* Skapski also posted a victory at Buffalo in his only previous NHL appearance, on Feb. 20 in a 3-1 win. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Skapski is the first Rangers goaltender to record a shutout in one of his first two NHL starts since Marcel Paille registered a blank sheet in his first NHL start in November 1957.

* Elias also says Skapski (20 years, 272 days) is the youngest to post a shutout for the Rangers since Nov. 7, 2002 (DanBlackburn: 19 years, 171 days).

* The Rangers have surrendered one goal or fewer through regulation in six straight games. The last time that happened was Mar. 16-25, 2007 (also six games). Their current streak includes five straight on the road.

* Keith Yandle snapped a 34-game goal drought with his first tally since Dec. 23 vs. EDM (w/ ARI). It also was his first goal/point in a Rangers uniform and first game-winning goal since Feb. 7, 2014 (also w/ ARI).

* Martin St. Louis tallied 1-1—2 to reach the 20-goal mark for the 11th time in his career. He ranks third on the club with 20-27—47.

PRICE, CANADIENS MOVE AHEAD IN ATLANTIC
Carey Price stopped 35 shots, including 22 over the final two periods, to guide the Canadiens past the Islanders for their first victory in three outings (1-1-1).

* The win pulled the Canadiens (43-19-7, 93 points) two points ahead of the Lightning (42-21-7, 91 points) – who lost in regulation – for top spot in the Atlantic Division. They also tied the Rangers (43-17-7, 93 points) – in terms of points – for first place in the Eastern Conference and NHL standings (along with two other clubs).

* The Canadiens won all three meetings with the Islanders in 2014-15, marking their first season series sweep since 2007-08 (4-0-0). They also won their fourth straight visit to Nassau Coliseum dating to March 21, 2013.

* Price recorded his League-leading 38th win of the season (56 GP), equaling a career high set in 2010-11 (72 GP). He improved to 6-2-0 with a 2.37 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in eight career appearances at Nassau Coliseum.

* ICYMI: Price posed for a selfie with a young fan during a commercial break in the third period.

* Max Pacioretty scored shorthanded for the second straight game; he had one such tally in his first 386 career games. Elias says the last Canadiens player to score a shorthanded goal in consecutive team games was Chris Higgins (Oct. 11 and Oct. 14, 2006).

* Pacioretty ranks fourth in the NHL with 34 goals overall, five shy of equaling his career high set last season. His 60 points leads all Canadiens, matches his total from 2013-14 and places him five back of his personal best set in 2011-12 (33-32—65, 79 GP).

* Tomas Plekanec reached 20 goals for the seventh time in his career. Lars Eller (1-1—2) posted his third multi-point effort of the season and first since Nov. 13 vs. BOS.

PREDATORS RECLAIM FIRST IN WEST
The Predators fell behind early but scored two goals in a span of 66 seconds in the third period to rally past the Kings and record the 600th victory in franchise history.

* At 43-20-7 (93 points), the Predators pulled ahead of the idle Ducks (43-20-7, 93 points) for top spot in the Western Conference. They also are in a four-team tie – in terms of points – for first place in the entire NHL.

* The Predators swept their three-game season series with the Kings and have won five straight head-to-head contests dating to Nov. 2, 2013. They also improved to 12-4-2 against Pacific Division opponents in 2014-15.

* Pekka Rinne stopped 23 shots, including 13 over the final two frames, to pick up the 200th regular-season victory of his career. Elias says only MiikkaKiprusoff (319) and Kari Lehtonen (243) have more wins among Finnish-born netminders.

* Rinne ranks second in the NHL in wins (37) and goals-against average (2.07) and is third in save percentage (.928).

* Viktor Stalberg scored his first goal since Mar. 21, 2014 at CGY, snapping a 24-game drought. It counted as his 12th career game-winning goal and first since Dec. 14, 2013 vs. SJ.

* Craig Smith picked up his 22nd goal of the season, tied with James Neal for the team lead and two shy of his career high set last season (79 GP).

