THREE HARD LAPS: QUICK HITS FROM THURSDAY

* Captain Anders Lee and the Metropolitan Division-leading Islanders spoiled John Tavares’ return to Nassau Coliseum.

* Tuukka Rask and the Bruins won a first-of-its-kind matchup to keep their streaks alive, ending a pair of Lightning streaks in the process.

* Brad Richardson netted Arizona’s first four-goal performance in 22 years as the Coyotes moved within one point of the playoffs with a fifth straight win.

Read below for more on each storyline.

CAPTAIN ANDERS LEE GUIDES ISLANDERS IN TAVARES’ HOMECOMING

In John Tavares’ first road game against his former team, it was current Islanders captain Anders Lee who scored the game-winning goal to help his club improve to 9-1-1 in its last 11 home games (including a 4-1-1 record at NYCB Live/Nassau Coliseum).

* Taking a two-point lead atop the Metropolitan Division standings - a position they have held since Jan. 18 - New York (37-19-7, 81 points) required 63 or fewer contests to reach the 80-point mark for the eighth time in franchise history.

* Lee leads the Islanders with 22 goals this season after pacing the club in goals in each of the past two campaigns (34 in 2016-17 and 40 in 2017-18). Five players in franchise history have at least tied for the team lead in goals in three consecutive seasons, including Tavares (3 straight from 2012-13 to 2015-16). The others: Mike Bossy (10 from 1977-78 to 1986-87), Pat LaFontaine (5 from 1986-87 to 1990-91), Ziggy Palffy (4 from 1995-96 to 1998-99) and Mariusz Czerkawski (3 from 1999-00 to 2003-04).

BRUINS DEFEAT LEAGUE LEADERS IN BATTLE OF STREAKING CLUBS
Entering the third period with a one-goal lead, the Bruins (38-17-9, 85 points) scored three goals in a span of 1:28 en route to extending their point streak to 15 contests (11-0-4) while also halting the League-leading Lightning’s win and point streaks at 10 and 14 games (12-0-2), respectively. Thursday marked the first game in NHL history in which two teams faced off while each owning a point streak of 14 or more contests.

* Boston completed a full calendar month without a regulation loss for the ninth time in franchise history and third time in 50 years to join Tampa Bay (13-0-1 in December) as the only teams to accomplish the feat this season. The 2018-19 campaign marks the 13th in NHL history - and ninth in the last 40 years - to feature multiple teams finishing a calendar month without a regulation loss (min. 8 GP).

* Tuukka Rask, who lost his shutout bid with just over six minutes remaining in regulation, extended his point streak to 16 consecutive decisions (13-0-3) dating to Dec. 29, 2018 (1.99 GAA, .931 SV%, 2 SO). Last season, Rask earned a point in 21 consecutive decisions (19-0-2).

* The winningest goaltender in franchise history is one of four netminders in NHL history to post multiple point streak of at least 16 decisions. Pete Peeters accomplished the feat with Flyers (27 GP in 1979-80) and Bruins (21 GP in 1982-83), while the others - like Rask - did so in consecutive seasons: George Hainsworth (18 GP in 1927-28 and 16 GP in 1928-29) and Ken Dryden (18 GP in 1977-78 and 16 GP in 1978-79), both with the Canadiens.

14-SEASON VETERAN NETS COYOTES’ FIRST FOUR-GOAL GAME IN 22 YEARS
Brad Richardson scored a career-best four goals to propel the Coyotes (31-28-5, 67 points) to their fifth straight victory. Arizona has outscored its opponents 19-10 during its current run and now sits one point shy of Minnesota (31-27-6, 68 points), which holds the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

* A 14-season NHL veteran, Richardson (34 years, 24 days) became the eighth player in the last 20 years to score four goals in a game at age 34 or older. The others: Patrick Marleau (Jan. 23, 2017), Martin St. Louis (Jan. 18, 2014), Alex Kovalev (Jan. 3, 2010), Mats Sundin (April 11, 2006), Scott Mellanby (March 6, 2003), Brett Hull (March 21, 2001) and Dave Andreychuk (Oct. 28, 1999).

