* Stamkos scored into an empty net to reach the 40-goal milestone for the fourth time and first time since setting a career high with 60 goals in 2011-12. Per Elias, Stamkos is one of two players (along w/ Alex Ovechkin) to register at least four 40-goal campaigns since his NHL debut in 2008-09.

* Stamkos’ 40 goals this season also rank second in the League to Ovechkin (47). He has 12-4—16 in his last 16 outings and paces the team with 40-26—66 overall, tied for eighth in the NHL.

* Ben Bishop made 30 saves to extend his personal point streak to five games (4-0-1). He also improved to 8-1-1 in his last 10 appearances and 35-11-4 overall (54 GP), two wins shy of his career high established in 2013-14 (37-14-7 in 63 GP).

* Bishop improved to 7-1-0 with a 1.53 goals-against average, .943 save percentage and one shutout in nine career appearances vs. DET.

* Palat collected two assists in his return from a three-game absence. He has 0-7—7 in his past five appearances. Victor Hedman also recorded two helpers.

DID YOU KNOW?
The Lightning have won seven of their eight meetings with the Red Wings over the past two seasons. Prior to that stretch, they had just five wins in 32 all-time games vs. DET (5-24-3).

PERRY’S OVERTIME GOAL POWERS DUCKS TO TOP OF STANDINGS
Rickard Rakell scored the tying goal with 10:56 remaining in regulation and Corey Perry potted the decisive marker 1:25 into overtime to lift the Ducks to their fourth consecutive victory.

* At 46-20-7 (99 points), the Ducks moved into sole possession of first place in the NHL standings, where the top seven teams are separated by seven points:

* The Ducks’ 46 wins and 99 points through 73 games rank second in franchise history, behind only last season’s club (47-18-8, 102 points).

* The Ducks recorded their third consecutive victory when trailing at any point in the third period, also March 15 vs. NSH and March 18 vs. LAK. They lead the NHL with 17 such wins this season (CGY ranks second w/ 11).

* The Ducks pace the NHL with 29 victories in one-goal games (29-1-7) and a .784 winning percentage in those contests. Their 15 overtime/shootout victories also lead the League (15-7).

* Perry notched his sixth career overtime goal and first since Feb. 12, 2012 at CBJ. His six such goals are tied for the most in Ducks history with Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne.

* Rakell added one assist for his fourth multi-point performance of the season. Jiri Sekac also posted 1-1—2, including his first goal in a Ducks uniform (11 GP).

* Frederik Andersen made 22 saves to improve to 51-15-5 in his first 71 NHL decisions. Elias says he is the third-fastest goaltender in League history to reach 51 wins, following Montreal’s Bill Durnan (51-9-9 in first 69 decisions) and Boston’s Frank Brimsek (51-15-4 in first 70 decisions).

* The Ducks improved to 6-2-1 in their last nine meetings with the Avalanche dating to March 12, 2012, including four consecutive wins. They also improved to 16-3-0 this season against Central Division opponents – the most such victories by any team in the NHL.

BERNIER’S PAIR LEADS DEVILS TO THIRD CONSECUTIVE WIN
Steve Bernier (2-0—2) recorded his 14th career multi-goal game, including the decisive marker, to propel the Devils to their third consecutive win overall and a sweep of their three-game season series with the Sabres.

* The Devils have picked up at least one point in 12 of their past 15 games dating toFeb. 17 (10-3-2). At 31-29-11 (73 points), they moved within 10 points of the idle Bruins (36-24-11, 83 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Bernier posted his second multi-goal performance of the season (also Jan. 14 at LAK: 2-0—2). He has 12-14—26 overall, four goals and six points shy of matching his career highs established in 2007-08 (16-16—32 w/ SJS and BUF).

* Bernier also registered his 100th NHL goal and 13th career game-winning marker. He has one other such goal this season, on Dec. 4 at TOR.

* Adam Henrique and Scott Gomez collected assists on both of Bernier’s goals. Henrique leads the team with 24 assists (and 40 points) this season, while Gomez ranks second with 23.

* Keith Kinkaid made 28 saves for his third consecutive personal win, but fell 8:19 shy of his first career shutout. Overall, he improved to 5-4-3 in 16 appearances (2.42 GAA, .919 SV%).

* Jordin Tootoo added his fourth goal in his past 10 games. He has nine total goals this season (57 GP), two shy of his career high set in 2007-08 (63 GP w/ NSH).

* The Devils snapped a four-game skid (0-1-3) with their first win in Buffalo since Feb. 14, 2012.

