CROSBY’S NATURAL HAT TRICK POWERS PENGUINS’ COMEBACK
The Senators raced to a 4-3 lead midway through the second period, but Sidney Crosby(3-1—4) scored three straight goals to power the Penguins to their fourth consecutive win overall as well as a 7-0-2 record in their past nine home games.

* At 25-17-7 (57 points), the Penguins moved within one point of the Bruins (26-18-6, 58 points) – who lost in overtime – for the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Crosby recorded his ninth career hat trick and first since Oct. 12, 2013 at TBL (3-1—4). Elias adds that he posted his second career natural hat trick, with the other Dec. 2, 2010 vs. ATL (3-0—3).

* Crosby, who registered his first four-point performance since Jan. 2, 2015 vs. TBL (0-4—4), extended his point streak to eight games (8-6—14). He also has at least one point in 10 straight home games (12-7—19), including goals in a career-high eight consecutive outings at CONSOL Energy Center.

DUCKS WIN FOURTH STRAIGHT TO MOVE INTO PLAYOFF SPOT
Frederik Andersen made 30 saves, including 14 in the opening period, to backstop the Ducks to their fourth straight win and an 11-3-1 record in their past 15 games.

* At 23-18-7 (53 points), the Ducks leapfrogged the Coyotes (24-21-5, 53 points) – who lost in regulation – for third place in the Pacific Division. They also finished their season series with a 3-1-0 record against the Sharks (26-19-4, 56 points), who sit three points ahead of them for second place.

* Andersen picked up his fourth consecutive personal victory to improve to 9-8-5 overall (2.37 GAA, .918 SV%). He has allowed two or fewer goals in 18 of his 25 appearances this season, including six straight.

DIVISION LEADERS PICK UP WINS . . .
A trio of division leaders – the Blackhawks (CEN), Panthers (ATL) and Kings (PAC) – earned wins to improve their positioning:

* Corey Crawford made 22 saves and Artemi Panarin provided the winning goal to propel the Blackhawks to their 14th victory in their last 17 games. At 34-16-4 (72 points), Chicago maintained a three-point lead over Dallas (32-14-5, 69 points) – who also won – atop the Central Division. Crawford picked up his 29th victory of the campaign, second in the NHL (behind Braden Holtby: 30), while Panarin scored his fifth game-winning goal of the season, tied for first among rookies (with Dylan Larkin).

* Jonathan Huberdeau posted 2-1—3 to power the Panthers to their fourth straight victory and snap the Capitals’ home point streak at 13 games (12-0-1). At 30-15-5 (65 points), Florida moved seven points ahead of idle Tampa Bay (27-18-4, 58 points) and Detroit (25-16-8, 58 points) atop the Atlantic Division. Huberdeau recorded his seventh career three-point game – and first since March 1, 2015 vs. TBL (0-3—3) – to help the Panthers halt a 10-game losing streak at Verizon Center dating to Jan. 8, 2011 (0-8-2).

* Five players registered multiple points, led by a pair of goals from Dustin Brown, to lift the Kings to their fourth win in their past seven contests. At 31-16-3 (65 points), Los Angeles moved nine points ahead of San Jose (26-19-4, 56 points) – who lost in regulation – atop the Pacific Division. Brown closed the season series with five goals in five games against the Coyotes; he has scored twice in 45 other outings in 2015-16.

. . . OTHER TEAMS GAIN KEY POINTS
Other clubs also posted victories in their quest for the playoffs:

* Tyler Seguin scored twice, including what stood as the winning goal, to lead the Stars to their third victory in their last four games. At 32-14-5 (69 points), Dallas kept pace with Chicago (34-16-4, 72 points) in the Central Division race. Seguin, who ranks fourth in the NHL with 27 goals this season, recorded his 100th and 101st goals with the Stars (202 GP). Per Elias, only Dino Ciccarelli (150 GP) reached the century mark in fewer games with the franchise.

* Brian Elliott stopped all 16 shots he faced and Troy Brouwer scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:05 remaining in regulation to power the Blues to a 4-1-1 record in their last six contests. At 29-16-8 (66 points), St. Louis moved nine points ahead of Colorado (27-23-3, 57 points) – who lost in regulation – for third place in the Central Division. Elliott posted his 31st career shutout and first since March 17, 2015 at CGY (25 SV).

