. . . PREDATORS, COYOTES KEEP PACE IN WILD CARD HUNT
The Predators and Coyotes also posted victories to keep pace in the Western Conference Wild Card race:

* Pekka Rinne stopped all 29 shots he faced to earn his 39th career shutout (third this season) and help the Predators extend their point streak to four games (2-0-2). At 27-21-10 (64 points), Nashville leapfrogged idle Colorado (30-26-4, 64 points) for the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. The Avalanche own the ROW tiebreaker (COL: 28, NSH: 25), but the Predators have played two fewer games. Rinne improved to 4-0-1 in five career appearances vs. BOS (1.89 GAA, .940 SV%, 1 SO). Filip Forsberg added 1-1—2 to reach the 20-goal milestone for the second consecutive season; he has 6-3—9 in his last six outings.

* The line of Max Domi (2-1—3), Martin Hanzal (1-2—3) and Anthony Duclair (0-3—3) combined for 3-6—9 to power the Coyotes to their third win in their past four games. At 27-24-6 (60 points), Arizona moved within four points of idle Colorado (30-26-4, 64 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Domi registered his second three-point game of the season (also Jan. 12 vs. EDM: 3-0—3) and fourth multi-goal performance; he shares second place among rookies with 15-24—39 overall. Duclair established a career high for assists in one game; he ranks fifth among rookies with 16-17—33 overall.

LEAGUE-LEADING CAPITALS EDGE ISLANDERS IN OVERTIME
The Islanders tied the game with 1:44 remaining in regulation, but Justin Williams (1-1—2) scored with 43.2 seconds left in overtime to lead the Capitals to their seventh victory in their last eight contests.

* At 42-10-4 (88 points), the League-leading Capitals continued their best start to a season – in terms of wins and points – in franchise history. Their 42 wins (in 56 GP) are three shy of their 82-game total from 2014-15 (45-26-11).

* Williams recorded his third career overtime goal and first since Jan. 16, 2007 at FLA (w/ CAR). He has collected 19-22—41 in his first season with the Capitals, including a trio of game-winning goals (also Nov. 12 at PHI and Jan. 17 vs. NYR).

* Alex Ovechkin, who has won three consecutive Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies, scored twice to pad his lead with 37 goals this season. He has picked up eight goals in his past six games and 16 in his last 16 outings dating to Jan. 7.

* Braden Holtby made 20 saves to earn his League-leading 36th win of the season (46 GP), five shy of his career high and franchise-record tying performance in 2014-15 (73 GP).

DUCKS, SHARKS CONTINUE TO NARROW GAP IN PACIFIC DIVISION
The Ducks (30-19-8, 68 points) and Sharks (31-20-5, 67 points) earned wins to narrow the gap on the Kings (33-20-4, 70 points) – who lost in overtime – atop the Pacific Division:

* Five different players scored – including multi-point performances from Ryan Getzlaf (1-1—2), Rickard Rakell (1-1—2) and Sami Vatanen (1-1—2) – to power the Ducks to an 11-1-1 record in their last 13 outings, including a 5-1-1 clip on their seven-game road trip. Getzlaf extended his overall assist/point streak to seven games (3-9—12) and his roadpoint streak to 10 games (4-13—17).

* Martin Jones made 19 saves and denied two of three shootout attempts to backstop the Sharks to their third straight victory as well as their conference-best 20th win of the season on the road (20-8-2, 42 points). Joe Thornton collected one assist to extend his point streak to seven games (3-7—10); he has picked up at least one point in 25 of his last 27 contests (8-27—35).

LATE HEROICS POWER BLUES, RANGERS
The Blues and Rangers both recorded narrow victories courtesy of late-game heroics:

* The Kings tied the game early in the third period, but Jaden Schwartz scored at 1:40 of overtime to propel the Blues to their fourth consecutive win. At 34-17-9 (77 points), St. Louis climbed within three points of Dallas (37-16-6, 80 points) – who lost in regulation – for second place in the Central Division. Schwartz has scored in three of his four appearances since returning from a 49-game absence (3-1—4).

* The Maple Leafs tied the game with 2:30 remaining in regulation, but Derek Stepan (1-1—2) scored 59 seconds later to lead the Rangers to a 6-1-1 record in their last eight games. At 33-19-6 (72 points), the Rangers moved five points ahead of the Islanders (30-19-7, 67 points) – who lost in overtime – for second place in the Metropolitan Division.Mats Zuccarello (1-2—3), J.T. Miller (0-3—3) and Derick Brassard (2-0—2) also provided multiple points.

