CAPITALS WRAP UP DIVISION, CONFERENCE TITLES WITH VICTORY
Nicklas Backstrom collected 1-1—2 to help the League-leading Capitals clinch their ninth division title in franchise history as well as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the third time (also 2009-10 and 2010-11).

* At 52-15-5 (109 points), the Capitals moved within two victories of equaling their single-season franchise record, established in 2009-10 when they won the Presidents’ Trophy (54-15-13, 121 points).

* The Capitals improved to 24-9-3 (51 points) as visitors this season to match their franchise record for road wins in one campaign, also set in 2009-10 (24-10-7, 55 points).

* Backstrom potted his fourth game-winning goal of the season to equal a career high last achieved in 2011-12. He shares 11th place in the NHL with 19-46—65 overall.

SPOILERS DASH HOPES OF PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
A trio of teams – the Blue Jackets, Blues and Canadiens – put a wrench in the playoff hopes of their respective opponents:

* Down 2-0, the Blue Jackets scored twice in the final 64 seconds of regulation before ultimately prevailing in a shootout against the Flyers. Via Elias, Columbus recorded pointswhen trailing by two or more goals in the last two minutes of the third period for the first time in franchise history. The Blue Jackets also became the first team to overcome such a deficit for a win since Dec. 23, 2005, when the Red Wings rallied from a 2-0 hole in the final 39 seconds of regulation for a 3-2 overtime victory at CHI.

* Brian Elliott stopped all 37 shots he faced, including 15 in the third period, to record his second consecutive shutout (also Saturday at VAN: 19 SV) and lift the Blues over the Sharks, who had the opportunity to clinch a playoff spot. Elliott, who collected his 33rd career shutout and third of the season, posted consecutive blank sheets for the fourth time in his career and first time since April 7-11, 2013, when he notched three in a row.

* Lucas Lessio scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period to power the Canadiens past the Ducks, who also had the chance to wrap up a postseason berth. Lessio recorded his first goal with Montreal (11 GP) as well as his first career game-winning goal (40 GP). Mike Brown (1-1—2) also picked up his first goal and points since joining the Canadiens (10 GP).

LIGHTNING DEFEAT RED WINGS, MOVE BACK INTO FIRST IN ATLANTIC . . .
Seven players, including Steven Stamkos (1-1—2), registered multiple points to help the Lightning earn their second straight victory and move back into first place in the Atlantic Division.

* Stamkos, who has 5-3—8 in his past five outings, notched his eighth game-winning goal of the season to move into a share of second place in the NHL, behind San Jose’s Joe Pavelski (10).

* Stamkos also picked up his 34th overall goal of the campaign, tied for fourth place in the League (w/ Pavelski, Brad Marchand and Vladimir Tarasenko).

. . . WILD EDGE KINGS, CLIMB AHEAD IN PLAYOFF CHASE
Devan Dubnyk made a season-high 38 saves to lead the Wild to their third consecutive win and back into the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

* Dubnyk improved to 8-1-1 with a 2.18 goals-against average and .922 save percentage in his last 11 appearances dating to Feb. 28. His eight victories in that span pace the NHL.

* Ryan Suter (0-1—1) notched his 47th point of the campaign (8-39—47) to set a single-season franchise record for a defenseman, surpassing the mark established by Brent Burns in 2010-11 (17-29—46). Suter’s 39 assists also are the most by a defenseman in one season in Wild history.

AROUND THE RINKS
* Mike Smith made 27 saves to help the Coyotes extend their point streak against the Oilers to 23 games dating to March 17, 2011 (19-0-4). Smith, who was celebrating his 34th birthday, improved to 13-1-1 in 17 career appearances vs. EDM (2.34 GAA, .923 SV%, 1 SO).

* Down 2-1, Evander Kane and Johan Larsson scored 60 seconds apart in the final four minutes of regulation to help the Sabres improve to 3-1-1 in their last five games. Kane reached the 20-goal milestone for the second time in his career (also 2011-12: 30 G w/ WPG).

* Ondrej Pavelec stopped all 28 shots he faced to help the Jets snap a three-game skid (0-2-1). Pavelec recorded his 17th career shutout and first since April 9, 2015 at COL (21 SV), the last of three consecutive blank sheets.

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Coyotes captain Shane Doan played in his 1,458th career game to move past Glen Wesley (1,457) and into sole possession of 22nd place in NHL history.

* Stars captain Jamie Benn (500) and Ducks forward Mike Santorelli (400) both played in milestone games.

* Kings forward Nic Dowd, a seventh-round selection (198th overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft, made his League debut.

LOOSE PUCKS
Despite suffering the shootout loss, the Flyers leapfrogged the Red Wings for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference . . . The Capitals improved to 14-0-1 following aregulation loss this season . . . Flyers goaltender Steve Mason made a career-high 51 saves . . . Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom made a career-high 47 saves . . . Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored his League-leading 43rd goal of the season . . . Senators captain Erik Karlsson posted his League-leading 61st assist of the season . . . Ducks forward Corey Perry reached the 30-goal milestone for the third consecutive season and sixth time in his career . . . Flyers captain Claude Giroux reached the 20-goal milestone for the third consecutive season and fifth time in his career . . . Lightning forward Erik Condra (2-0—2) and Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg (2-0—2) both recorded multi-goal games . . . Wild forward Erik Haula (1-0—1) extended his point streak to a career-high six games (3-3—6) . . . Stars forward Cody Eakin (4-3—7), Senators forward Mike Hoffman (1-6—7), Oilers forward Connor McDavid (0-7—7) and Senators forward Mika Zibanejad (4-2—6) all extended their point streaks to five games . . . McDavid ranks second in the NHL with 9-21—30 in 26 games since returning from injury on Feb. 2.

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Ottawa @ NY Islanders, 7:00 p.m., SN, TVAS, MSG+
Boston @ NY Rangers, 8:00 p.m., NBCSN, SN1
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RIVALRY NIGHT SPOTLIGHTS EASTERN CONFERENCE CONTENDERS
Two clubs in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race collide when the Rangers (41-24-8, 90 points), the No. 2 team in the Metropolitan Division, play host to the Bruins (39-26-8, 86 points), the No. 3 squad in the Atlantic Division, at Madison Square Garden on NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry. This marks the third and final meeting of the season between these Original Six foes, who are contesting their 640th all-time regular-season game (BOS: 291-242-106 = 688, NYR: 251-289-99 = 601). The Bruins and Rangers have split their opening two matchups, with Boston earning a 4-3 win on Nov. 27 in the 2015 Discover NHL Thanksgiving Showdown and New York securing a 2-1 victory on Jan. 11. Overall, 24 of the past 32 regular-season games between these teams have been decided by one goal dating to March 24, 2007.

the above information was provided by the NHL PR department