* Dubnyk improved to 21-7-3 overall this season, setting a career high for wins. His six shutouts also are a career best; he never had more than two blank sheets in one campaign prior to 2014-15.

* The 14th overall selection by the Oilers in the 2004 NHL Draft, Dubnyk improved to 5-0-0 with a 0.79 goals-against average, .970 save percentage and one shutout in five career appearances against his former club (all in 2014-15).

* Justin Fontaine (2-0—2) notched his second career multi-goal game and first since recording a hat trick on Jan. 9, 2014 at PHX. Mikko Koivu (0-2—2) and Zach Parise (0-2—2) also posted multiple points, while Nino Niederreiter and Jordan Schroeder supplied the other goals.

SKAPSKI POWERS RANGERS IN NHL DEBUT
Making his NHL debut, 20-year-old goaltender Mackenzie Skapski stopped 24-of-25 shots to lead the Rangers to their fifth victory in their past six starts and seventh straight game with at least one point (5-0-2).

* At 35-16-6 (76 points), the Rangers moved within three points of the idle Islanders (39-19-1, 79 points) for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers also hold two games in hand and own the ROW tiebreaker (NYR: 33, NYI: 32).

* Skapski became the first Rangers goaltender to earn a win in his NHL debut since Dan Cloutier on Jan. 3, 1998 at WSH. Elias says at 20 years, 250 days, Skapski also became the third-youngest goaltender in Rangers history to record a victory in his NHL debut, following John Vanbiesbrouck (Dec. 5, 1981; 18 years, 92 days) and Lorne Anderson (March 19, 1952; 20 years, 237 days).

* Rick Nash posted 1-1—2, including his 37th goal of the season to move within one of Alex Ovechkin for the League lead. It also stood as Nash’s seventh game-winning goal of the season, one off the League lead shared by Ovechkin, Matt Beleskey and Mike Cammalleri.

* Derick Brassard collected two helpers to stretch assist streak to a career-high six games (0-8—8). He paces the Rangers with 34 assists this season, while his 47 points rank second on the team and equal a career high set in 2010-11 (w/ CBJ).

FIVE-GOAL THIRD PERIOD LIFTS DUCKS PAST FLAMES
Down 2-1 after 40 minutes, the Ducks scored five goals in the third period to snap a two-game skid and improve to 3-0-1 this season against the Pacific Division rival Flames.

* At 36-16-7 (79 points), the Ducks moved within five points of the idle Predators (39-13-6, 84 points) for first place in the Western Conference and NHL standings.

* Per Elias, the Ducks’ five goals in the third period matched a franchise record established Jan. 23, 2004, when they also rallied from a 2-1 deficit after 40 minutes to pick up a 6-2 victory vs. MIN. The franchise record for goals in any period is six, set during the second period of a 6-4 win on March 14, 2014 at COL.

* Four players registered multi-point games for the Ducks: Andrew Cogliano (1-1—2), Ryan Getzlaf (1-1—2), Hampus Lindholm (1-1—2) and Patrick Maroon (0-2—2).

* John Gibson made 25 saves to improve to 7-4-0 in his career with a 2.52 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and two shutouts.

TARASENKO, BLUES NARROW GAP IN CENTRAL
Trailing 1-0 after the first period, the Blues notched five unanswered goals to earn their fourth win in their past five games and improve to 16-4-1 in the calendar year.

* At 38-16-4 (80 points), the Blues moved within four points of the idle Predators (39-13-6, 84 points) for first place in the Central Division, Western Conference and NHL standings.

* Vladimir Tarasenko (2-0—2) posted his ninth career multi-goal game to reach the 30-goal milestone for the first time. At 23 years, 70 days, he became the youngest Blues player to achieve the mark since Brendan Shanahan in 1992-92 (23 years, 63 days).

