THOUSANDS GATHER TO HONOR THE LIFE OF TED LINDSAY

Red Wings past and present were among those who gathered in Detroit to pay their respects to the Lindsay family during a public visitation for Ted Lindsay. The legendary forward played 1,068 NHL games across 17 seasons with the Red Wings and Blackhawks, totaling 379-472—851, 1,808 penalty minutes, an Art Ross Trophy and four Stanley Cups.

* The namesake of the only NHL trophy voted on by the players themselves, Lindsay continued to dedicate himself to the sport long after his playing career ended, providing more than five decades of service to hockey after donning his legendary No. 7 for the last time on April 15, 1965. A private funeral service will be held today in Michigan.

"We're celebrating a legend, a true gentleman. And he will be missed."

- Henrik Zetterberg, former Red Wings captain

THREE HARD LAPS: QUICK HITS FROM FRIDAY

* The Lightning clinched their 11th all-time playoff appearance.

* Aleksander Barkov set a franchise record with five assists as Florida continues its playoff push.

* Blake Wheeler scored his seventh goal in four games as the Jets tallied eight goals to take first place in the Central Division.

LIGHTNING FIRST TO CLINCH BERTH IN 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

Tampa Bay became the first team to clinch a spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs by virtue of Montreal’s regulation loss in Anaheim. The Lightning (68 GP) tied the 2008-09 Sharks for the second-fewest games to secure a playoff spot since 2005-06, one game shy of the 2009-10 Capitals (67 GP). In terms of calendar date, Tampa Bay was fastest to clinch in that span (three days earlier than the Capitals).

* The Lightning are headed to the playoffs for the 11th time in franchise history, their fifth appearance in the past six seasons (since 2013-14). The club has reached at least the Eastern Conference Final in four of the last eight years.

BARKOV SETS PANTHERS RECORD, WHEELER KEEPS SCORING AS JETS FILL NET

Florida and Winnipeg raced to 4-0 and 5-0 leads, respectively, with Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov (0-5—5) notching the first five-assist game in franchise history and Blake Wheeler (1-1—2) scoring for the seventh time in four games.

* Barkov posted five points in a game for the first time in his career, becoming the fifth Panthers player ever to do so (joining David Booth, Brett McLean, Olli Jokinen and Pavel Bure). Jonathan Huberdeau (1-3—4) and Barkov each recorded at least four points in a game for the fourth time in their careers, trailing only Bure (6) for the most such performances in club history. The Panthers (29-27-12, 70 points) now sit nine points back of a playoff spot.

* Wheeler was one of 15 Winnipeg skaters to find the score sheet as he extended his goal streak and point streaks to four and eight games (7-8—15), respectively. Wheeler, who sits one tally away from his seventh career and sixth consecutive 20-goal season (19-64—83 in 67 GP), is one shy of matching the longest goal streak of his career (5 GP from Apr. 1-9, 2016). The Jets (40-23-4, 84 points) once again overtook the Predators (39-25-5, 83 points) for first place in the Central Division.

NHL, NHLPA MARK INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY WITH COMMITMENT TO GROWTH

On International Women’s Day, the NHLPA and NHL announced the establishment of the NHL & NHLPA Female Hockey Advisory Committee, dedicated to accelerating the growth of female hockey in North America while also ensuring more women and girls have the opportunity to experience the benefits that hockey offers.

* The committee includes 11 women with varied backgrounds and experiences: Michele Amidon, Annie Camins, Maria Dennis, Mandi Duhamel, Lyndsey Fry, Angela James, Tarasai Karega, Kelsey Koelzer, AJ Mleczko Griswold, Caroline Popilchak and Kristen Wright. Click here or on the photo below for details and to hear from Renata Fast, Rebecca Johnston, Brianna Decker and Kendall Coyne Schofield.

* Also in celebration of International Women’s Day and following Tuesday’s all-female production of NHL Now, Coyne Schofield, Dani Cameranesiand Gigi Marvinof the U.S. Women’s National Team will be featured in a special “Women in Hockey” edition of NHL Network Ice Time today (9 a.m. and noon ET).

QUICK CLICKS

* Cam Fowler passes Scott Niedermayer to become Anaheim’s leader in points among D

* Braden Holtby ties franchise record with 35th career shutout as Capitals regain division lead

* Mark Stone signs eight-year, $76 million contract with Golden Knights

* 15-year-old Shane Wright granted exceptional-player status, eligible for 2019 OHL draft

* Ducks owners, Irvine Ice Foundation open $110 million ice facility

*Troy Terry became the only Ducks rookie to record consecutive three-point performances

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS ABOUND ON 12-GAME SATURDAY

With four weeks remaining in the regular season, 24 teams hit the ice today as the push for the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs continues. A few notables:

* Ben Bishop and the Stars (35-27-5, 75 points) take their four-game win streak and 144:20 shutout streak into a game against the Blackhawks (who sit nine points back of the final playoff position), with Patrick Kane (40-56—96 in 66 GP) sitting four points shy of his second 100-point season. The Stars/North Stars have posted three consecutive shutouts once: Cesare Maniago was the goaltender of record each time as Minnesota blanked its opposition in three straight outings from Dec. 13-16, 1967 - the 26th, 27th and 28th games in franchise history - during a stretch that saw the team involved in six straight shutouts (the only such instance in the NHL’s modern era).

* The Coyotes (33-29-5, 71 points) sit just three points back of the Wild (33-28-8, 74 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. The last time Arizona was within three points of a playoff spot this late in the season (min. 67 GP) was in the 2013-14 campaign when the Stars finished two points ahead of them to secure the final playoff position in the West.

* The Oilers set out for a season-high fifth straight win, with Leon Draisaitl (9-9—18 on 12-game point streak) and Connor McDavid (0-7—7 over three straight multi-point games) looking to continue their scoring prowess. McDavid was the last Oilers player to record a point streak of at least 13 games.

* Playing without captain Gabriel Landeskog for the first time since Dec. 5, 2017 (14-18-2 without him in the lineup), the Avalanche host the Sabres with Mikko Rantanen (29-56—85 in 68 GP) sitting one goal shy of becoming the third member of his team to hit the 30-goal mark in 2018-19. The only time the team had three or more players with 30 goals apiece since relocating to Colorado was in 1995-96 - the team’s inaugural season in Denver - when Joe Sakic (51), Claude Lemieux (39), Valeri Kamensky (38) and Peter Forsberg (30) combined for the feat.

* Pittsburgh aims for a sweep of its four-game season series against Columbus as the Metropolitan Division rivals battle for position in the Eastern Conference. Sidney Crosby has scored in each of the past six games - including an empty-net tally Thursday against the Blue Jackets - and aims to match a career high with a seven-game goal streak. Only one NHL player has scored a goal in seven straight games in 2018-19: Cam Atkinson did so for Columbus from Nov. 10-24 (9-4—13).

* The Bruins, who have trailed by two goals en route to winning each of their last two contests, host the Senators with several streaks on the line, including their 18-game point streak (14-0-4 since Jan. 29) and nine-game home win streak. The last team to post a point streak of 19 or more games was the 2012-13 Blackhawks, while the Bruins aim for 10 straight home victories for the first time since 2008-09.

* Did You Know? Boston’s win Thursday was just the 10th time in League history that a team won in regulation after trailing in the final minute of play - with the Bruins’ victory coming nearly 87 years after the Montreal Maroons became the first NHL team to achieve the feat.

the information above was supplied by the NHL PR department