. . . DID YOU KNOW?
Per Elias, there have been 24 tying goals scored in the final minute of regulation this season. The team that recorded the tying goal has gone on to win 17 of those games.

DOAN SETS FRANCHISE RECORDS IN COYOTES’ VICTORY
Shane Doan posted 2-1—3 (including 1 PPG) to become the franchise’s all-time leader in points and power-play goals and also help the Coyotes snap a five-game skid (0-4-1).

* At 25-23-6 (56 points), the Coyotes moved within three points of the Predators (25-21-9, 59 points) – who lost in overtime – for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. They also climbed within four points of the idle Ducks (26-19-8, 60 points) for third place in the Pacific Division.

* Doan (389-542—931 in 1,439 GP) moved past Dale Hawerchuk (379-550—929 in 713 GP) for the most points in Coyotes/Jets history. Doan (123) also surpassed Hawerchuk (122) for the franchise lead in power-play goals.

* Doan became the sixth active NHL player to lead his franchise in all-time points. The others: San Jose’s Patrick Marleau (473-550—1,023), New Jersey’s Patrik Elias (407-615—1,022), Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin (220-733—953), Washington’s Alex Ovechkin(509-434—943) and Minnesota’s Mikko Koivu (155-382—537).

* Doan (21-12—33) reached the 20-goal milestone for the 13th time in his 20 NHL seasons. Elias notes that his 13 such campaigns are tied for fourth place among activeplayers:

Most 20-Goal Seasons, Active Players
18 – Jaromir Jagr
16 – Jarome Iginla
14 – Marian Hossa
13 – Shane Doan
13 – Vincent Lecavalier

VARLAMOV, AVALANCHE EDGE RED WINGS IN STADIUM SERIES PREVIEW
Semyon Varlamov made a season-high 43 saves and turned aside three of four shootout attempts to lift the Avalanche over the Red Wings in a preview of the 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series, which will be contested on Saturday, Feb. 27, at Coors Field in Denver.

* At 29-25-4 (62 points), the Avalanche moved three points ahead of the Predators (25-21-9, 59 points) – who lost in overtime – for the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. These Central Division rivals, who already have met twice in 2015-16 (COL: 2-0-0, NSH: 0-2-0), will face off three more times this season: March 5 at COL, March 28 at NSH and April 5 at NSH.

* Elias notes that Varlamov improved to 14-3-3 in 20 career regular-season games when making 40 or more saves (2.06 GAA, .954 SV%). His 14 such victories, all with the Avalanche, are six more than any other goaltender in franchise history (Patrick Roy: 8).

* Varlamov improved to 21-14-3 in 39 total appearances this season (2.64 GAA, .917 SV%, 1 SO). That includes six wins in his past eight outings.

* ICYMI: The NHL announced the entertainment for the 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series at Coors Field, including Andy Grammer, The Fray and Amber Riley.

TOUCH THEM ALL
* Marcus Foligno (2-1—3) and Evander Kane (2-0—2) both scored twice to help the Sabres snap a four-game skid overall (0-2-2) and improve to 5-1-0 in their last six meetings with the Canadiens dating to Nov. 28, 2014 (MTL: 1-4-1). Foligno registered his first career three-point game and sixth career multi-goal performance. Kane notched his third multi-goal game of the season, also Dec. 1 at DET (2-0—2) and Dec. 4 vs. ARI (2-0—2).

* Jaden Schwartz posted 1-1—2 in his return from a 49-game absence to lift the Blues to a 3-1-1 record in their last five outings. Three other players – David Backes (1-1—2),Vladimir Tarasenko (1-1—2) and Colton Parayko (0-2—2) – also collected multiple points for St. Louis (31-17-9, 71 points), who moved within four points of idle Dallas (35-15-5, 75 points) for second place in the Central Division.

* The Hurricanes tied the game late in the third period, but Kris Letang scored the lone goal in the shootout to power the Penguins to their seventh victory in their last nine contests. Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves and denied all three shootout attempts for Pittsburgh (28-19-7, 63 points), who moved within one point of the idle Islanders (29-18-6, 64 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr (739-1,103—1,842) collected two assists to move within eight points of tying Gordie Howe (801-1,049—1,850) for third place in NHL history.

* Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo (10 SV) played in his 907th career game to move past Glenn Hall (906 GP) and into sole possession of sixth place on the NHL’s all-time games played list among goaltenders.

* Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk scored to move within one point of 900 in his NHL career (307-592—899 in 927 GP).

* Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi (700) and Lightning forward Ryan Callahan (600) both played in milestone games.

LOOSE PUCKS
Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (1-2—3) scored his seventh game-winning goal of the campaign (54 GP) to equal a career high set in 2014-15 (82 GP) and again match the NHL record for game-winning goals by a blueliner in one season . . . Canadiens forward Alex Galchenyuk (2-0—2) celebrated his 22nd birthday with his fifth career multi-goal game – and second of the season (also Nov. 28 vs. NJD: 2-0—2) . . . TeammateSven Andrighetto (2-0—2) recorded his first career multi-goal/point game . . . Predators forward James Neal (1-0—1) reached the 20-goal milestone for the eighth time in as many NHL seasons . . . Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop (27 SV) earned his first career win vs. NSH, giving him at least one victory against all 30 NHL teams . . . Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (0-1—1) extended his assist/point streak to a career-high eight games (2-9—11) . . . Flames defenseman TJ Brodie (0-1—1) extended his assist/point streak to five games (0-6—6) . . . Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello (1-1—2) scored his 19th goal of the season (55 GP) to equal a career high set in 2013-14 (77 GP) . . . Kings goaltender Peter Budaj (24 SV) posted his first regular-season win since April 4, 2014 at OTT (w/ MTL) while making his team debut.

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
New Jersey @ Philadelphia, 1:00 p.m., MSG+, CSN-PH
Boston @ Minnesota, 2:00 p.m., SN, NESN, FS-N, FS-WI
Nashville @ Florida, 7:00 p.m., FS-TN, FS-F
NY Islanders @ Carolina, 7:00 p.m., MSG+, FS-CR
Ottawa @ Columbus, 7:00 p.m., CITY, TVAS, FS-O
Toronto @ Vancouver, 7:00 p.m., CBC
Washington @ Dallas, 8:00 p.m., CSN-DC, FS-SW
Anaheim @ Chicago, 8:30 p.m., NHLN-US, PRIME, FS-SD, WGN
Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 10:00 p.m., CBC, TVAS
Arizona @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., FS-A, CSN-CA
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FOUR GAMES DOT HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA SCHEDULE
Four games highlight Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada schedule: two teams in the thick of the playoff race drop the puck when the Bruins (29-19-6, 64 points) visit the Wild (23-21-10, 56 points) in a matinee at Xcel Energy Center; the Senators (25-25-6, 56 points) and Blue Jackets (22-28-6, 50 points) then face off for the third and final time this season when they meet at Nationwide Arena; the Canucks (22-20-12, 56 points) continue their 20th anniversary celebration of Rogers Arena by donning their throwback black skate jerseys in a matinee against the Maple Leafs (19-25-9, 47 points); and the Oilers (22-29-5, 49 points) cap the evening when they play host to the Jets (24-27-3, 51 points) at Rexall Place.

TOP CLUBS FACE OFF IN DALLAS
Two of the top teams in the NHL face off when the No. 1 Capitals (40-9-4, 84 points) visit the No. 3 Stars (35-15-5, 75 points) at American Airlines Center. Washington owns a 7-1-1 record in its last nine games, including five consecutive victories. Dallas, meanwhile, has won five of its past six outings to climb within one point of Chicago (36-18-4, 76 points) for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference. This marks the second and final meeting of the season between these clubs; the Stars posted a 3-2 victory on Nov. 19 at Verizon Center to spoil Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin becoming the highest-scoring Russian-born player in NHL history.

BLACKHAWKS, DUCKS MEET IN CONFERENCE FINALS REMATCH
The Blackhawks (36-18-4, 76 points) and Ducks (26-19-8, 60 points) – opponents in the 2015 Western Conference Final – meet for the third and final time this season when they face off at United Center. Chicago, who defeated Anaheim in seven games to advance to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, has won the first two contests between these teams in 2015-16 – both in overtime. Jonathan Toews provided the winning goal in the Blackhawks’ 1-0 triumph on Oct. 26 at United Center, while Artem Anisimov scored the tiebreaker in the club’s 3-2 comeback victory on Nov. 27 at Honda Center.

the above information was supplied by the NHL PR department