* Alexander Steen (0-3—3) matched a career high for assists in one game, achieved two previous times this season (also Nov. 11 vs. BUF and Jan. 3 at SJS). T.J. Oshie (1-1—2) and Jaden Schwartz (0-2—2) added multi-point games.

* Petteri Lindbohm scored his first career goal (10 GP) against Malcolm Subban, who yielded his first career goal while making his NHL debut. Elias says Lindbohm is the first NHL player to record his first career goal on a goaltender who gave up his first career goal in his NHL debut since Sept. 29, 2007, when Ducks forward Bobby Ryan scored on Kings goaltender Jonathan Bernier. The last defenseman to achieve that feat: Mike Wilson of the Sabres, who beat Eric Fichaud of the Islanders on Jan. 30, 1996.

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

* Tyson Barrie posted 2-1—3 to power the Avalanche to their third win in their past four games. At 25-23-11 (61 points), the Avalanche moved within seven points of the idle Sharks (30-22-8, 68 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Barrie equaled career highs for goals and points in one game, last achieved Jan. 14, 2014 at CHI (2-0—2) and Nov. 29, 2014 vs. DAL (0-3—3), respectively. Gabriel Landeskog (1-1—2) found the back of the net for the fifth straight game (5-1—6), also setting a career high. The Avalanche picked up their fourth consecutive win at United Center dating to Jan. 14, 2014.

* Cory Schneider made 21 saves to defeat his former team for the first time (4 GP, 1-1-2 vs. VAN) and backstop the Devils to their second straight win. Schneider improved to 9-4-1 in his last 15 overall appearances, compiling a 1.80 goals-against average and .940 save percentage in that span. Mike Cammalleri (2-0—2) notched his third multi-goal game of the season and first since Nov. 28 vs. DET (2-0—2). He also equaled a career high with his eighth game-winning goal of the season (set in 2013-14) and tied Matt Beleskey and Alex Ovechkin for the League lead in that category.

* Brothers Eric (1-1—2) and Jordan Staal (1-0—1) each scored to lead the Hurricanes to their second win in their past three starts. The Hurricanes improved to 6-1-1 all-time when both brothers find the back of the net. Playing in his 499th NHL game, Cam Ward made 23 saves to pick up his fourth win in his last five appearances. The Hurricanes improved to 10-2-1 in their last 13 meetings with the Maple Leafs dating to Nov. 20, 2011, including four straight victories.

LOOSE PUCKS
The Blackhawks suffered their first regulation loss since Feb. 3, snapping their point streak at seven games (4-0-3) . . . Flames forward Sean Monahan reached the 20-goal milestone for the second time in as many NHL seasons . . . Forward Matt Moulson scored 14 seconds after the opening face-off, marking the fastest goal by a Sabres player from the start of a game since Nov. 19, 2013 vs. STL (Tyler Ennis – 0:10) . . . Moulson also recorded his 300th NHL point (150-150—300 in 453 GP) . . . Canucks forward Zack Kassian (2-0—2) notched his first career multi-goal game . . . Maple Leafs forward and Los Angeles native Brandon Kozun scored his first NHL goal (8 GP) . . . Wild forward Kyle Brodziak played in his 600th NHL game . . . Bruins teammates Brian Ferlin and Malcolm Subban both made their NHL debuts, becoming the first pair of Bruins teammates to do so in the same game since Oct. 8, 2005 vs. MTL (Milan Jurcina and Hannu Toivonen) . . . The Oilers signed forwards Rob Klinkhammer and Ryan Hamilton to one-year contract extensions.

