks as the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour visits St Catharines, Ont. - the hometown for many NHLers, including Brian Bellows, Gerry Cheevers and Bryan McCabe. Ron MacLean will be joined on set by Buffalo Sabres’ defenseman Josh Gorges. Every Rogers Sunday Night Hockey game this season will be broadcast from a different community rink in various towns across Canada. Included in each telecast will be local NHL player profiles, grassroots stories and local entertainment features.

Click here for more information about tonight’s broadcast.

the above information was provided by the NHL PR department