* Okposo's linemates, John Tavares and Josh Bailey, each had three assists, giving the top line a 10-point night. Tavares, whose first assist of the night was the 200th of his NHL career, upped his team-leading points total to 19-23--42 in 44 games.

* Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves to improve to 24-8-0 with a 2.24 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. Halak moved into a tie for second place in wins among League goaltenders this season.

* The Islanders improved to 15-4-0 at Nassau Coliseum this season after going 13-18-9 there in 2013-14. After a visit to Montreal tonight, the team plays 22 of its final 37 games on Long Island.

JETS POST HAT TRICK OF WINS AT CHICAGO
The Jets continued their mastery at United Center this season as five Winnipeg skaters posted multi-point performances in a 4-2 win over the Blackhawks. Goals by Bryan Little and Chris Thorburn in a 28-second span midway through the third period broke open a 1-1 game, pulling the Jets (24-14-8, 56 points) within two points of the Blackhawks and Blues in the Central Division race. The Jets have won four consecutive games in Chicago dating to last season, including a 3-0-0 mark in 2014-15.

* Blake Wheeler (0-2—2) celebrated his 500th NHL game by registering his 10th multi-point performance of the season.

* Dustin Byfuglien (0-2—2) posted his sixth multi-point performance of the season, four of which have come in his last eight games. Byfuglien has notched eight points (2-6—8) in his last five games.

* Michael Hutchinson stopped 31 of 33 shots to improve to 13-4-2 this season. The rookie ranks second among NHL goaltenders in save percentage (.932) and third in goals-against average (2.00).

LATE SURGE LIFTS PREDATORS OVER CAPITALS…
The Predators staged a late comeback by tallying a pair of goals in the final five minutes of regulation in a 4-3 win over the Capitals. James Neal (2-0—2) scored twice, including the game-winner with 1:40 remaining, as Nashville improved to 30-9-4 (64 points) and retained first place in the League's overall standings. The Capitals (24-12-8, 56 points) lost in regulation for just the second time in 20 games (14-2-4).

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Predators set a franchise record by recording 30 wins in the season's first 43 games. They took 44 games to reach the 30-win mark in 2006-07 (30-11-3).

* The Predators recorded their seventh consecutive home victory and improved their overall record on home ice to 18-2-1 this season.

* Neal recorded his eighth multi-point game of the season, three of which have come in his last four games.

* Seth Jones (1-1—2) opened the scoring late in the first period with his third goal and added his 10th assist to post his first multi-point game of the season. The Predators improved to 17-1-2 this season when scoring first.

* Carter Hutton collected his first win of the season by stopping 31 of 34 shots. Hutton, who posted 20 wins in 40 appearances in 2013-14, was making his first start following a knee injury to Pekka Rinne that will keep the 2015 NHL All-Star selection sidelined for an estimated 3-5 weeks.

….WHILE DUCKS KEEP PACE IN RACE FOR FIRST OVERALL
Jakob Silfverberg (2-0—2) scored twice to lift the Ducks to their third consecutive victory, their fifth win in six starts and their 10th triumph in the past 12 games at Honda Center (10-2-0). With the win, the Ducks kept pace with the Predators atop the League's overall standings.

* Silfverberg and Patrick Maroon (1-1—2) each recorded their third multi-point games of the season. Silfverberg’s last two-goal performance was on Oct. 10, 2013 in a 6-0 victory over the Rangers.

* Corey Perry (1-0—1) opened the scoring with his team-leading 19th goal of the season and has now netted four goals in his last two games (4-0—0). Perry recorded his eighth career hat trick in a 4-0 win over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday.

* Ilya Bryzgalov made 14 saves to record his first win of the season. In his second stint with Anaheim, Bryzgalov notched his first victory for the club since Oct. 15, 2007, when he stopped 32 shots in a 6-3 win over the Red Wings.

TWO DAYS, TWO GAMES, TWO SHUTOUTS FOR MILLER
Ryan Miller made 28 saves in recording his second shutout in as many days, backstopping the Canucks to a 3-0 victory over the Hurricanes. The Canucks improved to 25-15-3 (53 points), leapfrogging the idle Sharks (24-16-5, 53 points) into second place in the Pacific Division.

* Miller, who blocked 30 shots in blanking the Flyers 4-0 Thursday, is the first Vancouver goaltender to record shutouts in consecutive days since Ken Lockett registered 7-0 and 3-0 wins over the California Golden Seals on April 1-2, 1975. He also is the first goaltender in franchise history to record road shutouts in two consecutive days (Elias Sports Bureau).

* Elias also says the last NHL goaltender to post shutouts on consecutive days was…Miller, who did so as a member of the Sabres on Feb. 29-March 1, 2012 in wins over the Ducks (2-0) and Sharks (1-0).

