BEAUCHEMIN’S LATE GOAL LIFTS AVALANCHE OVER SABRES . . .
Francois Beauchemin (1-1—2) assisted on the tying goal midway through the third period and then scored with 31.7 seconds remaining in regulation to power the Avalanche to their third win in their last four games overall as well as their 10th consecutive victory over the Sabres dating to March 7, 2007 (BUF: 0-6-4).

* At 24-21-3 (51 points), the Avalanche moved two points ahead of the idle Canucks (19-17-11, 49 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. They also climbed within one point of the Wild (22-16-8, 52 points) – who lost in regulation – for the first Wild Card position in the conference.

* Per Elias, Colorado’s 10-game winning streak against Buffalo is tied for the longest suchactive streak against one opponent in the NHL; Dallas also has won 10 straight games against Vancouver dating to April 18, 2013 (VAN: 0-7-3).

* Beauchemin recorded the ninth tiebreaking goal in the final minute of regulation this season – and second in as many days:

Tiebreaking Goals in Final Minute of Regulation, 2015-16 Season
19:52 – Matt Hunwick (TOR) on Jan. 19 at PHI
19:51 – Michael Frolik (CGY) on Oct. 31 at EDM
19:43 – Justin Faulk (CAR) on Dec. 6 vs. ARI
19:43 – Rasmus Ristolainen (BUF) on Nov. 7 vs. VAN
19:41 – Patrick Sharp (DAL) on Dec. 8 vs. CAR
19:39 – Aaron Ekblad (FLA) on Nov. 16 vs. TBL
19:28 – Francois Beauchemin (COL) on Jan. 20 vs. BUF
19:13 – Brad Marchand (BOS) on Jan. 16 vs. TOR
19:06 – Mats Zuccarello (NYR) on Nov. 15 vs. TOR

. . . THREE UNANSWERED GOALS HELP DUCKS KEEP PACE
Down 1-0 early in the first period, the Ducks scored three unanswered goals – including the tiebreaker by Rickard Rakell with 6:19 remaining in regulation – to complete their season-long, eight-game homestand with a 5-3-0 record.

* At 20-18-7 (47 points), the Ducks moved within two points of three teams – the Sharks (23-18-3, 49 points), Coyotes (22-18-5, 49 points) and Canucks (19-17-11, 49 points) – for second place in the Pacific Division. They also remained four points behind the Avalanche (24-21-3, 51 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

* Rakell scored his 10th goal of the season (42 GP) to surpass his career total of nine in 93 NHL appearances prior to 2015-16. He also recorded his third career game-winning goal and second of the campaign, both vs. MIN (also Oct. 18).

* John Gibson made 25 saves to improve to 10-7-2 this season (1.86 GAA, .925 SV%, 4 SO), with an 8-5-1 record on home ice (1.89 GAA, .926 SV%, 2 SO). His 1.86 goals-against average paces the NHL.

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Via Elias, Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg (304-513—817 in 882 GP) scored to tie Thomas Steen (264-553—817 in 950 GP) for eighth place on the NHL’s all-time points list among Swedish-born players.

* Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov (27 SV) played in his 300th NHL game.

* Forward Jarret Stoll scored his first goal with the Wild (17 GP).

LOOSE PUCKS
Sabres forward Ryan O’Reilly, a second-round selection (33rd overall) by the Avalanche in the 2009 NHL Draft, collected one assist in his return to Colorado. O’Reilly – who paces the Sabres in goals (17), assists (t-23) and points (40) this season – compiled 90-156—246 over his first six NHL campaigns with the Avalanche (427 GP) . . . Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek made 18 saves, but suffered his first regulation loss since Dec. 31 . . . Blues teammates David Backes and Alex Pietrangelo both recorded two assists . . . Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm logged 28:33 and played in his 200th NHL game while celebrating his 22nd birthday.

SNEAK PEEK AT THURSDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Vancouver @ Boston, 7:00 p.m., SN360, NESN
Ottawa @ New Jersey, 7:00 p.m., TSN5, RDS, MSG+
Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m., CSN-PH, ROOT
Calgary @ Columbus, 7:00 p.m., SNF, FS-O
Carolina @ Toronto, 7:30 p.m., FS-SE, SNO
Chicago @ Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m., TVAS, CSN-CH, SUN
Nashville @ Winnipeg, 8:00 p.m., FS-TN, TSN3
Edmonton @ Dallas, 8:30 p.m., SNW, FS-SW
San Jose @ Arizona, 9:00 p.m., CSN-CA, FS-A
Minnesota @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m., SN, FS-N, FS-WI, FS-W
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STREAKING BLACKHAWKS, LIGHTNING MEET IN CUP FINAL REMATCH
Both the Blackhawks (32-13-4, 68 points) and Lightning (25-17-4, 54 points) – opponents in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final – put lengthy winning streaks on the line when they face off at Amalie Arena in their second and final matchup of the season. Chicago has won a franchise-record 12 consecutive games to climb into first place in the Central Division and Western Conference. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, has won six straight – its longest such streak since Oct. 28 – Nov. 9, 2014 (also 6-0-0) – to move within three points of Florida (26-15-5, 57 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division. In their lone other meeting of the season, on Oct. 24 at United Center, Corey Crawford stopped all 21 shots he faced andJonathan Toews scored 17 seconds into overtime to lift the Blackhawks to a 1-0 victory.

FLYERS VISIT PENGUINS IN BATTLE OF PENNSYLVANIA
Crucial points are on the line when the Flyers (20-16-8, 48 points) visit the Penguins (21-17-7, 49 points) at CONSOL Energy Center. This marks the first of four meetings in 2015-16 between these intrastate rivals, who are separated by one point as they chase a playoff berth in both the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. Two of their remaining matchups will take place during the final week of the season: on April 3 at PIT and April 9 at PHI – the last day of the campaign. Overall, the Flyers have won eight consecutive head-to-head games between these teams dating to Nov. 13, 2013 (PIT: 0-6-2) and own an 11-1-1 regular-season record at CONSOL Energy Center since the building opened in 2010-11 (PIT: 2-10-1).

the above information was supplied by the NHL PR department