CAPITALS, MAPLE LEAFS JOIN STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS PICTURE
The idle Capitals (46-24-7, 99 points) and Maple Leafs (46-24-7, 99 points) clinched spots in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs following victories by the Penguins and Senators:

* Washington will make its fourth consecutive playoff appearance and 28th in franchise history.

* Toronto will make its second consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and 67th in franchise history (third all-time behind MTL: 83 and BOS: 71).

BOSTON ENDS TAMPA BAY’S FIVE-MONTH REIGN OF 1ST PLACE

Patrice Bergeron collected 1-2—3 to help the Bruins (48-17-11, 107 points) extend their point streak to seven contests (4-0-3) and overtake the Lightning (51-22-4, 106 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference – positions Tampa Bay had held since Oct. 19.

* Boston improved to 3-0-0 vs. Tampa Bay this season (TBL: 0-3-0) and have held the NHL’s highest-scoring team to two or fewer goals in each contest – including the club’s only shutout loss of the season on March 17. In fact, the Bruins have not trailed in any of their three contests against the Lightning in 2017-18.

* With six games remaining – including one against the Lightning and three against the Panthers – the Bruins eye their first division crown since 2013-14 when they won the Presidents’ Trophy.

PREDATORS ESTABLISH FRANCHISE RECORD FOR POINTS IN A SEASON
Filip Forsberg tallied three assists and Juuse Saros made 39 saves as the League-leading Predators (50-16-11, 111 points) established a franchise record for points in a season and hit the 50-win mark for the second time. In 2006-07, the club set records for wins and points in one campaign (51-23-8, 110 points).

* Nashville joined Tampa Bay (51) as the only teams to reach the 50-win mark in 2017-18 as they pursue the first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history. The Predators hold a four-point lead on the next-closest team (BOS: 48-17-11, 107 points) with five games remaining – a schedule that includes two contests against playoff-bound teams (TBL and WSH) and two against teams battling for a spot (CBJ and FLA).

EMERGENCY BACKUP GOALIE CLOSES OUT BLACKHAWKS VICTORY

For just the third time in the NHL’s modern era, two goaltenders made their NHL debut for the same team in the same game as Collin Delia (25 saves) and Scott Foster (7 saves) combined for 32 stops to lead the Blackhawks past the playoff-bound Jets.

* Foster, a 36-year-old accountant in Oak Park, Illinois, left with First Star honors after entering in the third period as the emergency backup to Delia – an undrafted netminder who spent time in the AHL this season – who left due to injury.

* Overall, there have been five instances of two netminders making their League debut for the same team in the same game. The first such instance occurred on Dec. 19, 1917 – the first day of the NHL's inaugural season – when Sammy Hebert and Art Mitchell split duties for the Toronto Arenas.

* The other pre-modern era instance came on March 15, 1932 when the Maple Leafs were credited with using four players in goal. Starter Lorne Chabot played before being replaced by three defensemen while serving a penalty: King Clancy (who had made his goaltending debut in 1924-25) along with Alex Levinsky and Red Horner – both of whom appeared in an NHL crease for the first time.

HAT TRICKS POWER NO. 3 SEEDS TO IMPRESSIVE WINS

Blue Jackets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois (3-0—3) and Kings forward Jeff Carter (3-0—3) each netted hat tricks to power their clubs to victory:

* Dubois collected his first career hat trick to power Columbus (44-29-5, 93 points) to their sixth straight road win and a 12-1-0 clip in its past 13 contests overall. Dubois (18-26—44) surpassed Rick Nash (17-22—39 in 2002-03) for the most goals in a season by a Blue Jackets rookie, while becoming just the fourth rookie in franchise history to score a hat trick.

* Carter, skating in his 900th NHL game, tallied his sixth career hat-trick and first since March 4, 2013 to help the Kings (43-28-7, 93 points) improve to 4-1-1 in their last six contests.

* Did You Know? There have been 73 hat tricks overall in 2017-18 (1,198 GP) – 13 more than last season (59 in 1,230 GP) – including seven scored by rookies. Only two campaigns since 2003-04 have finished with more total hat-tricks: 2005-06 (79) and 2010-11 (76).

MCDAVID EXTENDS GOAL STREAK, MOVES INTO “ROCKET” CONTENTION

Connor McDavid scored his 41st goal of the season to extend his point streak to six contests (7-7—14), a run that includes five consecutive games with at least one goal. He pushed his totals to 41-62—103 to maintain his lead in the race for the Art Ross Trophy and move within four goals of Alex Ovechkin in the push for the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy.

CROSBY WOWS WITH ANOTHER AMAZING GOAL, PAGEAU NETS RARE OT WINNER
The Penguins and Senators both benefited from unique scoring opportunities to secure overtime victories:

* Sidney Crosby (1-0—1) batted a puck out of mid-air to score – his second such goal in eight days – to guide Pittsburgh (44-28-6, 94 points) to its second win in three contests. Crosby, who found the back of the net for the fifth straight contest, scored his 13th career regular-season overtime goal, the most by any player in Penguins franchise history.

* Jean-Gabriel Pageau (2-0—2) became the 14th player to convert on a penalty shot in overtime – and first to do so with the Senators – as Ottawa defeated Florida. In fact, he became the third player to achieve the feat this season, joining Toronto’s William Nylander (Jan. 24 at CHI) and Nashville’s Filip Forsberg (Feb. 13 vs. STL). No other campaign has seen more than two such goals.

QUICK CLICKS

· Senators host 'America's Got Talent' star, who belts out national anthems

· Emergency goalie has 'ton of fun' playing for Blackhawks

· Eeli Tolvanen signs, ready to give Predators more depth up front

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION

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KINGS, DUCKS TO MEET IN PIVOTAL PACIFIC DIVISION SHOWDOWN

Intrastate rivals face off tonight when the Ducks (39-25-13, 91 points) host the Kings (43-28-7, 93 points) in a matchup between two clubs battling for playoff spots in the Western Conference. At least one of Los Angeles or Anaheim is guaranteed a playoff spot by virtue of a top-three finish in the Pacific Division, with the Kings already clinching the ROW tiebreaker between the two clubs (LAK: 41, ANA: 35). After Friday, the Kings play their final three contests against the Avalanche (41-28-8, 90 points), Wild (43-24-10, 96 points) and Stars (39-31-8, 86 points), while the Ducks also face those same opponents before visiting the Coyotes for their season finale.

VEGAS RESUMES DIVISION TITLE DRIVE; BLUES, AVS TRY FOR KEY POINTS

The Golden Knights (48-22-7, 103 points) can move closer to a division title when they host the Blues (43-28-5, 91 points), who look to fend off the Avalanche (41-28-8, 90 points) as the battle for Western Conference playoff spots resumes.

* Vegas continues its push to become the second expansion team from any of the four major North American professional sports leagues to finish first in its division (since 1961; excluding 1967-68 NHL season). Elias notes that the NBA’s Denver Nuggets (1976-77) are the only expansion team to accomplish the feat in that span.

* St. Louis has moved into the first Wild Card spot thanks to an 8-1-0 record in its past nine contests, including an active six-game win streak. The Blues last had a seven-game win streak in 2014-15 (2x).

* Colorado, meanwhile, look to move back into playoff spot when they take on the Blackhawks – their only remaining opponent not currently holding a playoff position. The Avalanche and Blues go head-to-head in their season finale on April 7 (STL: 3-1-0; COL: 1-3-0).

the above information was supplied by the NHL PR department