WILD CARD RACE TIGHTENS IN EASTERN CONFERENCE
A trio of teams – the Penguins, Lightning and Senators – posted wins to keep pace in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race, where six clubs are separated by six points:

* Five different players registered multiple points, including Phil Kessel (2-0—2), to power the Penguins to an 8-2-1 record in their last 11 games. At 29-19-8 (66 points), Pittsburgh moved into the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* The Jets scored four straight goals in the third period, but Nikita Kucherov tied the game with less than five minutes remaining and Steven Stamkos (1-0—1) provided the winner in the shootout to lift the Lightning (31-22-4, 66 points) into the final Wild Card spot in the conference.

* Cody Ceci notched the tiebreaking goal early in the third period to guide the Senators to their second consecutive win on the heels of a three-game skid (0-3-0). At 27-26-6 (60 points), Ottawa remained within six points of the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr scored his 740th career goal to move within one of tyingBrett Hull (741) for third place in NHL history. Sportsnet Stats says that Jagr also became the fourth player in NHL history to register a goal at age 44 or older, joining Chris Chelios, Doug Harvey and Gordie Howe.

* Jets captain Andrew Ladd (2-0—2) recorded his 200th NHL goal.

* Coyotes forward Tyler Gaudet (12 GP), an undrafted free agent who signed with the team in November 2013, and Penguins forward Scott Wilson (14 GP), a seventh-round selection (209th overall) in the 2011 NHL Draft, both scored their first career goals.

* Stars forward Ales Hemsky (800), Wild forward Thomas Vanek (800) and Ducks forward Nate Thompson (500) all played in milestone games.

* Maple Leafs defenseman Viktor Loov (0-1—1), a seventh-round selection (209th overall) in the 2012 NHL Draft, made his League debut.

* Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano played in his 679th consecutive game – all since making his NHL debut on Oct. 4, 2007 (w/ EDM) – to tie Henrik Sedin (March 21, 2004 – Jan. 18, 2014) for the sixth-longest such streak in League history.

LOOSE PUCKS
Stars captain Jamie Benn (1-1—2) reached the 30-goal milestone for the third consecutive season. He ranks fourth in the NHL in goals and second in points (66) . . . Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk (6-5—11) and Islanders captain John Tavares (5-6—11) both extended their point streaks to seven games . . . Rangers defenseman Keith Yandle (0-1—1) extended his assist/point streak to five games (0-5—5) . . . Hurricanes forward Riley Nash (3-1—4) and Wild forward Charlie Coyle (3-0—3) both scored for the third consecutive game . . . Kings forward Tyler Toffoli established a career high with his 24th goal of the season, tied for 10th place in the NHL . . . Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (0-1—1) established a career high with his 45th point of the season (17-28—45), which ranks fourth among blueliners . . . Oilers forward Connor McDavidnotched his 10th goal of the season. He has 5-9—14 in nine contests since returning from injury and leads all rookies with an average of 1.18 points per game (10-16—26 in 22 GP) . . . ICYMI: The Department of Player Safety announced that it will have a hearing today with Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov for elbowing/an illegal check to the head of Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh . . . GoPro released the fourth video in its NHL After Dark series, featuring Canucks teammates Daniel and Henrik Sedin . . . The Capitals signed defenseman Taylor Chorney to a two-year contract extension.

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
NY Islanders @ New Jersey, 7:00 p.m., MSG+ 2, MSG+
San Jose @ Carolina, 7:00 p.m., CSN-CA, FS-CR
Buffalo @ Columbus, 7:00 p.m., MSG-B, BELL TV, FS-O
Philadelphia @ Montreal, 7:30 p.m., NHLN-US, CSN-PH, SNE, RDS
Vancouver @ Calgary, 9:00 p.m., SNP, SNW
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HOCKEY WEEKEND ACROSS AMERICA
The 9th Annual Hockey Weekend Across America, presented by USA Hockey, begins today with “Wear Your Favorite Jersey Day.” It continues on Saturday with “Try Hockey Day” and concludes on Sunday with “Celebrate Local Hockey Heroes Day.”

Click here for more information.

* ICYMI: USA Hockey announced that USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich., will host the2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship. It also announced that USA Hockey Arena will host the 2016 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp.

the above information was provided by the NHL PR department