THREE HARD LAPS: QUICK HITS FROM THURSDAY

* The Capitals officially began the quest to defend their title by clinching a berth in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* The Blue Jackets rallied to defeat the Canadiens and pass them for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

* Leon Draisaitl became the fourth player to record 100 or more points this season, while Connor McDavid and Alex DeBrincat became the seventh and eighth skaters to reach the 40-goal mark.

CAPITALS CLINCH BERTH IN 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS, REACH 100-POINT MARK

Nic Dowd scored the go-ahead goal with 4:56 remaining in regulation as the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals (46-24-8, 100 points) became the third Eastern Conference team to clinch a berth in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, their fifth consecutive postseason appearance and 29th in franchise history.

* The Capitals are looking to become only the fourth repeat Stanley Cup champion in the last 30 years (since 1989), a feat accomplished twice by the rival Penguins (1991, 1992 and 2016, 2017). The Red Wings (1997, 1998) are the only other team to do so in that span.

* The Capitals reached the 100-point mark for the fifth consecutive season and 12th time in franchise history. Washington’s 544 combined standings points since the beginning of 2014-15 are the most among all teams in that span (251-113-42, 544 points), 10 more than Tampa Bay (251-122-32, 534 points).

BLUE JACKETS RALLY TO WIN PIVOTAL EASTERN CONFERENCE SHOWDOWN

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored two of Columbus’ five unanswered goals as the Blue Jackets overcame a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Canadiens and extend their home win streak to five games. Columbus, which has outscored opponents 24-7 in its last five games at Nationwide Arena, improved to 43-30-4 (90 points) this season and passed Montreal 41-29-8 (90 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

* Contributing to Blue Jackets’ push for a third consecutive postseason berth has been the play of Sergei Bobrovsky (26 saves), who improved to 4-1-0 in his last five appearances with a 1.01 goals-against average, .967 save percentage and three shutouts in that span.

ISLANDERS, STARS OVERCOME DEFICIT TO EARN ROAD WINS

The Islanders (45-26-7, 97 points) and Stars (41-31-6, 88 points) rallied to earn road wins on Thursday as each team pursues a berth in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Casey Cizikas tied the game with 1:46 remaining in regulation and Jordan Eberle (2-1—3) scored the go-ahead goal 33 seconds later as the Islanders erased a 4-3 deficit and defeated the Jets. New York occupies second place in the Metropolitan Division standings and moved two points ahead of Pittsburgh (42-24-11, 95 points).

* Dallas overcame a 2-0 deficit and Jamie Benn scored the decisive goal in the shootout as the Stars extended their road win streak to seven games, the longest active run in the NHL. Dallas, which moved within one game of matching its longest road win streak in franchise history set from Dec. 13, 2010 – Jan. 20, 2011 (8-0-0), occupies the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference standings – five points ahead of Colorado (35-29-13, 83 points)

DID YOU KNOW?

There have been 497 comeback wins this season, the seventh-most in a campaign in NHL history behind 2005-06 (537), 2016-17 (517), 2017-18 (517), 2006-07 (516), 2009-10 (505) and 2014-15 (498).

DRAISAITL ECLIPSES 100 POINTS, McDAVID REACHES 40-GOAL MARK

Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl collected 1-1—2 to eclipse the 100-point mark for the first time in his NHL career (47-54—101 in 77 GP). Draisaitl (Cologne, Germany) became the first player of German nationality in NHL history to reach the 100-point mark in a season.

* Draisaitl became the second Oilers player to reach the 100-point mark this season, joining Connor McDavid (40-74—114 in 73 GP). They became the first set of Oilers teammates to each record 100 or more points in a season since Jari Kurri (44-58—102 in 76 GP) and Jimmy Carson(49-51—100 in 80 GP) in 1988-89.

* McDavid, meanwhile, scored a highlight-reel marker to reach the 40-goal mark for the second time in as many seasons (also 41 G in 2017-18). His 114 points in 2018-19 are the most in a season by an Oilers player since 1989-90, when Mark Messier had 129 (45-84—129 in 79 GP).

