* Martin St. Louis scored his first game-winning goal since Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final vs. LAK. It also marked his first game-winning tally in the regular season since March 1 at DAL (2-0—2 w/ TBL).

* Dan Boyle, Kevin Klein and Lee Stempniak also found the back of the net for the Rangers. Boyle (1-1—2) and Derick Brassard (0-2—2) contributed multi-point performances.

* Making his first start since Dec. 21, Cam Talbot recorded 28 saves to improve to 4-3-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and three shutouts in nine appearances this season.

* Via Elias, the Rangers are the first Eastern Conference team to defeat the Canucks, Ducks, Flames, Kings and Oilers on the road in the same season since both the Bruins and Canadiens did so in 1997-98. It also marks the first time in franchise history the Rangers have accomplished that feat.

LUONGO GUIDES PANTHERS TO WIN IN RETURN TO VANCOUVER
Making his first appearance in Vancouver since a March 2014 trade, Roberto Luongo recorded 32 saves to backstop the Panthers to their second win in their last three outings.

* At 18-11-9 (45 points), the Panthers kept pace with the Bruins (21-15-6, 48 points) – who also won on Thursday – for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Luongo, who compiled a 252-137-50 record with a 2.36 goals-against average, .919 save percentage and 38 shutouts in 448 appearances with the Canucks from 2006-14, picked up his first career victory against Vancouver (4 GP). He now has defeated all 30 NHL clubs.

* Luongo improved to 4-0-1 in his past five decisions. He has a 16-7-7 record with a 2.23 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and two shutouts in 31 appearances this season.

* Luongo, who was named the game’s First Star, also earned his 389th career win, moving into a tie with Dominik Hasek for 11th place in NHL history.

* Jonathan Huberdeau posted 2-1—3, marking his fourth career three-point performance and first since April 27, 2013 at TBL (0-3—3).

* ICYMI: The Canucks and fans at Rogers Arena saluted Luongo in his return to Vancouver.

WEBER LIFTS PREDATORS INTO FIRST PLACE . . .
Shea Weber scored twice, including the winning marker 17 seconds into overtime, to lift the Predators into first place in the NHL standings.

* At 27-9-4 (58 points), the Predators are off to their best 40-game start – in terms of wins and points – in franchise history.

* The Predators improved to 5-0-2 in their past seven overall games. They also won their fifth straight contest at Bridgestone Arena, where they are 16-2-1 this season. Their 16 home wins and 33 home points pace the NHL.

* Weber notched his seventh career overtime goal and first since Jan. 31, 2014 vs. NJD (2-0—2). Elias says only Mike Green (8) has more career overtime goals among active defensemen.

* Weber (also Dec. 30 vs. STL) and Roman Josi (Jan. 3 at LAK and Jan. 6 vs. CAR) have accounted for the game-winning goals in each of the team’s past four victories. Per Elias, the last time defensemen scored the decisive goal in four consecutive Predators wins was from Feb. 21 – March 4, 2004 (Dan Hamhuis – 2x, Andrew Hutchinson and Marek Zidlicky).

* Josi collected two assists to eclipse 100 NHL points (30-71—101 in 212 GP). He shares seventh among defensemen with 7-20—27 in 40 games this season, while Weber is tied for fifth with 10-18—28 in 40 contests.

* Making his NHL debut, Miikka Salomaki (Raahe, Finland) scored his first goal. He became the first Predators player to find the back of the net in his NHL debut since April 19, 2013, when Kevin Henderson did so in a 5-4 overtime loss at CHI.

* Pekka Rinne made 18 saves to pick up his League-leading 27th win of the season. He also ranks in the top five in goals-against average (3rd; 2.00), save percentage (4th; .929) and shutouts (t-3rd; 3).

. . . KANE, BLACKHAWKS KEEP PACE . . .
Making their first appearance in Minnesota since Game 6 of the Second Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Patrick Kane notched 1-2—3 to help the Blackhawks keep pace with the Predators for the top spot in the Central Division and NHL standings.

* Kane recorded his sixth three-point performance of the season, including two in two games against the Wild (also Dec. 16 vs. MIN: 1-2—3). He leads the Blackhawks and is tied for third in the NHL with 20-25—45 in 41 outings.

* Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) reached the 20-goal milestone for the eighth time in as many NHL seasons. Per Elias, he is the first U.S.-born player in NHL history to post at least 20 goals in each of his first eight seasons. Jimmy Carson (Southfield, Mich.) held the previous record, reaching the milestone in each of his first seven campaigns (1986-87 through 1992-93).

* Elias also says Kane is just the second player in Blackhawks history to tally at least 20 goals in each of his first eight NHL seasons. The other: Denis Savard, who posted 10 straight 20-goal campaigns for Chicago to begin his career (1980-81 through 1989-90; then added two more w/ MTL).

* Bryan Bickell (2-0—2) registered his second career multi-goal game and since March 5, 2013 vs. MIN (2-0—2).

* Brad Richards collected three assists, his first such performance since Feb. 11, 2012 at PHI (0-3—3 w/ NYR).

* Corey Crawford made a season-high 42 saves to improve to 16-8-2 with a 2.19 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and one shutout in 26 appearances.

. . . BLUES CONTINUE OFFENSIVE SURGE IN VICTORY
Seven different players scored to power the Blues to their third straight victory and help the club stay on the heels of the Predators and Blackhawks in the Central Division.

* The Blues recorded at least six goals for the third consecutive outing, following a 7-2 win on Saturday at SJS and a 6-0 victory on Tuesday at ARI. It marks the first time the team has posted at least six goals in three straight contests since Dec. 9-15, 2000 (6-4 vs. CHI, 6-1 at CHI, 6-3 at ATL).

* Elias says this marks the first time in franchise history the Blues have won three consecutive games, each by at least a five-goal margin. The last team to accomplish that feat was the Flames from March 24-28, 1988 (7-1 vs. TOR, 6-1 vs. VAN, 7-2 vs. STL).

* Jaden Schwartz matched a career high with three assists. He has points in each of his last six appearances dating to Dec. 11 (4-6—10).

* Six other players notched multi-point performances: David Backes (1-1—2), Jori Lehtera (1-1—2), T.J. Oshie (1-1—2), Paul Stastny (1-1—2), Alexander Steen (1-1—2) and Vladimir Tarasenko (0-2—2).

* Oshie extended his point streak to seven contests (6-7—13), equaling a career long established Oct. 11-28, 2010 (1-8—9).

* Steen stretched his assist/point streak to five games (3-8—11). He has logged four consecutive multi-point performances for the first time in his career (644 GP).

* The Blues received goals from seven different players in one game for the first time since Oct. 5, 2013, in a 7-0 win vs. FLA.

VARLAMOV (AGAIN) BACKSTOPS AVALANCHE TO WIN
After making 54 saves in a 2-0 shutout on Tuesday, Semyon Varlamov stopped 36 shots to lead the Avalanche to their fourth victory in their past five outings.

* Per Elias, Varlamov’s 90 saves are the most over a two-game stretch in Avalanche history. Ron Tugnutt holds the franchise record, making 98 saves over a two-game span for the Nordiques during the 1990-91 season (70 saves March 21 at BOS, 28 saves March 23 vs. HFD).

* Varlamov improved to 5-2-0 in his past seven starts since returning from injury on Dec. 23. He was 4-6-5 in his first 15 appearances of the season.

* Jarome Iginla (2-0—2) notched his third multi-goal game of the season (also Oct. 24 vs. VAN: 2-1—3 and Dec. 5 at WPG: 2-0—2). He now has 572 career goals, one shy of tying Mike Bossy for 20th place in NHL history.

* Alex Tanguay collected two assists to reach 800 career points (265-535—800 in 977 GP).

* The Avalanche improved to 8-1-0 in their last nine meetings with the Senators dating to Oct. 19, 2006, including four straight wins at Pepsi Center.

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

* Down 2-1 early in the third period, R.J. Umberger posted the tying goal and Jakub Voracek scored at 1:28 of overtime to propel the Flyers to their second straight victory. Voracek, who leads the NHL with 16-33—49 in 41 appearances, notched his second overtime goal of the season (also Dec. 21 at WPG) and the fourth of his career. Nick Schultz (0-2—2) added his seventh career multi-point game and first since Nov. 19, 2010 at DET (0-2—2 w/ MIN).