RASK, BRUINS CLIMB LADDER IN EAST
Tuukka Rask denied all 30 shots he faced to record his third shutout of the season and backstop the Bruins past the Penguins for their fifth straight win and a 7-0-1 mark in their last eight games.

* The Bruins (36-22-10, 82 points) leapfrogged the idle Capitals (36-23-10, 82 points) for the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The teams meet in Washington tonight (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) and again on April 8 (also at WSH).

* They also pulled within three points of the Red Wings (37-19-11, 85 points) – who lost in regulation – for third place in the Atlantic Division. Detroit holds one game in hand and owns the ROW tiebreaker (DET: 34, BOS: 33), but Boston leads the season series 3-1-0 (DET: 1-2-1); they meet for the final time in 2014-15 on April 2 at Joe Louis Arena.

* Rask recorded his 26th career shutout to tie Gerry Cheevers for sixth place on the franchise’s all-time list; Eddie Johnston ranks fifth with 27. It also marked Boston’s first regular-season shutout win in Pittsburgh since Nov. 24, 1976 at Civic Arena (Cheevers, 4-0 W).

* Rask also extended his personal point streak to six games (5-0-1), posting a 1.45 goals-against average, .955 save percentage and one shutout in that span.

* Milan Lucic scored his 25th career game-winning goal (third this season) midway through the first period and Zdeno Chara tallied into the empty net in the final minute of regulation. Lucic (1-3—4) and David Pastrnak (2-2—4) each have four-game point streaks.

* The Bruins have scored first in 11 consecutive games, their longest such stretch since Feb. 3-26, 1990 (12).

. . . PANTHERS, FLYERS WIN TO STAY IN HUNT
Two teams chasing down the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference – the Panthers and Flyers – posted victories on Saturday to stay in the playoff picture:

* Dan Ellis stopped all 27 shots he faced, including 15 in the opening frame, to record his 15th career shutout and guide the Panthers past the Hurricanes for their third straight win and fourth consecutive game with a point.

* Ellis, who played with CAR in 2012-13, posted his first shutout since Feb. 1, 2014 at ANA (w/ DAL). He also improved to 3-0-1 since making his debut on March 5 (1.92 GAA, .925 SV%), his longest stretch with at least one point since Jan. 21 to Mar. 4, 2011 (5-0-2 w/ TBL and ANA).

* Brandon Pirri scored his second career game-winning goal (also Feb. 5 vs. LAK), while Dave Bolland tallied in the final minute of regulation.

* The Flyers matched a season high with seven goals – including four scores in the third period – to snap a four-game skid and earn their 10th straight home win against Detroit since dropping a 4-2 decision in Game 2 of the 1997 Stanley Cup Final.

* Brayden Schenn (2-1—3) matched career highs for goals and points in a game. He has 14-25—39 in 2014-15 (70 GP), two points shy of his career high set in 82 games last season.

* Wayne Simmonds (1-2—3) posted his third three-point game of the season (Oct. 9 vs. NJD and Feb. 13 at CBJ). Zac Rinaldo (1-1—2) also scored for the first time since April 6 (vs. BUF) and had multiple points for the second time in his career (also March 7, 2013 vs. PIT). Claude Giroux added two assists.

* Matt Read, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Nicklas Grossman provided the other goals for the Flyers. Bellemare snapped a 26-game goal drought, while Grossman scored for the fifth time this season (56 GP) to match his total from his first 463 career games.

* Steve Mason made 31 saves to record a point for the sixth time in his last eight outings (3-2-3). He also improved to 13-5-4 in 23 appearances at Wells Fargo Center this season (1.97 GAA, .936 SV%, 1 SO).

STRONG THIRD PERIOD POWERS BLACKHAWKS
Tied 2-2 after 40 minutes, the Blackhawks scored four unanswered goals in the final frame to pick up their first win in San Jose since Feb. 5, 2013 and extend their overall point streak to five games (4-0-1).