DeBRINCAT ALSO REACHES 40-GOAL MARK

Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat scored twice to reach the 40-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career (40-33—73 in 77 GP). DeBrincat (21 years, 100 days) became the youngest player in franchise history to reach 40 goals in a season, eclipsing the previous mark set by Steve Larmer(21 years, 284 days) on March 27, 1983.

* DeBrincat became the second Blackhawks player to reach the 40-goal mark this season, joining Patrick Kane (41-63—104 in 76 GP). Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) and DeBrincat (Farmington Hills, Mich.) became the second set of U.S.-born teammates in NHL history to each score 40 or more goals in a season, joining Kevin Stevens (Brockton, Mass.) and Joe Mullen (New York City, N.Y.) in 1991-92 (w/ PIT).

SENATORS ROOKIE TKACHUK SCORES 20TH GOAL, LOGS 12 SHOTS

Senators forward Brady Tkachuk (born Sept. 16, 1999) scored his 20th goal of 2018-19 (20-20—40 in 66 GP) to match the franchise record for most in a season by a teenager, a mark set by Alexandre Daigle in 1993-94 (20-31—51 in 84 GP).

* Tkachuk logged 12 shots on goal to match the franchise record for most in a game, a mark set by Jason York on Jan. 30, 1999. Tkachuk became the fifth different rookie since 1959-60 to log 12 or more shots in a regular-season game, joining Bobby Rousseau on Feb. 15, 1962 (13), Mike Bossy on Jan. 28, 1978 (12), Brian Leetch on Jan. 4, 1989 (13) and Alex Ovechkin on March 23, 2006 (13) and April 7, 2006 (12).

* ICYMI: York tweeted about Tkachuk matching the franchise record he set over 20 years ago.

QUICK CLICKS

* Brady Keeperbecomes first member of Pimicikamak Cree Nation to play in NHL

* Masterton Trophy nominations announced

* NHL, William Hill relationship good for fans, Commissioner Gary Bettman says

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION

COYOTES, AVALANCHE FACE OFF IN WILD CARD SHOWDOWN

The Coyotes (37-33-7, 81 points) visit the Pepsi Center in Colorado two points back of the Avalanche (35-29-13, 83 points) in the race for the final Wild Card position in the Western Conference.

* The Avalanche and Coyotes have split the season series to date, with both games featuring six or more combined goals. J.T. Compher scored two shorthanded goals on the same power-play opportunity to lead Colorado to a 5-1 W on Nov. 23 and Brad Richardson – who at 34 years of age has set a new career high for goals – tallied twice to lead the Coyotes to a 6-4 W on Dec. 22.

* The Avalanche are looking for consecutive postseason appearances after only qualifying in one of seven seasons from 2010-11 to 2016-17. Colorado is again led in scoring by Nathan MacKinnon (38-56—94 in 77 GP), the first Avalanche player to produce consecutive 90-point campaigns since Peter Forsberg in 1997-98 and 1998-99.

* Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper has started 18 consecutive games dating to Feb. 19 as Arizona continues to push for its first postseason appearance since 2012. Kuemper is 11-5-2 in those 18 starts (1.88 GAA, .939 SV%, 2 SO), matching Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy (11-2-0) for the most wins over that span. Since the franchise relocated to Arizona in 1996-97, only Nikolai Khabibulin (42 in 1996-97) and Ilya Bryzgalov (19 in 2010-11) have made more consecutive starts for the Coyotes – with both goaltenders backstopping the franchise to a postseason appearance in their respective campaign.

* The Avalanche and Coyotes both own a 1-1-0 mark in their three-game season series, with each game ending in regulation. Should Colorado and Arizona conclude the season tied in points and ROW, the tiebreaker would become the head-to-head series with the first game in Glendale excluded from the calculation.

* The Wild (35-33-9, 79 points), who sit four points back of the Avalanche, are also in action on Friday against the Golden Knights. The idle Blackhawks (34-33-10, 78 points) also moved within five points of the Avalanche following their win on Thursday.