MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Predators forward James Neal (1-1—2) recorded his 400th NHL point.

* Islanders captain John Tavares played in his 500th NHL game.

LOOSE PUCKS
Predators forward Filip Forsberg (30-24—54) reached the 30-goal milestone for the first time in his career. He became the first Nashville player to achieve the feat since 2009-10, when Patric Hornqvist totaled 30-21—51 . . . Islanders forward Kyle Okposo (20-36—56) reached the 20-goal milestone for the third time in his career (also 2011-12 and 2013-14) . . . Kings forward Anze Kopitar (0-2—2) extended his point streak to six games (4-5—9) . . . Panthers forward Jussi Jokinen (0-1—1) collected at least one point for the 13th time in his past 14 games (4-12—16) . . . Rangers forward Rick Nash snapped a 14-game drought with his first goal since Dec. 30 at TBL . . . The Red Wings signed forwardEric Tangradi to a two-year contract extension . . . Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick and Flames forward Sean Monahan were named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending March 20 . . . The NHL and NHLPA announcedthe first roster of Official Partners for the World Cup of Hockey 2016 . . . ICYMI: The Predators honored forward Mike Fisher (1-0—1) for playing in his 1,000th NHL game on March 3 vs. NJD.

TODAY’S CLINCHING SCENARIOS
* The Capitals will clinch the Metropolitan Division title and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference if they defeat the Senators in any fashion.

* The Stars will clinch a playoff berth if they defeat the Blackhawks in any fashion OR if they get one point against the Blackhawks AND the Wild lose to the Kings in any fashionOR if the Wild lose to the Kings in regulation.

* The Ducks will clinch a playoff berth if they get at least one point against the CanadiensOR if the Coyotes lose to the Oilers in any fashion.

* The Sharks will clinch a playoff berth if they defeat the Blues in any fashion OR if they get one point against the Blues AND the Coyotes lose to the Oilers in any fashion OR if the Coyotes lose to the Oilers in regulation.

SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Buffalo @ Carolina, 7:00 p.m., MSG-B, BELL TV, FS-CR
Philadelphia @ Columbus, 7:00 p.m., CSN-PH, FS-O
Anaheim @ Montreal, 7:30 p.m., PRIME, FS-SD, SNE, RDS
Washington @ Ottawa, 7:30 p.m., CSN-DC, TSN5, RDS2
Detroit @ Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m., SNO, SNW, TVAS, FS-D, SUN
Vancouver @ Winnipeg, 8:00 p.m., SNP, TSN3
Los Angeles @ Minnesota, 8:30 p.m., NBCSN
Dallas @ Chicago, 8:30 p.m., FS-SW, CSN-CH
Edmonton @ Arizona, 10:00 p.m., SNW, FS-A
St. Louis @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., SNE, SNO, SNP, FS-MW, CSN-CA
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder
NHLN Channel Finder

DIVISION BATTLES HIGHLIGHT TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE
A pair of division rivalries highlight Tuesday’s games:

* The Stars (43-21-9, 95 points), the top team in the Central Division, visit the third-place Blackhawks (42-24-7, 91 points) at United Center. This marks the fifth and final meeting of the season between these rivals, who are separated by just four points. Dallas owns a 3-1-0 record thus far in the head-to-head series (CHI: 1-3-0), including a 4-2 victory in their lone other visit to Chicago on Feb. 11. The Stars are coming off a 3-1-1 homestand, while the Blackhawks have dropped five of their past six overall (1-3-2).

* The Lightning (41-26-5, 87 points), the second-place team in the Atlantic Division, play host to the fourth-place Red Wings (36-25-11, 83 points), the occupants of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, at Amalie Arena. This marks the fourth and final meeting of the season between these rivals, who also are separated by four points. Tampa Bay is 2-1-0 thus far in the head-to-head series (DET: 1-2-0), but Detroit picked up a 3-1 win in their most recent encounter on Feb. 3 at Amalie Arena.

OTHER PLAYOFF CONTENDERS MEET IN WESTERN CONFERENCE
Two other games pit Western Conference playoff contenders:

* The Pacific Division-leading Kings (44-23-5, 93 points) face another potential First Round opponent when they visit the Wild (34-28-11, 79 points), the first team on the outside of the playoff picture, at Xcel Energy Center. This marks the third and final meeting of the season between these clubs, who have split their opening two contests (MIN: 1-0-1, LAK: 1-1-0): Los Angeles posted a 2-1 overtime win on Oct. 16, while Minnesota recorded a 3-0 victory on Jan. 21 – both at STAPLES Center.

* The second-place Blues (42-22-9, 93 points) look to climb the Central Division ladder when they take on the Sharks (41-25-6, 88 points), the third-place team in the Pacific Division, at SAP Center. This marks the third and final meeting of the season between these clubs – San Jose has won each of the first two (SJS: 2-0-0, STL: 0-2-0), picking up a pair of victories at Scottrade Center: 3-1 on Feb. 4 and 6-3 on Feb. 22.

the above information was supplied by the NHL PR department