* The Blackhawks (41-21-6, 88 points) pulled within three points of the Blues (43-20-5, 91 points) – who lost in regulation – for second place in the Central Division.

* Patrick Sharp (2-0—2) scored for the first time since Jan. 28 at LAK, halting a 19-game drought, and posted his first multi-goal outing in the regular season since Jan. 3, 2014 at NJD.

* Brandon Saad (1-1—2) took over the team lead with his sixth game-winning goal of the season. He ranks fourth on the club with 21-24—45 in 2014-15, two points shy of his career high established last season (19-28—47, 78 GP).

* Marian Hossa (1-1—2) registered his 14th multi-point effort of the season and 279th of his career. He ranks third on the club with 19-32—51, including 2-6—8 in his last eight contests.

* Corey Crawford made 33 saves to stretch his personal point streak to six games (5-0-1), matching his longest run of the season (Feb. 6-18: 4-0-2). Crawford has allowed two or fewer goals in each contest on his current streak (1.15 GAA, .962 SV%, 1 SO).

CANUCKS MOVE INTO SECOND PLACE IN PACIFIC
Derek Dorsett (1-2—3) set a career high for points in a game to help the Canucks win for the third time in their last four outings, their seventh straight home win against the Maple Leafs and a 10-2-0 mark against the club dating to Jan. 10, 2006.

* The Canucks (39-25-4, 82 points) pulled ahead of the Flames (38-26-5, 81 points) – who lost in regulation – into second place in the Pacific Division.

* Dorsett picked up his third game-winning goal of the season, surpassing his total from his first 331 NHL contests. His 22 points in 2014-15 (6-16—22) also are a personal best, two more than his previous high in 2011-12 (12-8—20 w/ CBJ).

* Eddie Lack stopped 34-of-35 shots – the lone miss on a Phil Kessel penalty shot goal – to improve to 5-2-1 in eight starts since Feb. 24.

* Chris Higgins, Jannik Hansen, and Shawn Matthias also found the back of the net for the Canucks. Hansen (14-15—30) reached 30 points for the second time in his career (16-23—39, 2011-12), while Matthias set a career-high with his 25th point of the season (17-8—25).

WILD MAINTAIN HOLD ON TOP WILD CARD . . .
Devan Dubnyk made a season-high 41 saves and Nino Niederreiter and Kyle Brodziak scored 17 seconds apart to break a 1-1 deadlock in the third period to guide the Wild to their first regulation win in St. Louis since Oct. 20, 2007.

* At 38-24-7 (83 points), the Wild strengthened their hold on the first Wild Card spot, moving three points ahead of the Jets (34-23-12, 80 points). Their 83 points through 69 games match the franchise record set in 2006-07.

* The Wild also won their seventh straight game away from Xcel Energy Center, matching the longest road winning streak in franchise history (Nov. 13 to Dec. 10, 2011).

* Dubnyk improved to 20-5-1 with a 1.66 goals-against average, .939 save percentage and five shutouts since joining the Wild.

* Niederreiter leads the team with five game-winning goals, while his 22 overall tallies rank second behind Zach Parise (27). Thomas Vanek also found the back of the net for his 600th NHL point (294-306—600); he has 4-1—5 in his last four games.

. . . JETS AND AVALANCHE ALSO WIN
The Jets moved back above the playoff cutoff, while the Avalanche also earned a victory to inch closer in the race for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference:

* After falling behind 1-0, Drew Stafford tied the game at the midway mark of the third period and Blake Wheeler notched the game-winner 2:44 later to help the Jets snap a two-game skid.

* The Jets won their third straight visit to Tampa Bay and have picked up wins in five of their last seven meetings overall. They improved to 8-4-2 against the Lightning since relocating to Winnipeg in 2011-12.

* Stafford found the back of the net for the third time in his last four games. He has 14-18—32 this season and 5-3—8 since joining the Jets.

