* Callahan tallied his second game-deciding goal of the season to help the Lightning improve to 2-4 in tiebreakers; both he and Nikita Kucherov improved to 2-for-4 this season.

* Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (1-1—2) forced overtime with his tying goal with 6.8 seconds left in regulation. According to the Elias Sports Bureau there have been 16 final-minute tying goals this season, including four in the last 10 seconds.

... CANADIENS, RED WINGS RIDE OFFENSE TO VICTORIES
Montreal’s Tomas Plekanec (2-2—4) and Detroit’s Tomas Tatar (2-1—3) matched and established career highs for points in a game, respectively, to help their clubs keep pace in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. The Canadiens (28-13-3, 59 points) and Red Wings (25-11-9, 59 points) remain tied in points but Montreal has one game in hand and therefore sits in second place in the division. Detroit, however, holds the ROW tiebreaker (DET: 24, MTL: 23).

* Plekanec registered four points for the sixth time in his career and for the first time since Nov. 13, 2010 vs. CAR (1-3—4). He has 2-4—6 in his last three outings.

* Andrei Markov notched three assists to match a career high for the 11th time (last: Mar. 1, 2014 vs. TOR). It also marked his second three-point game of the season, following 1-2—3 at PHI on Oct. 11.

* Though he had his career-high goal streak halted at six games, Max Pacioretty notched two assists to extend his point streak to seven games (7-3—10). He leads the club with 21-17—38 in 44 games this season.

* P.K. Subban scored his 10th goal (44 GP) to match his total from last season (82 GP) and move within four tallies of his career high set as a rookie in 2010-11 (77 GP). David Desharnais (1-1—2) recorded his third game-winning goal of the season (10th of his career) to match a career high set in 2012-13.

* Making consecutive starts for the first time this season, Dustin Tokarski stopped 27 shots to improve to 5-3-1 with a 2.50 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in 10 appearances.

* With his two-goal performance Tatar reached the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career. The Red Wings' goal-scoring leader also stretched his point streak to four games (4-2—6).

* Petr Mrazek stopped 34 shots to win his third consecutive start since taking over for the injured Jimmy Howard. He is 8-3-1 in 12 appearances this season with a 2.12 goals-against average and .923 save percentage.

* Pavel Datsyuk, Riley Sheahan and Niklas Kronwall each posted two assists. Datsyuk ranks second on the Red Wings in scoring with 15-19—34 despite playing in only 34 of the club’s games; he has 21-50—71 in 64 career contests vs. NSH.

* The Red Wings have won five of their last six meetings with the Predators at Joe Louis Arena (dating to Nov. 26, 2011) and improved to 30-8-7 in 45 all-time home matchups.

DUCKS RECLAIM TOP SPOT WITH FREEWAY FACE-OFF WIN
Ryan Getzlaf and Sami Vatanen each scored in regulation to help the Ducks rally from a pair of one-goal deficits before Jakob Silfverberg potted the lone shootout marker to lift the club to its third straight victory. The Ducks improved to 2-0-1 in the “Freeway Face-Off” this season, with all three meetings requiring extra time.

* With the victory, the Ducks (30-10-6, 66 points) overtook the Predators (30-10-4, 64 points) – who lost in regulation at Detroit – for first place in the NHL overall standings.

* Getzlaf has 14-35—49 in 45 appearances to share fifth in NHL scoring, four points behind League leader Jakub Voracek. Vatanen potted his 10th goal of the season to move within two tallies of Erik Johnson for the NHL lead among defensemen.

* Silfverberg improved to 7-for-11 (63.6%) in tiebreakers this season. He leads all NHL players in shootout goals and attempts and ranks third in percentage (min. five shots).

* Frederik Andersen stopped 26 shots and denied all three attempts in the tiebreaker to improve to 25-6-5 this season. He leads the NHL in shootout wins (6) and ranks second in overall victories.

* The Ducks improved to 22-0-6 in one-goal games this season; their 22 such wins lead the League while their .786 points percentage ranks second behind the Islanders (.818).

ELLIOTT BACKSTOPS BLUES TO SECOND IN CENTRAL
Brian Elliott made 27 saves to record his third shutout of the season and backstop the Blues to their third consecutive win against the Maple Leafs and eighth straight meeting with a point (6-0-2 dating to Jan. 29, 2008). Overall, the Blues improved to 6-0-1 in their last seven games to match a season-high point streak.

* With the victory, the Blues (28-13-4, 60 points) passed the idle Blackhawks (28-14-2, 58 points) into second place in the Central Division and gained two points on the top-ranked Predators (30-10-4, 64 points). Both Chicago and Nashville have one game in hand on St. Louis.