* Miller recorded his fifth shutout of the season, tied with the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist for second in the NHL behind the Penguins' Marc-Andre Fleury (six).

LUNDQVIST BACKSTOPS RANGERS TO WIN OVER BLUE JACKETS
Henrik Lundqvist made 35 saves to backstop the Rangers to a 2-1 win over the Blue Jackets. The Rangers (25-13-4, 54 points) have won 18 of their last 24 contests (18-6-0), including 16 of their last 21 (16-5-0) and 14 of their last 17 (14-3-0).

* The Rangers have won nine of their last 10 games against Metropolitan Division opponents and have earned points in 13 of their last 14 intra-division games (12-1-1).

* Lundqvist improved to 21-9-3 this season with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. He is 12-2-0 in his last 14 appearances. The victory was the 330th of Lundqvist's NHL career, tying him with Harry Lumley for 21st place on the all-time wins list.

LOOSE PUCKS
Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby (2-1—3) posted his second consecutive three-point game and has recorded 12 points (3-9—12) in his last six games... Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang (0-2—2) registered his second straight multi-point game and eighth such performance of the season... Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin (0-1—1) extended his point streak to four games (2-5—7)... Columbus forward Ryan Johansen (0-1—1) extended his career-high and franchise-record point streak to 12 games (7-7—14). It is the longest active streak in the League… Washington captain Alex Ovechkin (2-0—2) notched his 91st career multi-goal game and his sixth multi-goal game of the season. Ovechkin has scored eight goals in his last nine games... Capitals head coach Barry Trotz faced the Predators for the first time since coaching 15 seasons in Nashville. During his tenure with the Predators, Trotz was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award twice (2010, 2011) and his 557 wins placed him 13th in all-time coaching wins. Trotz, the first coach in franchise history, compiled a record of 557-479-(60)-100 in 1,196 games with the team... Chicago forward Teuvo Teravainen (1-0—1) scored his first career NHL goal... Anaheim forward Ryan Kesler skated in his 700th career NHL game... New Jersey forward Michael Ryder skated in his 800th career NHL game... The 2015 Honda NHL All-Star Game will feature performances from Grammy Award-nominated and multi-platinum selling recording artist Fall Out Boy, rock band O.A.R. and power-pop band Locksley... The Department of Player Safety suspended Bruins forward Brad Marchand for two games for slew-footing Rangers forward Derick Brassard.

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY'S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Columbus @ Boston, 7:00 p.m., FS-O, NESN
Philadelphia @ Buffalo, 7:00 p.m., CSN-PH, MSG-B
NY Islanders @ Montreal, 7:00 p.m., TVA, SN, MSG+
Carolina @ Ottawa, 7:00 p.m., CITY, TVA2, FS-CR
Nashville @ Detroit, 7:00 p.m., FS-TN, FS-D+
Colorado @ Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m., ALT2, SUN
Edmonton @ Florida, 7:00 p.m., SN1, FS-F
Toronto @ St. Louis, 7:00 p.m., CBC, NHLN-US, FS-MW
Washington @ Dallas, 8:00 p.m., CSN-DC, FS-SW
Arizona @ Minnesota, 9:00 p.m., FS-A, FS-N, FS-WI
Anaheim @ Los Angeles, 10:00 p.m., NHLN-US, SN, KCOP-13, FS-W
Calgary @ San Jose, 10:00 p.m., CBC, CSN-CA

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KINGS TO HONOR BLAKE
Former Kings captain/defenseman, current club executive and 2014 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Rob Blake will have his No. 4 jersey retired by the Kings as part of a special pregame ceremony at STAPLES Center tonight prior to the Kings-Ducks game. Blake will become the sixth Kings player to be so honored, joining Luc Robitaille (#20/2007), Wayne Gretzky (#99/2002), Dave Taylor (#18/1995), Marcel Dionne (#16/1990) and Rogie Vachon (#30/1985).

Blake is the all-time leader in games played, goals, assists and points by a Kings defenseman. He played 14 of his 20 NHL seasons with the Kings, including six as captain. He helped the club reach the Stanley Cup Final in 1993, won the franchise’s first Norris Trophy in 1998 and made seven trips to the NHL All-Star Game, representing the Kings four times.

SIX GAMES HIGHLIGHT NATIONAL SCHEDULE
Six games highlight Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada schedule: two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference meet when the Islanders visit the Canadiens at Bell Centre; the Maple Leafs continue their Western Conference road trip against the Blues (also on NHLN-US); the Senators host the Hurricanes; the Oilers are in South Florida to take on the Panthers; the Flames, just one point out of a playoff spot, visit the Sharks; and the Kings and Ducks square off in the "Freeway Face-Off" at STAPLES Center.

the above information was provided by the NHL PR department