* Minnesota natives Brock Nelson (Warroad) and Anders Lee (Edina) both scored to lead the Islanders past the Wild and to a 4-1-1 record in their past six games. At 26-16-6 (58 points), the Islanders moved within one point of the Rangers (27-18-5, 59 points) – who lost in regulation – for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Nelson reached the 20-goal milestone for the second straight campaign, equaling his career high in 34 fewer games.

AROUND THE RINKS
* Joseph Blandisi and David Schlemko both scored in the third period to help the Devils overcome a 2-1 deficit en route to their fifth victory in their last six games. At 26-20-5 (57 points), New Jersey kept pace with Pittsburgh (25-17-7, 57 points) – who also won – for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Wayne Simmonds scored twice, including the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period, to lift the Flyers to their second straight win and a 7-3-1 record in their past 11 contests. Simmonds posted his fourth multi-goal game of the season and second in his last three outings (also Jan. 25 vs. BOS: 2-0—2).

* The Maple Leafs scored three unanswered goals, including the winner by Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau at 3:06 of overtime, to overcome a two-goal, third-period deficit and snap a four-game skid (0-2-2). Parenteau registered his second career overtime goal and first since Dec. 31, 2010 at DET (w/ NYI).

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr (0-1—1) moved within one assist of becoming the sixth player in NHL history to record 1,100 in his career.

* Wild forward Jason Pominville (1-0—1) posted his 600th NHL point (243-357—600).

* Islanders goaltender Jean-Francois Berube, a fourth-round selection (95th overall) by the Kings in the 2009 NHL Draft, made 40 saves for his first career win (2 GP).

* Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson played in his 500th NHL game.

* Dave Tippett (ARI) became the 24th head coach in NHL history to serve 1,000 games behind the bench (512-359-129).

LOOSE PUCKS
The Sharks saw their point streak end at 10 games (8-0-2) . . . Blackhawks forwardPatrick Kane recorded his League-leading 44th assist of the season to move within four of 400 in his NHL career . . . Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov notched two assists, giving him 0-10—10 in his last four games . . . Penguins forward Chris Kunitz (1-2—3) and Flyers forward Jakub Voracek (0-3—3) both collected three points . . . Rangers forward J.T. Miller (2-0—2) registered his third career multi-goal game and second in his past four outings (also Jan. 22 at CAR: 2-0—2) . . . Oilers forward Taylor Hall posted one assist to extend his point streak to six games (2-6—8) . . . Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers (4-3—7), Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere (1-6—7), Panthers forward Reilly Smith (4-2—6) and Penguins forward Carl Hagelin (0-5—5) all extended their point streaks to five games . . . The Canucks signed defenseman Alex Biega to a two-year extension . . . ICYMI: The NHL announced a trio of rescheduled games following postponements from the severe snowstorm that impacted the East Coast . . . The Maple Leafs unveiled a new logo in advance of their centennial season.

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Buffalo @ Montreal, 7:00 p.m., SN, RDS, MSG-B
Detroit @ Tampa Bay, 8:00 p.m., NBCSN, TVAS
Carolina @ Calgary, 9:30 p.m., SN1, FS-CR
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CRUCIAL POINTS ON THE LINE DURING WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY
Crucial points are on the line when the Lightning (27-18-4, 58 points) and Red Wings (25-16-8, 58 points) face off at Amalie Arena on NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry. These clubs, who are tied – in terms of points – for second place in the Atlantic Division, have met twice already this season, with Detroit winning both contests (3-1 on Oct. 13 and 2-1 on Nov. 3, both at Joe Louis Arena). Tampa Bay, however, won the seven-game series between the teams in the First Round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs en route to an appearance in the Final. The Lightning and Red Wings will drop the puck one more time during the regular season, on March 22 at Amalie Arena. Both clubs are playing their first game following the All-Star break – Tampa Bay has won eight of its last nine overall, while Detroit is 7-3-1 in its past 11.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the above information