Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

03/25/2017 at 7:11am EDT

FRIDAY’S RESULTS
NY Islanders 4, PITTSBURGH 3 (SO)
Tampa Bay 2, DETROIT 1 (OT)
DALLAS 6, San Jose 1
ANAHEIM 3, Winnipeg 1

EXTRA TIME VICTORIES FUEL WILD CARD RACE
The Islanders (35-26-12, 82 points) and Lightning (36-29-9, 81 points) earned victories in the shootout and overtime, respectively, to improve their standing in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race:

* John Tavares (0-2—2) recorded the 300th and 301st assists of his career and netted the shootout winner as the Islanders overtook the Bruins (38-30-6, 82 points) for the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference. Tavares – who became the first member of the 2009 NHL Draft class to reach the 300-assist plateau – extended his point streak to five games (2-4—6). New York and Boston will conclude their season series on Saturday.

* Nikita Kucherov (1-1—2) recorded his fourth straight multi-point game – including his first overtime goal of the season – to help the Lightning move within one point of the Islanders and Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Kucherov (38-40—78), who has recorded 17-12—29 in his last 16 games, moved into sole possession of second place in the Rocket Richard Trophy race, four goals behind Sidney Crosby (42). Per Elias, Kucherov is the first Lightning player to record four consecutive multi-point games since Martin St. Louis posted 3-5—8 from Jan. 20-31, 2012.

DUCKS JOIN SHARKS ATOP PACIFIC DIVISION
Andrew Cogliano netted his first game-winning goal of the season in the second period to help the Ducks (40-23-11, 91 points) improve to 7-1-1 in their last nine games overall and 8-1-1 in their last 10 contests at Honda Center. Anaheim moved into a tie – in terms of points – with San Jose (42-25-7, 91 points) for first place in the Pacific Division, where the top three teams are separated by only two points. Jakob Silfverberg (1-1—2) scored his 21st goal of the season to establish a new career-high, while Jonathan Bernier improved to 7-0-1 in his last eight games, posting a 1.47 goals-against average, .950 save percentage and one shutout over that span.

LOOSE PUCKS
Adam Cracknell (3-0—3) recorded his first career hat trick (195 GP) to propel the Stars to a 3-1-1 record in their last five games . . . Penguins captain Sidney Crosby scored his League-leading 42nd goal of the season . . . Islanders forward Josh Bailey earned the 300th point of his NHL career (105-195—300) . . . Stars forward Tyler Seguin (500) and Penguins forward Nick Bonino (400) each skated in milestone games.

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Vancouver @ Minnesota, 2 p.m., FS-N, FS-WI, SNP
Philadelphia @ Columbus, 2 p.m., SN1, NHLN-US, FS-O, CSN-PH
Calgary @ St. Louis, 7 p.m., CITY, FS-MW
Toronto @ Buffalo, 7 p.m., CBC, MSG-B
Ottawa @ Montreal, 7 p.m., SN, TVAS
Chicago @ Florida, 7 p.m., NHLN-US, FS-F, WGN
Carolina @ New Jersey, 7 p.m., MSG+ 2, FS-CR
Boston @ NY Islanders, 7 p.m., MSG+, NESN
Arizona @ Washington, 7 p.m., CSN-DC+, FS-A
San Jose @ Nashville, 8 p.m., FS-TN, CSN-CA
Colorado @ Edmonton, 10 p.m., CBC, SN, ALT
NY Rangers @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m., FS-W, MSG+
NBC Sports Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder
NHL Network Channel Finder

BRUINS, ISLANDERS BATTLE FOR FINAL WILD CARD POSITION
The Bruins (38-30-6, 82 points) visit the Islanders (35-26-12, 82 points) as both teams continue their pursuit of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. New York has won both head-to-head matchups between the clubs this season by a combined score of 8-2 and holds a game in hand.

PLAYOFF RACES FEATURED ON HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA
Four of Saturday’s 12 matchups will be broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada:

* The Senators (41-24-8, 90 points) visit the Canadiens (41-24-9, 91 points) as both teams continue to battle for first place in the Atlantic Division when they wrap up their season series at Bell Centre. Montreal, who looks to snap a two-game skid, won both games of a home-and-home set between the clubs on March 18-19 (OTT: 0-1-1), while Ottawa is currently riding a two-game winning streak.

* The Maple Leafs (35-23-15, 85 points) – who have earned a point in five straight games (4-0-1) – take on the Sabres (30-32-12, 72 points) at KeyBank Center as they try to close the gap on the Senators for second place in the Atlantic Division. William Nylander looks to extend his rookie franchise record 10-game point streak (4-8—12) while Auston Matthews (33-27—60) attempts to regain a share of the rookie points lead.

* The Flames (41-29-4, 86 points) and Blues (40-28-5, 85 points) conclude their season series in St. Louis after splitting the first two games. Calgary looks to snap a two-game slide and gain ground on the rival Oilers (40-25-9, 89 points) for third place in the Pacific Division. St. Louis, meanwhile, will try to create separation from Nashville (37-25-11, 85 points) and maintain their hold on third place in the Central Division.

* The Oilers host the Avalanche (20-50-3, 43 points) as they look to equal the Sharks (42-25-7, 91 points) and Ducks (40-23-11, 91 points) for the most points in the Pacific Division. Edmonton holds a 5-1-0 record in its last six games, powered by multi-point efforts from Leon Draisaitl (3-10—13) in each of those contests.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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