LOOSE PUCKS
Despite suffering the overtime loss, the Avalanche (33-26-12, 78 points) moved within six points of the idle Jets (36-23-12, 84 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Colorado has picked up points in seven of its last eight games dating to March 4 (6-1-1) . . . Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar scored his team-leading 26th goal of the season . . . Avalanche forward Ryan O’Reilly notched his fourth career shorthanded goal and first since Jan. 4, 2011 vs. BUF. He also scored for the third consecutive game (3-1—4), his first such streak since Jan. 11-16, 2014 (4-0—4 in 3 GP) . . . Making his return to the lineup following a 15-game absence, Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen posted the primary assist on the winning goal . . . Sabres goaltender Anders Lindback made 24 saves. He has a .930 save percentage in eight appearances with Buffalo . . . Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla scored his team-leading 24th goal and 50th point of the season. Iginla (584-633—1,217) also passedLarry Murphy and Jeremy Roenick for sole possession of 41st place on the NHL’s all-time points list. Jean Béliveau ranks 40th with 507-712—1,219 . . . Sabres forwardMatt Moulson recorded his 11th goal of the season (68 GP), matching his total from 44 games with the team in 2013-14 . . . Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 37 saves to extend his personal point streak to seven games (6-0-1) . . . Sabres defenseman Mike Weber played in his 300th NHL game . . . ICYMI: The NHL fined Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban $3,000 as supplementary discipline under NHL Rule 64 (Diving/Embellishment) . . . The seventh annual Congressional Hockey Challenge will take place on Wednesday at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va. Proceeds will support the NHL/Thurgood Marshall College Fund scholarship as well as local Hockey Is for Everyone nonprofit organizations across North America. The game is open to the media and public. Click here for complete details.

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
St. Louis @ Minnesota, 2:00 p.m., NHLN-US, SNE, SNO, FS-MW, FS-N, FS-WI
Columbus @ Calgary, 4:00 p.m., FS-O, SNW
Vancouver @ Los Angeles, 4:00 p.m., SNP, FS-W
San Jose @ Montreal, 7:00 p.m., NHLN-US, CBC, TVA, CSN-CA
Toronto @ Ottawa, 7:00 p.m., SN, TVA2
Boston @ Florida, 7:00 p.m., NESN, FS-F
NY Islanders @ New Jersey, 7:00 p.m., MSG, MSG+ 2
NY Rangers @ Carolina, 7:00 p.m., MSG+, FS-CR
Washington @ Winnipeg, 7:00 p.m., CITY, CSN-DC
Buffalo @ Nashville, 8:00 p.m., MSG-B, BELL TV, FS-TN
Chicago @ Dallas, 8:00 p.m., CSN-CH, FS-SW
Pittsburgh @ Arizona, 9:00 p.m., ROOT, FS-A+
Philadelphia @ Edmonton, 10:00 p.m., CBC, CSN-PH
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PANTHERS FACE BRUINS IN PIVOTAL WILD CARD MATCHUP
The Panthers (32-25-14, 78 points) try to narrow their gap in the race for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference when they play host to the Bruins (36-24-11, 83 points) at BB&T Center. These clubs meet three teams over the final three weeks of the season, also on March 31 at BOS and April 9 at FLA. Boston has won nine straight in the head-to-head series and 17 of the last 20 dating to Dec. 27, 2009. Overall, the Panthers have picked up points in five of their past seven games (4-2-1), including a 3-1 victory over the Red Wings on Thursday. The Bruins, meanwhile, have dropped three in a row (0-2-1), including a 6-4 setback against the Senators on Thursday.

“If we want to make the playoffs, we have to beat Boston all three games,” Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr told the Miami Herald. “It’s a Game 7 for us [today]; everybody has to realize it.”

FOUR GAMES HIGHLIGHT HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA SCHEDULE
Four games, each with playoff implications, highlight Saturday’sHockey Night in Canada schedule: the Sharks (35-28-8, 78 points) look to improve their postseason hopes when they visit the Eastern Conference-leading Canadiens (45-20-7, 97 points) at Bell Centre; the Senators (35-24-11, 81 points), who have won five straight and are 13-1-1 in their last 15, attempt to move into the final Wild Card spot in the East when they face the Maple Leafs in the third installment of the Battle of Ontario; the Capitals (39-23-10, 88 points) and Jets (36-23-12, 84 points) both try to improve their playoff positioning when they drop the puck at MTS Centre; and the Flyers (29-29, 15, 73 points) look to remain in the postseason hunt when they visit the Oilers at Rexall Place.

MORE CONTESTS WITH PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS
Several other games feature clubs battling for playoff positioning: the Blues (45-20-6, 96 points) try to maintain their place atop the Central Division when they visit the rival Wild (39-25-7, 85 points) in a potential First Round preview; the Flames (39-27-5, 83 points) look to climb the Pacific Division ladder when they play host to the Blue Jackets at Scotiabank Saddledome; the Canucks (40-26-4, 84 points) face the Kings (34-22-14, 82 points) at STAPLES Center in a critical matchup for positioning in the Pacific Division; and the Blackhawks (43-21-6, 92 points), winners of four straight and six of their last seven (6-0-1), attempt to stay hot when they drop the puck against the Stars (33-28-10, 76 points) at American Airlines Center.

the above information was provided by the NHL PR department