* Rookie Niklas Svedberg stopped all 14 shots he faced and Milan Lucic (2-0—2) recorded his second straight multi-point performance to help the Bruins extend their point streak to six contests (3-0-3). Svedberg earned his second career shutout in 13 appearances (also Oct. 18 at BUF: 32 saves), while Lucic collected his first multi-goal game since April 5 vs. PHI (2-1—3). The Bruins improved to 14-3-0 in their last 17 meetings with the Devils dating to March 30, 2010.

* Knotted at 1-1 late in the second period, the Hurricanes scored three goals in 1:19 – by Jiri Tlusty, Eric Staal and Victor Rask – to pick up their third victory in their past four outings. Per Elias, the team last tallied three goals in such a short span on Oct. 28, 2006, when they set a franchise record with a trio of scores in 43 seconds of a 6-4 win vs. TBL (Staal, Kevyn Adams and Erik Cole). Staal has found the back of the net in four of his past five games, totaling 4-1—5 in that span (2 GWGs).

* Mikkel Boedker (2-1—3) and Shane Doan (1-2—3) both collected three points to power the Coyotes to their fifth victory in their past seven contests. The team went 3-for-5 on the power play, marking the second time in the last three outings it has scored three power-play goals (also Jan. 3 vs. CBJ: 3-for-4). Prior to Saturday, the Coyotes had not posted three or more power-play scores in one game since March 31, 2012 vs. ANA (3-for-4).

LOOSE PUCKS
Despite losing in overtime, the Capitals picked up points for the 15th time in their past 16 outings dating to Dec. 4 (11-1-4) . . . Captain Alex Ovechkin found the back of the net for the fifth consecutive game (5-3—8), his longest goal-scoring streak since March 17-24, 2013 (6-3—9 in 5 GP) . . . Sharks defenseman Brent Burns posted one helper to extend his assist/point streak to five games (1-6—7) . . . Rookie teammate Melker Karlsson found the back of the net for the fourth straight game (4-0—4) . . . Kings forward Justin Williams, the 2014 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, notched his second multi-goal game of the season (2-0—2) . . . Wild forward Jason Pominville recorded 1-1—2, giving him 5-15—20 in his past 20 outings . . . Stars defenseman Trevor Daley scored his ninth goal of the season (40 GP), matching a career high set in 2013-14 (67 GP) . . . Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron (700), Devils forward Mike Cammalleri (700), Bruins forward Chris Kelly (700) and Wild forward Justin Fontaine (100) all played in milestone games . . . Devils forward Jaromir Jagr skated in his 1,515th game, passing Steve Yzerman for sole possession of 14th place in NHL history . . . Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (30 saves) made his 23rd consecutive appearance, establishing a franchise record . . . Sabres forward Philip Varone (2-0—2) posted his first career multi-goal/point game . . . Todd McLellan (SJS) coached his 500th NHL game (293-145-62). Elias says only Bruce Boudreau (301) has compiled more wins through his first 500 games behind the bench . . . ICYMI: Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen unveiled the special mask he will wear when the team honors franchise legend Teemu Selanne on Sunday. Click here to watch Selanne’s reaction when seeing the mask for the first time.

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
NY Islanders @ New Jersey, 7:00 p.m., MSG+, MSG
Columbus @ Toronto, 7:30 p.m., FS-O, TSN4
Buffalo @ Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m., MSG-B, SUN
Florida @ Calgary, 9:00 p.m., SN1, FS-F
Chicago @ Edmonton, 9:30 p.m., CSN-CH, SNW

NHL MOURNS THE PASSING OF PARISE
The NHL, along with the rest of the hockey world, mourns the passing of J.P. Parise, the father of current Wild forward Zach Parise.

Parise, 73, spent the majority of his playing career with the North Stars and Islanders, compiling 238-356—594 over parts of 17 seasons (890 GP). After his playing career was over, Parise served as coach and hockey director at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn., where he mentored his sons as well as current stars such as Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews.

Click here to learn more about his playing career, here to find out more about his impact on hockey in Minnesota and here to see the hockey world’s reaction to his passing.

ICYMI: The Wild aired a tribute to Parise before players and fans observed a moment of silence prior to the CHI-MIN game on Thursday.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the above information.