* Elliott recorded his 19th shutout in a Blues uniform, moving within one of tying Jaroslav Halak (20) for the franchise record. He improved to 12-5-2 in 21 appearances this season; he leads the League in goals-against average (1.90) and ranks fourth in save percentage (.929).

* Facing the team that selected him in the first round (24th overall) in the 2002 NHL Draft, Alexander Steen tallied 1-1—2 to stretch his point streak to nine games (7-9—16). That is the longest point streak by a Blues player since Steen's career-high 13-game stretch from Oct. 17 to Nov. 16, 2013 (13-5—18).

* Per Elias, Steen is the first Blues player to record a point streak of at least nine games in consecutive seasons since Pavol Demitra, Keith Tkachuk and DougWeight all accomplished the feat in 2002-03 and 2003-04.

* Steen also stretched his goal streak to five games, one shy of his career high set last season.

* David Backes (0-2—2) tallied points for the sixth straight game, matching a career high for the third time (last: Nov. 11-20, 2010). His current stretch includes five multi-point efforts.

* Kevin Shattenkirk scored his eighth goal of season (the game-winner) to maintain his hold on first place in the NHL scoring race among defensemen (8-31—39 in 45 GP, tied with CGY's Mark Giordano).

* Head coach Ken Hitchcock earned the 685th win of his NHL career, surpassing Pat Quinn for fifth place on the all-time list. Hitchcock is seven wins shy of fourth-place Dick Irvin (692).

MONAHAN'S LATEST OT WINNER LIFTS FLAMES INTO PLAYOFF PICTURE
Sean Monahan scored his third overtime goal of the season 24 seconds into extra time to help the Flames escape the Shark Tank with a third consecutive win.

* With the victory, the Flames (24-18-3, 51 points) leapfrogged the Kings (20-14-11, 51 points) – who lost in a shootout to Anaheim – for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Both clubs have 51 points in 45 games and Calgary holds the ROW tiebreaker (CGY: 21, LAK: 19).

* Monahan netted his fourth career overtime goal, tying Valeri Bure for third place on the franchise’s all-time list. Only Jarome Iginla (6) and Theo Fleury (5) have more.

* Per Elias, Monahan (20 years, 89 days) is the youngest player in NHL history to reach four career overtime goals, topping Ilya Kovalchuk’s previous mark of 20 years, 218 days.

* Elias also says Monahan (120 GP) required the second-fewest games to record four overtime goals in the expansion era (since 1967-68). COL's Tyson Barrie scored his fourth overtime tally in his 98th career game.

QUICK GOALS HELP STARS SURVIVE RALLY
After the Stars had their 3-0 lead erased early in the third period, Antoine Roussel and JamieBenn scored 16 seconds apart to lift the Stars to their sixth straight win against the Capitals (dating to Mar. 8, 2010). Overall, Dallas improved to 18-1-4 against Washington since 1996-97.

* Tyler Seguin (1-1—2), Erik Cole (1-1—2) and Jason Spezza (1-1—2) propelled the Stars to a 3-0 lead before the five-minute mark of the second period before yielding three straight goals to the Capitals, including Alex Ovechkin’s tying goal 21 seconds into the final frame.

* Seguin snapped a six-game goal drought to reclaim the NHL goal-scoring lead with his 27th tally of the season. He ranks second in the NHL in points with 27-23—50 in 44 appearances.

* Kari Lehtonen stopped 28 shots to improve to 14-6-2 in 22 career appearances against the Capitals, including five straight victories.

DUBNYK RECORDS ASSIST, WIN AGAINST FORMER CLUB
Facing his former team in just his second game with the Wild, Devan Dubnyk stopped 25 shots and notched an assist on the game-winning goal to help Minnesota earn their fifth straight win against Arizona (dating to Jan. 9, 2014).

* Dubnyk has stopped 43 of 44 shots in a Wild uniform, following a shutout in his debut Thursday at Buffalo. His assist marked the second helper of his career (also Feb. 27, 2012 at WPG) and first by a Wild goaltender since Niklas Backstrom on Dec. 12, 2011 vs. NJ.

* Zach Parise (Minneapolis, MN) found the back of the net for his 16th goal of the season on the ninth annual Hockey Day in Minnesota. He has 8-4—12 in 12 career games against the Coyotes.

* Jason Zucker tallied his 16th goal of the season to remain tied with Parise for the team lead. Zucker notched his second game-winner of the season and third of his career.

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

* Matt Calvert broke a 1-1 deadlock with two goals in the final 3:03 of regulation as the Blue Jackets halted the Bruins’ home point streak at nine games (6-0-3) and picked up their first win in Boston since Jan. 21, 2010 (snapping a three-game skid, 0-1-2). Ryan Johansen (1-1—2) extended his point streak to 13 games (8-8—16) to extend his franchise record and mark the longest point streak in the NHL since Patrice Bergeron had a 13-game stretch from Mar. 17 to Apr. 12, 2014. Curtis McElhinney stopped 34 shots, including 14 in the third period, to win his third consecutive decision.

