THREE HARD LAPS: QUICK HITS FROM FRIDAY

* The Blues rise from the bottom of the standings on Jan. 2 to clinch a playoff berth on March 29.

* The Golden Knights make it two playoff appearances in two NHL seasons.

* The Avalanche secure a key win over the Coyotes to extend their lead on the final Wild Card position in the Western Conference to three points. The Wild keep pace and remain four points back of Colorado.

BLUES RISE FROM BOTTOM OF STANDINGS TO CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH

The Blues (41-28-8, 90 points) clinched a postseason berth for the seventh time in eight seasons by virtue of Colorado’s shootout win over Arizona, capping an improbable turnaround that saw the club rally from last place in the overall standings on Jan. 2 to within four points of the Central Division-leading Jets (45-28-4, 94 points).

* The Blues, who held the No. 31 seed in the standings on Jan. 2 (15-18-4, 34 points in 37 GP), are now the seventh team in the NHL’s expansion era to make the playoffs after ranking last overall at any point after New Year’s Day (min. 20 GP). The others to do so since 1967-68: the 1976-77 North Stars, 1979-80 Oilers, 1982-83 Maple Leafs, 1987-88 Kings, 1987-88 Maple Leafs and 1996-97 Senators.

* Contributing to the dramatic rise in the standings was a franchise-record 11-game winning streak from Jan. 23 – Feb. 19 and a 21-5-1 mark from rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington (1.85 GAA, .928 SV%, 5 SO), who recorded a shutout in his first start on Jan. 7 and went on to require the third-fewest starts in NHL history to reach 20 career wins (25 starts).

GOLDEN KNIGHTS RETURN TO PLAYOFFS AFTER UNFORGETTABLE RUN IN 2018

The Golden Knights (42-30-6, 90 points) also benefited from the Avalanche shootout win, clinching a postseason berth for the second time in as many NHL seasons.

* The Golden Knights now embark on another playoff run as they look to improve upon their unforgettable postseason journey in 2018 that saw them sweep their way through the first playoff series in franchise history, claim three series-clinching victories on the road and become the 20th team from either the NHL, MLB, NBA or NFL/AFL to reach the championship series/game in their first trip to the postseason.

^{^}All-time for NHL and NBA; since 1966 for NFL/AFL; since 1969 for MLB

* Vegas is the seventh team in NHL history to make the playoffs in each of its first two seasons, joining the Oilers as the only team to do it in the post-expansion era (i.e. excluding teams who joined the NHL in 1967-68 or earlier). The Oilers went on to extend their streak to 13 consecutive seasons, a run which saw them capture five Stanley Cups within their first 11 campaigns.

AVALANCHE, WILD CONTINUE WILD CARD PUSH WITH KEY VICTORIES

The Avalanche (36-29-13, 85 points) and Wild (36-33-9, 81 points) each secured pivotal victories in their pursuit of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference:

* The Avalanche survived a last-minute tying goal from the Coyotes (37-33-8, 82 points) – the team closest to them in the standings – to win in a shootout and extend their lead for the final Wild Card position in the West to three points.

* The Wild remain four points back of the Avalanche after securing a win over the Golden Knights. Devan Dubnyk made 35 saves to improve to 30-27-6 and record his fifth consecutive 30-win season. Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (five straight) is the only other goaltender with an active streak of five or more consecutive 30-win campaigns.

* Each team’s next game will be just as key to the Wild Card race with the Coyotes hosting the Wild on Sunday and the Avalanche visiting the Blueson Monday.

PREDATORS GAIN GROUND ON JETS IN CENTRAL DIVISION

Viktor Arvidsson (1-0—1) recorded his 100th career regular-season goal and Craig Smith (1-1—2) reached the 20-goal mark as the Predators(44-28-6, 94 points) won to match the point total of the Central-division leading Jets in a bid to overtake their rivals in the final eight days of 2018-19 and earn a second consecutive division title.

* Among players to make their NHL debut with the franchise, Arvidsson (100-83—183) became the fastest to reach 100 career goals (274 GP), eclipsing the previous mark held by teammate Filip Forsberg (281 GP). Among all Predators players, Jason Arnott required the fewest games to score 100 goals with the franchise (247 GP).

* Smith recorded his fifth 20-goal season (all w/ NSH) to tie Forsberg for the most such campaigns in franchise history. With the goal, Smith (143-154—297) also tied Forsberg for fourth place on the franchise goals list.

QUICK CLICKS

* Sean Monahan leads Flames to victory with four-point performance

* Andreas Athanasiou becomes second Red Wings player to reach 30 goals in 2018-19

* Women's hockey in brighter spotlight as World Championship nears

* NHL Network Ice Time: Interview with the Blue Jackets’ Matt Duchene

* NHL Network Ice Time:On-ice demo with his teammate Seth Jones

* NHL Network Ice Time:Rapid-fire questions with Taylor Hall

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION

LIGHTNING, CAPITALS FACE OFF IN EASTERN CONFERENCE SHOWDOWN

In a battle between the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Lightning (59-14-4, 122 points) and the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals (46-24-8, 100 points), Tampa Bay aims to continue adding to a historic season by inching closer to the NHL record for most wins in a season while Washington looks to create more space between rivals in its bid for a fourth straight division title. The Lightning lead the season series 2-0-0 (WSH: 0-1-1).

* The Lightning are one game shy from becoming the third team in NHL history to earn 60 wins in a season - only the 1995-96 Red Wings (62; the NHL record) and 1976-77 Canadiens (60) have accomplished the feat.

* Washington captain Alex Ovechkin (49-37—86) sits one goal shy of his eighth career 50-goal season. Only two players have recorded more such seasons in NHL history: Wayne Gretzky (9) and Mike Bossy (9). The player closest to Ovechkin in the ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy race, Leon Draisaitl (47-54—101), is also in action on Saturday in pursuit of his first career 50-goal campaign.

thanks the the NHL PR department for the information above