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
NY Islanders @ Washington, 12:30 p.m., NHLN-US, SN, MSG+, CSN-DC
Nashville @ Philadelphia, 1:00 p.m., FS-TN, CSN-PH
Winnipeg @ Toronto, 7:00 p.m., CBC
Columbus @ Montreal, 7:00 p.m., CITY, TVA, FS-O
Florida @ Ottawa, 7:00 p.m., SN, TVA2, FS-F
Carolina @ New Jersey, 7:00 p.m., FS-CR, MSG+
Anaheim @ Edmonton, 7:00 p.m., SN1, FS-W
Pittsburgh @ St. Louis, 8:00 p.m., ROOT, FS-MW
Detroit @ Dallas, 8:00 p.m., FS-D, FS-SW
Tampa Bay @ Arizona, 8:00 p.m., SUN, FS-A+
Los Angeles @ San Jose, 10:00 p.m., NBCSN, CBC, TVA2
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

SHARKS, KINGS FACE OFF IN STADIUM SERIES
The Sharks play host to the Kings in the 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. This intradivision matchup pits two teams battling for a playoff berth in the Western Conference: San Jose (30-22-8, 68 points) currently occupies the second and final Wild Card spot, while Los Angeles (27-18-12, 66 points) sits two points behind with three games in hand. This marks the fourth of five meetings between these clubs in 2014-15; San Jose has won two of the first three (LAK: 1-2-0), including a 2-1 victory in their most recent matchup on Jan. 21 at SAP Center. The Sharks and Kings close their season series on April 11 at STAPLES Center (the final day of the regular season).

* The Sharks and Kings have met 44 times (regular season and playoffs) since the start of the 2010-11 season, the most of any two clubs in that span. That total includes three postseason meetings, highlighted by seven-game series in each of the last two playoff years.

* The Sharks will become the 19th different team to participate in a regular-season outdoor NHL game. The Kings played in the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series at Dodger Stadium, where they faced their other intrastate rivals – the Ducks.

* Two players on the Sharks’ active roster have participated in a regular-season outdoor NHL game: Scott Hannan (2011 WC) and Tyler Kennedy (2008 and 2011 WC).

* Sixteen players on the Kings’ active roster have participated in a regular-season outdoor NHL game. That includes 15 players who appeared for the team in the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series. The lone exception: Marian Gaborik, who skated for the Rangers in the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic.

* The home team is 15-2-1 in the last 18 regular-season meetings between the Sharks and Kings dating to Nov. 7, 2011 (SJS: 8-1-0, LAK: 7-1-1).

* Twenty-one skaters in NHL history have played for both the Sharks and Kings. Only one of those players still is active (Brad Stuart, COL).

* One goaltender has played for both the Sharks and Kings: Kelly Hrudey, who currently is a broadcaster with Rogers Communications.

* One head coach has guided both the Sharks and Kings: current Los Angeles head coach Darryl Sutter, who spent six seasons behind San Jose’s bench from 1997-02.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS
The 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series pits two clubs vying for a playoff berth in the Pacific Division, where teams Nos. 2-5 are separated by three points:

* The Sharks and Kings also are in competition for a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, where six clubs are within nine points of each other:

* Did You Know?: Per Elias, this marks the fifth time out of 15 regular-season outdoor NHL games that conference rivals will be within two points of each other for the matchup. The other such occurrences: 2008 WC (PIT-BUF), 2012 WC (NYR-PHI), 2014 WC (TOR-DET) and 2014 SS-NY (NYR-NJD).

* There also have been two regular-season outdoor NHL games where nonconference opponents were within two points of each other – 2011 HC (MTL-CGY) and 2014 SS-CHI (PIT-CHI) – a total of six such contests in the 14 prior regular-season outdoor NHL games.

STADIUM SERIES QUICK HITS
* To date, there have been 14 regular-season outdoor NHL games contested since 2003-04. Of those 14 games, seven have been hosted in football venues and seven have been hosted in baseball stadiums.

* Launched last season by the NHL, the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series featured four games, all of which were played in sold-out stadiums. The series started at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles with the NHL’s first outdoor game played in California, showcased the first two hockey games ever played at Yankee Stadium in New York and concluded with the first-ever NHL game at Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The NHL’s 14 regular-season outdoor games have drawn total attendance of 783,083 – an average of 55,935 per game.

* Road teams are 10-3-1 in outdoor games, including a 5-2-0 mark since the start of the 2013-14 season.