* Richardson, who tallied his first career hat trick on Oct. 23, 2010 at Colorado, is the second player this season - and second in the past 10 days - to end a span of at least eight years between hat tricks (also Joe Thornton on Feb. 18 vs. BOS).

* Richardson joined Keith Tkachuk as the just the second player in Coyotes team history to score four goals in a game - a list that grows to only seven different names when including the franchise’s time in Winnipeg (Tkachuk and Teemu Selanne each had two such performances).

JONES SETS FRANCHISE BENCHMARK IN OT WIN

Artemi Panarin (1-1—2) hit the 70-point mark for a fourth straight season and assisted on Seth Jones’ overtime winner to power the Blue Jackets (36-24-3, 75 points) ahead of the idle Hurricanes (34-23-6, 74 points) and Penguins (33-22-8, 74 points) into the third spot in the Metropolitan Division standings, where only seven points separate the top five seeds.

* Jones netted his eighth NHL overtime goal, seven of which have come in a Blue Jackets uniform - now a franchise record for any player. Additionally, only three defensemen in NHL history have tallied more regular-season overtime goals than Jones: Brent Burns (13), Scott Niedermayer (13) and Mike Green (9).

THE WILD, WILD WEST …

The Golden Knights (34-26-5, 73 points) and Stars (32-27-5, 69 points) each staged multi-goal comebacks to improve their positions in the Western Conference playoff picture:

* Reilly Smith (2-0—2) netted a highlight-reel goal to spark a comeback and help Vegas strengthen its grip on third place in the Pacific Division standings.

* Roope Hintz netted his first career overtime goal to lift Dallas ahead of idle Minnesota (31-27-6, 68 points) and Colorado (28-24-12, 68 points) into the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

* So far in 2018-19, 43.0% of games have been won by a team that trailed by at least one goal (426 of 990 GP) - the second-highest such percentage in League history behind 2005-06 (43.7%; 433 of 990 GP). The 426 comeback wins mark an 8.4% increase from the same point last season (393 of 990 GP).

* There now have been 114 multi-goal comeback victories this season. So far, 11.5% of games in 2018-19 have seen a team win despite trailing by multiple goals - the highest such percentage through 990 games in League history.

QUICK CLICKS

* WATCH: Skates Off with Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones
* Commissioner Gary Bettman discusses healing process at 9/11 Memorial & Museum

* Carey Price shares special moment with young fan

* Mike Hoffman sets career high with 30th goal of the season

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION

PLAYOFF PUSH THE FOCUS AS MARCH OPENS WITH EIGHT-GAME SLATE

The month of March opens with eight games, including four head-to-head matchups between clubs in the thick of the playoff push:

* The Blues (34-23-6, 74 points) and Hurricanes (34-23-6, 74 points), two of the top four clubs since the calendar turned, face off in Raleigh. Carolina occupies a playoff spot at this stage of a campaign (min. 60 GP) for the second time in as many seasons and just the third time in the last nine years (also 2010-11). Meanwhile, St. Louis sits only five points back of first place in the Central Division (with three games in hand).

* Sticking with the Central Division, the two teams ahead of the Blues square off for the third of four meetings in 2018-19 when the Predators (37-24-5, 79 points) visit the Jets (37-22-4, 78 points). Either Nashville (72 of 139 days; 52%) or Winnipeg (67 of 139 days; 48%) has held the No. 1 seed in the division every day since Oct. 13, with one more regular-season meeting ahead of them after tonight (March 23 in WPG; both teams are 1-1-0 in season series).

* Another clash between the top-two teams in a division will pit the Islanders (37-19-7, 81 points) against the Capitals (36-21-7, 79 points). Washington is chasing its fourth consecutive division title (a feat they achieved in the Southeast Division from 2007-08 to 2010-11), while New York is pursuing its seventh first-place finish in a division and first in 31 years (they won the Patrick Division in 1987-88).

* The Penguins (33-22-8, 74 points) visit the Sabres (29-26-8, 66 points) as both clubs look to pull closer to the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

* Three other clubs that either hold or are within six points of a Wild Card spot are in action tonight: the Canadiens (34-23-7, 75 points), Flyers (30-26-8, 68 points) and Avalanche (28-24-12, 68 points).

the information above was supplied by the NHL PR department