SEE-SAW BATTLES AROUND THE LEAGUE
* Washington surrendered a pair of two-goal leads but Alex Ovechkin’s tally with 4:17 left in the third period proved to be the winner as the Capitals skated to a 5-4 win over the Panthers. Ovechkin’s League-leading 41st goal of the season was his third point of the night, giving him 7-8--15 in his past 10 games. Brooks Laich (1-2--3) and Nicklas Backstrom (1-2--3) also posted three-point performances while netminder Braden Holtby made 30 saves for his fifth win in his past six games.

* Montreal’s Daniel Briere (2-1--3) knotted the game at five with his second goal at 14:06 of the third period and David Desharnais netted the lone shootout marker as Montreal overcame four one-goal deficits to win 6-5 in Pittsburgh. The Canadiens won for just the third time in their past 10 games against the Penguins (3-4-3).

* Martin St. Louis’ 26th and 27th goals gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes but the Predators scored three straight power-play goals, rallying for a 3-2 victory in Nashville. Captain Shea Weber recorded a pair of assists, giving him 15-25--40 this season and moving him into a share of the Predators’ scoring lead with David Legwand (10-30--40).

* Anders Lee scored twice in his first NHL appearance of 2013-14, including the tying goal with 2:40 left in regulation, and Lubomir Visnovsky netted the winner at 1:55 of overtime as the Islanders overcame three one-goal deficits for a 5-4 win over the Maple Leafs. Lee was recalled Monday from the Islanders' AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, where he has tallied a team-leading 22 goals this season.

SHORTHANDED SUCCESS
* Islanders forward Michael Grabner tallied twice in 48 seconds with his team a man short in the first period against the Maple Leafs. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Grabner tallied the fastest two shorthanded goals by an NHL player since Edmonton's Esa Tikkanen scored a pair in 12 seconds on Nov. 12, 1988 at Toronto. Grabner’s tallies were the fastest shorthanded goals by one player in Islanders history, breaking Ziggy Palffy’s record of 53 seconds (Apr. 17, 1999 at Pittsburgh).

* Stars forward Jamie Benn and defenseman Brenden Dillon each scored shorthanded goals, marking the first time since Mar. 16, 2010 that the Stars tallied twice while on the penalty kill (Elias).

SHINING STARS
Captain Jamie Benn went coast-to-coast to score one of his three points (1-2--3) and Kari Lehtonen made 29 saves as the Stars regained the second Western Conference Wild Card berth with a 4-1 win against the Hurricanes.

* The Stars improved to 10-0-1 in their past 11 home games against the Hurricanes. The Stars have dropped just one home game against the Hurricanes/Whalers franchise since relocating to Dallas, with their only defeat coming against Hartford on Feb. 11, 1996.

JAGR EDGES CLOSER TO HISTORIC GOAL
Devils forward Jaromir Jagr scored his team-leading 18th goal of the season and the 699th of his NHL career in New Jersey's 5-2 win over Columbus. Jagr's next goal will make him the seventh player in NHL history to reach 700. The 42-year-old Kladno, Czech Republic native has tallied 15 points (5-10--15) in his past 15 NHL games since Jan. 11. He leads the Devils in goals, assists (32), points (50), plus-minus (+20) and shots (155).

Most Career Goals:
1. Wayne Gretzky, 894
2. Gordie Howe, 801
3. Brett Hull, 741
4. Marcel Dionne, 731
5. Phil Esposito, 717
6. Mike Gartner, 708
7. Jaromir Jagr, 699

MULTIPLE MILESTONES
* Pittsburgh’s James Neal (1-1--2) recorded his 300th NHL point with his first of two against Montreal while teammate Jussi Jokinen notched an assist for his 400th career point. Florida’s Ed Jovanovski recorded his 500th NHL point with an assist in the third period against Washington.

* Maple Leafs forward Nikolai Kulemin played in his 400th game while Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey played in his 100th career contest.

* Flames goaltender Joni Ortio made 22 saves in his NHL debut while Markus Granlund (Calgary) and Mike Halmo (NY Islanders) also played in their first contests.

WILD, KINGS PERFECT IN ALBERTA
* Darcy Kuemper stopped all 21 shots he faced en route to his first NHL shutout in Minnesota’s 3-0 win in Edmonton. The Wild’s 43 total wins (43-23-9) and 19 road wins (19-12-7) against the Oilers are the franchise’s highest totals against a single opponent.

* Jonathan Quick made 25 saves in recording his fourth shutout of 2013-14 and 29th of his NHL career in a 2-0 win at Calgary. Quick moved within three shutouts of the Kings' all-time leader, Rogie Vachon, who posted 32 with Los Angeles from 1971-72 through 1977-78. The Kings improved to 17-0-0 this season and 122-1-11 in their past 134 regular-season games when leading after two periods (since Apr. 4, 2009).

LOOSE PUCKS
Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (1-1--2) became the first player to reach 80 points this season (29-51--80). . . Derick Brassard scored to extend his point streak to seven games (4-5--9) and Rick Nash tallied the eventual winner in the third period as the Rangers skated to a 2-1 win versus the Blackhawks. New York holds a 6-2-3 record in their past 11 games versus Chicago. . . Playing in his second game as a Blackhawk, Peter Regin netted his first goal and won 7-of-10 faceoffs (70%). . . Adam Henrique scored twice in New Jersey’s 5-2 win over Columbus, matching his career high with 16 goals this season. . . Blue Jackets forward Marian Gaborik played his first game since Dec. 21 and scored his first goal since Oct. 25. . . The Sharks improved to 12-1-2 in their past 15 games against Philadelphia.

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
San Jose @ Buffalo, 7:00 p.m., NHLN-CA, CSN-CA, MSG-B, BELL TV
Phoenix @ Colorado, 9:00 p.m., FS-A PLUS, ALT
Minnesota @ Vancouver, 10:00 p.m., FS-N, SNET-P
St. Louis @ Anaheim, 10:00 p.m., FS-MW, PRIME

PENGUINS, BLACKHAWKS TO PRACTICE AT SOLDIER FIELD
The Penguins (4 p.m., CT) and Blackhawks (7 p.m., CT) will practice today at Soldier Field in preparation for the finale to the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series Saturday night in Chicago (8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT, NBC). Both practices will be followed by media availabilities.

HERITAGE CLASSIC TO SALUTE CANADA'S GOLDEN WOMEN
Canada’s Olympic gold medal-winning National Women’s Team will be feted at Sunday's 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic between the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators at BC Place (4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT, CBC, RDS, NBCSN). Team captain Caroline Ouellette and teammates Hayley Wickenheiser, Meghan Agosta-Marciano, Laura Fortino, Rebecca Johnston, Meaghan Mikkelson, Lauriane Rougeau, Natalie Spooner and Shannon Szabados will participate in a special pre-game ceremony.