* Hudler, who played his final game of the month, leads the NHL with 10-13—23 in 15 March outings. Elias says that is the most points by any player during one calendar month this season. It also is the most points by any Flames player in one month sinceJarome Iginla totaled 10-16—26 in December 2006 (14 GP).
* Hudler shares seventh in the NHL with 29-42—71 overall this season (74 GP). He also leads the Flames and has established career highs in all three categories (tied in goals w/ Sean Monahan).
* Johnny Gaudreau posted 1-1—2 to move back into first place in the rookie scoring race (22-38—60 in 76 GP). His 22 goals ranks fourth among first-year skaters.
* Dennis Wideman (1-1—2) also contributed multiple points, while Mikael Backlundand Raphael Diaz provided the other goals. Diaz recorded his second career game-winning tally and first since Jan. 21, 2012 at TOR (w/ MTL).
ROOKIES POWER OILERS TO THIRD STRAIGHT VICTORY
Both playing in their sixth NHL game, Brandon Davidson scored his first career goal and Andrew Miller collected three assists to lead the Oilers to their third consecutive victory – their longest winning streak since Oct. 20-27 (4-0-0).
* Davidson, who was selected by the Oilers in the sixth round (162nd overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft, also recorded his first NHL point. The 23-year-old forward made his debut on Dec. 10 at ANA.
* Miller, who was signed by the Oilers on April 17, 2013, as an undrafted free agent out of Yale University, has 1-5—6 since making his NHL debut on March 18 vs. CBJ. All six of those points have come in his past three games.
* Anton Lander (0-2—2) also contributed multiple points, while Taylor Hall scored to extend his point streak to five games (2-3—5); he has one point in each contest since making his return from a 20-game absence.
* Justin Schultz added his seventh career game-winning goal and first since April 6, 2014 vs. ANA. Richard Bachman made 29 saves to pick up his second win of the season (6 GP).
* The Oilers improved to 6-2-1 in their last nine meetings with the Avalanche dating to Feb. 16, 2013, including two wins in the past week (also Wednesday: 4-3 vs. COL).
DID YOU KNOW?
Brandon Davidson became the third Oilers player to score his first NHL goal in the team’s past three games. The others: Martin Marincin on Wednesday vs. COL andAndrew Miller on Friday vs. DAL.
* Via Elias, it marked the second time in Oilers history that different players recorded their first NHL goals in three consecutive team games. The other such instance was during the club’s inaugural season in 1979-80 – and it happened in the team’s first four games: Dale Hunter and Kevin Lowe scored their first goals on Oct. 10 at CHI, Blair MacDonald and Mark Messier did so on Oct. 13 vs. DET, Wayne Gretzky and Risto Siltanen did so on Oct. 14 vs. VAN, and Brett Callighen did so on Oct. 19 vs. QUE.
MESZAROS LIFTS SABRES OVER COYOTES
Andrej Meszaros (2-0—2) notched his second consecutive multi-goal game, including the decisive marker, to help the Sabres overcome a 1-0 deficit and snap a five-game skid (0-4-1).
* Meszaros, who also recorded two goals on Saturday at COL, posted his fifth career multi-goal game. He also scored his 11th career game-winning goal and first since Dec. 15, 2011 at MTL (w/ PHI).
* Brian Gionta added his eighth career shorthanded goal and first since March 17, 2011 vs. TBL (w/ MTL).
* Anders Lindback made 28 saves to pick up his fourth win of the season and second with the Sabres (11 GP, .926 SV%).
* The Sabres improved to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games with the Coyotes dating to Jan. 31, 2009, including five consecutive wins at Gila River Arena.
LOOSE PUCKS
Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty scored his 37th goal of the season to move into sole possession of fourth place in the NHL. He also posted his third shorthanded goal of the season (77 GP); he had one such goal prior to 2014-15 (319 GP) . . . Stars forwardTyler Seguin notched his 35th goal of the season (67 GP), two shy of his career high set in 2013-14 (80 GP). He has 3-5—8 in his past seven outings . . . Avalanche forwardRyan O’Reilly scored to extend his point streak to a career-high eight games (5-8—13) . . . Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban recorded his 14th goal of the season (77 GP), matching a career high established in 2010-11 (77 GP) . . . Stars captain Jamie Bennregistered two assists to move into fifth place in the NHL scoring race (28-46—74 in 77 GP) . . . Blues defenseman Zbynek Michalek snapped a 16-game drought with his first goal since Jan. 31 at OTT (w/ ARI) . . . Flames defenseman TJ Brodie, Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson and Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw all recorded their 100th NHL point . . . Flames teammates Jiri Hudler (600) and Raphael Diaz (200) both played in milestone games . . . Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk, Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson and Avalanche forward Ryan O’Reilly were named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending March 29.
