BLUES CLIMB STANDINGS, CLOSE IN ON PLAYOFF BERTH
Vladimir Tarasenko scored the game-winning goal to help the Blues (42-28-6, 90 points) leapfrog the idle Predators (39-26-11, 89 points) into third place in the Central Division. St. Louis owns a record of 11-2-1 in March, including points in their last seven games (6-0-1).

* Tarasenko scored his seventh game-winning goal of 2016-17 to match a single-season career high set in 2015-16. He ranks fourth in the NHL with 36 goals overall this season (76 GP).

* St. Louis and Nashville close their season series on Sunday at Scottrade Center, with the Predators holding a 3-1-0 advantage through four games (STL: 1-3-0). St. Louis, however, leads the ROW tiebreaker 41-37.

CAPITALS, BLACKHAWKS KEEP PACE IN PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY RACE
The League-leading Capitals (51-17-8, 110 points) and Western Conference-leading Blackhawks (49-21-7, 105 points) each earned wins to keep pace in the Presidents’ Trophy race:

* The Capitals built a 4-1 lead and held off an Avalanche rally to extend their point streak to eight games (7-0-1), including six consecutive wins. Washington posted its fourth winning streak of at least six games in 2016-17; Elias notes that this is the first season in Capitals history in which they have posted four win streaks of at least six games.

* Five different skaters scored to help the Blackhawks improve to 7-1-2 in their last 10 games, opening a nine-point lead over Minnesota (44-24-8, 96 points) as they inch closer to a Western Conference title. The Blackhawks, who play three of their five remaining games as visitors, earned their 24th road win of 2016-17 to match a single-season franchise record set in 2014-15.

LOOSE PUCKS
Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (34-50—84) reached the 50-assist mark for the second straight season and fourth time in his NHL career, taking sole possession of second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy . . . Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa scored the 524th goal of his NHL career to tie Bryan Trottier for 34th on the all-time list . . . Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau (2-8—10 in 6 GP) and Blues forward Jaden Schwartz (4-3—7 in 5 GP) extended their point streaks . . . Kings forward Trevor Lewis scored while skating in his 500th NHL game . . . Cigna was named the Official Health Insurance Provider of the NHL in the U.S. and will be the Presenting Sponsor of the NHL’s Every Save Counts campaign . . . The list of players protected and made available by each NHL team for the Expansion Draft will be released to the public.

SNEAK PEEK AT THURSDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
NY Islanders @ Philadelphia, 7 p.m., SN1, SNO, CSN-PH, MSG+
Columbus @ Carolina, 7 p.m., FS-CR, FS-O
Dallas @ Boston, 7:30 p.m., TVAS, NBCSN
Florida @ Montreal, 7:30 p.m., SNE, RDS, FS-F
Detroit @ Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m., SUN, FS-D
Toronto @ Nashville, 8 p.m., FS-TN, TSN4
Ottawa @ Minnesota, 8 p.m., FS-WI, FS-N+, RDS2, TSN5
Anaheim @ Winnipeg, 8 p.m., TSN3, FS-W
San Jose @ Edmonton, 9 p.m., SNW, CSN-CA
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CRUCIAL NIGHT IN EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF RACE
Seven of nine games on tonight’s schedule feature at least one team in the hunt for one of four remaining playoff spots in the Eastern Conference:

* The Atlantic Division-leading Canadiens (43-24-9, 95 points) look to wrap up a playoff spot when they host the Panthers (33-32-11, 77 points).

* The Senators (41-25-9, 91 points), who hold a game in hand on Montreal, look to inch closer to a postseason berth when they visit the Wild (44-24-8, 96 points).

* The Maple Leafs (36-24-15, 87 points) seek to maintain their hold on third place in the Atlantic Division when they visit the Predators (39-26-11, 89 points).

* The Bruins (40-30-6, 86 points), owners of the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference, set out for a third straight win when they host the Stars (31-34-11, 73 points).

* The Lightning (37-29-9, 83 points), the first team outside the playoff picture, look to extend their win streak to four games when they host the Red Wings (31-33-12, 74 points).

* The Islanders (35-28-12, 82 points) clash with the Flyers (36-32-8, 80 points) at Wells Fargo Center as both clubs aim to stay in the playoff hunt.

* The Hurricanes (34-27-14, 82 points) strive to extend their point streak (8-0-4) to a franchise-record 13 games when they take on the Blue Jackets (49-19-7, 105 points) at PNC Arena.

the information above was supplied by the NHL PR department