* Wheeler also scored for the third time in his last four outings (3-3—6) to reach the 20-goal mark for the second straight season and for the third time in his career. His five game-winning goals share the team lead (w/ Andrew Ladd) and are a career-high.

* Ondrej Pavelec (15 saves) snapped a personal three-game winless streak to pick up his 14th win of the season.

* Semyon Varlamov turned aside 29 shots and John Mitchell scored the eventual game-winning goal early in the third period to guide the Avalanche to their fifth win in their last six outings. Varlamov stretched his personal winning streak to five games, his longest run since March 25 to April 5, 2014 (6-0-0), while Mitchell potted his sixth career game-winning goal and first since March 29, 2014 vs. SJS.

* Alex Tanguay (160-296—456) tallied 1-1—2 to tie Paul Stastny (160-298—458) for eighth place on the franchise’s all-time goals list and also move within two assists/points of him for eighth place in each of those categories.

LOOSE PUCKS
Cory Schneider made 30 saves and four different Devils registered multiple points to guide the club to its first win in Arizona since Feb. 12, 2003 . . . Schneider improved to 5-1-1 in seven career meetings with the Coyotes . . . Sharks forward Joe Pavelski recorded his 30th assist of the season (32-30—62) . . . Panthers forward Jussi Jokinen stretched his assist/point streak to four games (0-4—4) . . . Flames forward Mikael Backlund (0-2—2) stretched his career-high point streak to eight games (3-6—9) . . . Teammates David Jones and Lance Bouma each tallied 1-1—2 . . . Coyotes forward Shane Doan (1-0—1) played in his 1,382nd career game, tying TrevorLinden for 38th in NHL history . . . Jarome Iginla played in his 1,378th career game, tying Joe Sakic, Vincent Damphousse and Dean Prentice for 40th place in NHL history . . . Penguins forward Maxim Lapierre (600), Flames forward Mason Raymond (500) and Sabres goaltender Anders Lindback (100) each played in milestone games . . . The Penguins wore special St. Patrick’s Day jerseys during pre-game warmup before the BOS-PIT game. Each player had his name in Gaelic calligraphy on the back. Click here for a list of translations.

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY'S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Detroit @ Pittsburgh, 12:30 p.m., NBC, SN
Florida @ NY Rangers, 5:00 p.m., FS-F, MSG
Carolina @ Columbus, 5:00 p.m., FS-CR, FS-O
St. Louis @ Dallas, 6:00 p.m., FS-MW, FS-SW
Philadelphia @ Ottawa, 7:00 p.m., TVA, CITY, CSN-PH
Boston @ Washington, 7:30 p.m., NBCSN
Nashville @ Anaheim, 8:00 p.m., FS-TN, PRIME

NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

SENATORS HOST FLYERS ON ROGERS HOMETOWN HOCKEY BROADCAST
CITY in Canada will televise Rogers Hometown Hockey today at 6:30 p.m. ET, prior to the game between the Flyers and Senators. The show will also air on NHL Network in the U.S. The location this week is Regina, Saskatchewan, and the half-hour program will celebrate the city's iconic hockey story.

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 in Regina to lead the pre-game show from the Sportsnet Mobile Broadcast Studio.

SUNDAY SLATE SURE TO IMPACT STANDINGS
Sunday's seven-game schedule will impact deadlocked races in both Conferences. The Predators (93 pts.) visit the Ducks (93 pts.) in a showdown for first place in the Western Conference, while the Bruins (82 pts.) meet the Capitals (82 pts.) to determine the Wild Card order in the Eastern Conference. Closely-bunched rivals also are meeting in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins (88 pts.) play host to the Red Wings (85 pts.), and in Ottawa, where the Senators (75 pts.) meet the Flyers (72 pts.). Elsewhere, top-six clubs NY Rangers (93 pts.) and St. Louis (91 pts.) face playoff berth-chasing Florida (76 pts.) and Dallas (74 pts.), respectively.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.