TUESDAY’S CLINCHING SCENARIOS
There is one clinching scenario for today’s games:
* The Ducks (idle) would clinch the Pacific Division if the Canucks lose in any fashion to the Predators.
SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Florida @ Boston, 7:00 p.m., SNE, SNO, SNW, FS-F, NESN
Carolina @ Washington, 7:00 p.m., FS-CR, CSN-DC
New Jersey @ Columbus, 7:00 p.m., MSG+, FS-O
Tampa Bay @ Toronto, 7:30 p.m., TVA, SUN, TSN4
Ottawa @ Detroit, 7:30 p.m., TSN5, RDS, FS-D
Vancouver @ Nashville, 8:00 p.m., SNP, FS-TN
NY Rangers @ Winnipeg, 8:00 p.m., MSG, TSN3
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder
PANTHERS VISIT BRUINS IN WILD CARD SHOWDOWN
The Panthers (35-26-15, 85 points) will try to narrow their gap for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference when they visit the Bruins (38-25-13, 89 points) at TD Garden. This marks the third meeting of the season between these Atlantic Division foes; both clubs are 1-0-1, with Florida picking up a 2-1 shootout victory in their most recent matchup on March 21. Boston, however, has won seven straight head-to-head meetings at TD Garden dating to Dec. 23, 2011. These teams will close their season series on April 9 at FLA. Overall, the Panthers are 4-1-1 in their last six outings, while the Bruins have won two straight following a six-game losing streak (0-3-3).
“We’re four points back but still don’t control our own destiny because we need to make up five,” Panthers defenseman Brian Campbell told the Miami Herald. “We play them twice and it’s an absolute must to win these games. But this is fun. This is a great time to be playing meaningful hockey.”
MORE GAMES WITH PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS
Several other games on Tuesday’s schedule feature teams jockeying for playoff positioning:
* The Senators (37-26-12, 86 points) – who are three points behind the Bruins (38-25-13, 89 points) – also try to make up ground in the Wild Card race when they face off against the Red Wings (40-23-12, 92 points) at Joe Louis Arena. This marks the fourth and final meeting of the season between these Atlantic Division rivals; Detroit is 2-1-0 thus far (OTT: 1-1-1), including a 3-2 overtime win in their most recent matchup on Dec. 27. Overall, both clubs are battling through slumps – the Red Wings have dropped nine of their last 13 games (4-8-1), while the Senators have lost three straight (0-2-1) following a 15-1-1 stretch.
* The Canucks (44-27-5, 93 points) and Predators (47-22-8, 102 points) both attempt to create space in their division races when they drop the puck at Bridgestone Arena. Vancouver holds a two-point edge over Calgary (42-28-7, 91 points) for second place in the Pacific Division, while Nashville has a three-point lead over St. Louis (46-23-7, 99 points) for first place in the Central. The Predators have won the first two meetings of the season between these teams, picking up a 3-1 victory on Nov. 2 and a 5-1 triumph on Jan. 13. Overall, Vancouver is 6-2-1 in its last nine contests – including a 4-1 win over St. Louis on Monday – while Nashville dropped its most recent outing – on Sundayto Calgary – following a four-game winning streak.
* The Jets (39-25-12, 90 points) also look to create breathing room for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference when they welcome the Rangers (47-21-7, 101 points) to MTS Centre, where they have gone 12-3-2 in their last 17 games. Winnipeg currently holds a two-point edge over Los Angeles (37-25-14, 88 points) for the final playoff berth in the West, while New York trails Montreal (47-22-8, 102 points) by one point for the top seed in the East. Overall, the Jets have won six of their last eight contests, but suffered a last-minute loss to the Blackhawks on Sunday. The Rangers, meanwhile, are coming off consecutive regulation losses for the first time since Jan. 27-29.
the above information was provided by the NHL PR department
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