DUCKS, SHARKS NARROW GAP IN PACIFIC DIVISION RACE . . .
Both the Ducks and Sharks earned wins to gain ground on the Kings – who lost in regulation – atop the Pacific Division:

* Five Ducks scored – including former Oilers forward David Perron – to lift the club to its 10th victory in its last 12 games (10-1-1) as well as a 17-4-2 record dating to Dec. 27. Perron has recorded 6-7—13 in 13 outings since joining Anaheim; he totaled 4-12—16 through his first 43 games of the season (w/ PIT). Frederik Andersen made 24 saves to improve to 9-0-1 in his last 10 decisions following a 5-8-5 start to the campaign. He also boosted his record to 5-0-1 in six career appearances vs. EDM (2.16 GAA, .916 SV%).

* Matt Nieto notched 1-1—2, including the winning goal, to power the Sharks to a 12-2-3 record in their last 17 games overall as well as a 7-2-0 clip in their past nine as visitors. At 19-8-2 (40 points), San Jose leads all Western Conference teams in road wins and road points (tied w/ DAL). Joe Thornton collected two assists to extend his point streak to six games (3-6—9). He has registered at least one point in 24 of his last 26 contests (8-26—34) to reach the 50-point milestone for the 15th time in his 18 NHL seasons (12-38—50).

. . . DID YOU KNOW?
Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic posted one helper to extend his assist/point streak to a career-high eight games (0-8—8). Per Elias, that is longest assist streak by any defenseman in franchise history and is one shy of tying the team record for any player, set by Joe Thornton from Nov. 15 – Dec. 3, 2009 (15 A in 9 GP).

* Only two other defensemen in Sharks history have registered eight-game point streaks:Brent Burns earlier this season (Dec. 22 – Jan. 12: 6-6—12) and Sandis Ozolinsh from Feb. 5-21, 1994 (4-7—11).

60 IS NOT ENOUGH
The Blues and Bruins both picked up overtime victories to narrow the gap in their respective division races:

* Kevin Shattenkirk scored at 1:11 of the extra period to lift the Blues past the division-leading Stars and to a 10-3-5 record in their last 18 games, including points in five straight (4-0-1). At 33-17-9 (75 points), St. Louis moved within five points of Dallas (37-15-6, 80 points) for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference. Shattenkirk notched his second career overtime goal, both of which have come against the Stars (also Dec. 29, 2013 at DAL).

* Loui Eriksson scored 33 seconds into overtime to power the Bruins to a 10-4-1 record in their last 15 games, including a 7-1-0 clip as visitors. At 31-20-6 (68 points), Boston leapfrogged idle Detroit (29-19-9, 67 points) for second place in the Atlantic Division. Eriksson found the back of the net for the fourth consecutive game (4-1—5) to reach the 20-goal milestone for the sixth time (20-25—45). Patrice Bergeron also scored in his return from a two-game absence.

WILD CARD RACE TIGHTENS IN EASTERN CONFERENCE . . .
Three teams – the Hurricanes, Flyers and Senators – posted victories to continue their push for a Wild Card Spot in the Eastern Conference, where seven clubs are separated by just seven points:

* Riley Nash notched 1-1—2 to guide the Hurricanes to a 10-3-3 record in their last 16 games overall as well as a 12-4-3 clip in their past 19 contests at PNC Arena. Nash collected his fourth career game-winning goal and first March 22, 2014 at WPG; he has registered 4-2—6 in his last six outings after totaling 2-5—7 in his first 37 appearances of the season.

* The Devils tied the game midway through the third period, but the Flyers responded with four straight goals – including two in 50 seconds – to improve to 2-1-1 in their past four outings. Five Flyers registered multi-point performances: Brayden Schenn (1-2—3),Claude Giroux (0-3—3), Wayne Simmonds (1-1—2), Ryan White (1-1—2) and R.J. Umberger (0-2—2).

* Craig Anderson made 38 saves and denied both shootout attempts he faced to help the Senators snap a three-game skid (0-3-0). Anderson improved to 13-4-1 in 19 career appearances vs. BUF (2.15 GAA, .933 SV%, 2 SO). Bobby Ryan provided the clinching goal; he paces the NHL with six shootout tallies in 2015-16 (6 of 8, 75.0%).

. . . AS GOSTISBEHERE EXTENDS POINT STREAK
Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere scored to extend his point streak to 13 games (4-12—16), adding to his NHL record for a rookie defenseman as well as his franchise record for any rookie.

* Elias says that Gostisbehere became the first defenseman to post a 13-game point streak for any team since Brian Leetch logged a 14-game run with the Rangers from Oct. 30 – Dec. 1, 1996 (6-14—20).

* Gostisbehere also became the first Flyers player (forward or defenseman) to register a 13-game point streak since the 1998-99 season, when Eric Lindros had points in 18 straight (Jan. 7 – Feb. 18, 1999: 14-21—35).

* Gostisbehere paces first-year defensemen and ranks fifth among all rookies with 11-21—32 this season (38 GP).

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Senators forward Ryan Dzingel, a seventh-round selection (204th overall) in the 2011 NHL Draft, scored his first career goal (7 GP).

* Sabres captain Brian Gionta (900), Lightning defenseman Matthew Carle (700), Bruins forward Loui Eriksson (700) and Blues forward Scottie Upshall (600) all played in milestone games.

LOOSE PUCKS
Bruins forward Brad Marchand saw his career-high goal/point streak end at seven games (8-3—11), tied for the longest such run in the NHL this season . . . Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf (0-1—1) extended his assist/point streak to six games (2-8—10). He also stretched his road point streak to nine games (3-12—15) . . . Blues goaltender Brian Elliott (17 SV) made his career-high 15th consecutive start. He paces the NHL with a .933 save percentage and ranks second with a 2.03 goals-against average this season . . . Kings forward Anze Kopitar registered his 10th career shorthanded goal and first since March 13, 2012 vs. DET . . . Blue Jackets forward Alexander Wennberg converted a first-period penalty shot. Skaters have scored on 14 of 47 penalty shots this season (29.8%) . . . Capitals forwards Mike Richards and Justin Williams (0-1—1), who won two Stanley Cups with the Kings, played their first game against their former team following offseason departures. Richards totaled 46-87—133 with Los Angeles (257 GP), while Williams posted 103-163—266 (427 GP) and won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2013-14 . . . ICYMI: GoPro released the third video in its NHL After Dark series, featuring Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog . . . The NHL announced the details of the 2016 NHL Stadium Series Spectator Plaza in Minnesota.

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Chicago @ NY Rangers, 8:00 p.m., NBCSN, TVAS
Montreal @ Colorado, 8:00 p.m., SN, RDS, ALT
Minnesota @ Calgary, 10:00 p.m., SN1, FS-N, FS-WI
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BLACKHAWKS VISIT RANGERS ON RIVALRY NIGHT
Original Six clubs face off when the Blackhawks (37-18-5, 79 points) visit the Rangers (32-18-6, 70 points) at Madison Square Garden on NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry. These teams have not met since the opening night of the season, when New York spoiled Chicago’s banner-raising ceremony with a 3-2 victory at United Center. The Rangers boast an 8-3-2 record in the 13 head-to-head matchups between these clubs since the start of the 2005-06 campaign (CHI: 5-6-2). That includes a 4-2-0 clip at Madison Square Garden (CHI: 2-4-0), though the Blackhawks earned a 1-0 win in their most recent visit on March 18, 2015, behind 25 saves from Scott Darling and the lone goal from Brad Richards (at 7:19 of the third period).

the information above was supplied by the NHL PR department