* A total of 457 players and head coaches have participated in the League’s 14 regular-season outdoor games to date.

* The first regular-season outdoor game in NHL history took place on Nov. 22, 2003, when the Canadiens defeated the Oilers 4-3 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton in the 2003 Molson Canadian NHL Heritage Classic.

* The 2003 Oilers-Canadiens clash also rates as the coldest regular-season outdoor NHL game. The temperature at puck drop was 0°F/-18°C with severe wind chill.

* The 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series represented the first regular-season outdoor NHL game played in the U.S. west of the Mississippi River, the southernmost outdoor game in League history and the first-ever outdoor NHL game in California. The start time temperature of 62°F/17°C was the warmest of any regular-season outdoor NHL game.

* ICYMI: Click here for an infographic breakdown of the Sharks-Kings rivalry . . . Click here for a by-the-numbers look at the 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series . . . Click here for the final time-lapse video of the rink build at Levi’s Stadium.

DID YOU KNOW?
* Levi’s Stadium will be the 11th venue in California to play host to a regular-season NHL game. The Santa Clara stadium joins facilities in Anaheim (Honda Center); Long Beach (Long Beach Arena); Los Angeles (STAPLES Center, Great Western Forum, Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Dodger Stadium); Oakland (ORACLE Arena, formerly Oakland Coliseum); Sacramento (Sleep Train Arena, formerly ARCO Arena); San Jose (SAP Center); and San Francisco (Cow Palace).

* Levi’s Stadium, which is approximately eight miles northwest of the Sharks’ home arena (SAP Center), is home to the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. The $1.2-billion venue has 1.85 million square feet, seats approximately 68,500 (for football), and features 165 luxury suites and 8,500 club seats.

* When Levi’s Stadium opened in August 2014, it became the first United States professional football stadium to achieve LEED Gold certification. Visitors may view a live dashboard display inside Levi’s Stadium that features current energy measurements, water and air monitors, and other dynamic green features as the building operates daily. Environmentally friendly features at the venue include a 27,000 square foot “Green Roof” on the top of the stadium’s suite tower and three electricity-generating, solar-paneled pedestrian bridges.

* Through partnerships with local, national and international technology companies, Levi’s Stadium provides world-class Wi-Fi capability and mobile connectivity. Over 400 miles of data cable has been run in the venue, including 70 miles of cable to support Wi-Fi.

* The San Jose Jr. Sharks organization boasts approximately 1,000 youth hockey participants. Among its alumni are members from both the Kings and Sharks – Alec Martinez (LAK) and Matt Tennyson (SJS).

* According to weather.gov, the average high temperature in San Jose on Feb. 21 is 64°F/18°C, while the average low is 45°F/7°C.

* Today’s hourly forecast for Levi’s Stadium, courtesy of the Weather Channel:

SIGHTS FROM PRACTICE DAY
Both the Sharks and Kings tested the ice at Levi’s Stadium during practices on Friday:

The Sharks stretch during their practice at Levi’s Stadium.

Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr shares a laugh during the team’s skate.

The Sharks take the ice at Levi’s Stadium.

Kings forward Tyler Toffoli participates in a drill during the club’s practice.

Sharks forward Joe Pavelski and his son get ready for the team’s family skate.

NHL ANNOUNCES SAP PARTNERSHIP, UNVEILS NEW STATS PLATFORM
The NHL announced a multi-year North American partnership with SAP SE, the enterprise application software and database leader.

As the official cloud software provider of the NHL, SAP collaborated with the League on the transformation of the NHL’s statistics platform on NHL.com and the introduction of new and enhanced statistics that will establish NHL.com/Stats as the definitive destination for hockey analytics. Fans, broadcasters and media around the world will be able to analyze official League, team and player statistics via a more comprehensive, interactive and personalized interface that includes advanced search features and new filters for team and player comparisons.

Click here for complete details.