* Rob Zepp stopped 24 shots and Michael Raffl netted the eventual game-winning goal to help the Flyers snap a two-game skid and win their fourth straight meeting with the Sabres (dating to Nov.21, 2013). After becoming the oldest goaltender in more than 87 years to win his NHL debut earlier this season, Zepp has posted a 3-1-0 record with a 2.38 goals-against average and .904 save percentage in five career appearances. Raffl potted his 12th goal and first game-winner of his sophomore season (38 GP); he had 9-13—22 – including three decisive tallies – in 68 games during his rookie campaign.

* Justin Faulk (1-1—2) and Nathan Gerbe (1-1—2) each posted two points in the third period to help the Hurricanes erase a 2-1 deficit and improve to 7-1-1 in their last nine meetings with the Senators (dating to Dec. 23, 2011). Faulk, who will represent Carolina at the 2015 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend, shares the team scoring lead with 8-18—26. Anton Khudobin stopped 30 shots to maintain his perfect career mark against the Senators (5-0-0 in 5 GP). After posting a 0-8-2 record in his first 10 appearances this season, Khudobin has won each of his last four starts (1.41 GAA, .941 SV% in that span).

* Matt Hendricks tied the game with a shorthanded goal in the third period before Nail Yakupov netted the only goal of the shootout – on his first career attempt – to help the Oilers win their sixth straight visit to South Florida (dating to Dec. 7, 2002). Viktor Fasth stopped 35 shots – and denied all three attempts in the tiebreaker – to earn his first win since Nov. 9 at NYR. The Oilers earned their first victory of the season when trailing after the second period.

LOOSE PUCKS
Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons, the leading vote-getter in the 2015 NHL All-Star Fan Vote, scored two goals to match a career high with 22 points in 46 GP (8-14—22 in 70 GP in 2013-14) . . . Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo played in his 838th NHL game, surpassing JacquesPlante for sole possession of 11th on the all-time list among goaltenders . . . Senators teammates David Legwand (1-4—5) and Mark Stone (2-4—6) each extended point streaks to five games . . After scoring four goals on Friday, Kyle Okposo tallied 1-1—2; he has 6-5—11 in January (8 GP) . . . Senators goaltender Craig Anderson (400) and Wild forward Ryan Carter (400) and defenseman Marco Scandella (200) each played in milestone games . . . Capitals goaltender Justin Peters made 21 saves in his first appearance since Nov. 29 at TOR, ending Braden Holtby’s string of 27 consecutive appearances (franchise record) and 21 straight starts (career high) . . . Alex Ovechkin (1-1—2) and Nicklas Backstrom (1-1—2) each recorded multiple points for the Capitals. Ovechkin ranks fourth in the NHL with 25 goals, two behind League leader TylerSeguin . . . Predators forward Mike Fisher scored to extend his point streak to six games (4-3—7) . . . Though his four-game goal streak ended, Flames forward Mikael Backlund notched an assist to extend his point streak to five games (4-3—7) . . . Flames defenseman Mark Giordano (11-28—39 in 45 GP) recorded two assists to tie Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk (8-31—39) for the scoring lead among blueliners.

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY'S ACTION
All Times Eastern
NY Rangers @ Pittsburgh, 12:30 p.m., NBC, TVA, SN
Dallas @ Chicago, 6:00 p.m., FS-SW, WGN
Arizona @ Winnipeg, 7:00 p.m., CITY, FS-A
Buffalo @ Detroit, 8:00 p.m., NBCSN

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PENGUINS, RANGERS CLASH IN NBC GAME OF THE WEEK DEBUT
NBC’s NHL Game of the Week makes its 2014-15 debut this afternoon when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins host Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers. Today's matchup is their fourth meeting of the season and the home team has won all three games to date, including the Rangers’ 4-3 OT win in New York on Dec. 8. The Penguins are 6-7-3 against Metropolitan Division opponents this season and 20-4-3 against the rest of the League.

JETS HOST COYOTES ON ROGERS HOMETOWN HOCKEY BROADCAST
The Coyotes visit the surging Jets on this week's Rogers Hometown Hockey broadcast. Arizona began an eight-game road trip, its longest ever, Saturday at Minnesota while Winnipeg returns home after winning at Chicago's United Center for the third time this season on Friday.

Each Hometown Hockey broadcast features a Canadian team in action and travels to communities across Canada, with local NHL player profiles, grassroots stories and local entertainment features. Leading into the game broadcast, host Ron MacLean will be at Confederation Landing in Charlottetown, PEI, to host the pre-game show from the Sportsnet Mobile Broadcast Studio.

thanks to the NHL PR department for the above information