WILD CARD RACE TIGHTENS IN EAST
The Panthers (23-19-10, 56 points), Hurricanes (23-20-7, 53 points) and Red Wings (21-21-9, 51 points) all earned victories to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race, where 11 teams are separated by only 10 points:

* Jonathan Huberdeau scored the game-winning goal in his season debut and Aleksander Barkov earned an assist in his return from a 15-game absence as Florida picked up its third straight victory.

* Sebastian Aho, who posted a career-high 3-1—4 on Tuesday vs. PHI, scored his second consecutive game-winning goal to lead the Hurricanes to back-to-back wins on the heels of a five-game losing streak.

* Both teams tied the game twice before Danny DeKeyser scored the game-winning goal with 28.9 seconds left in regulation to help the Red Wings end a five-game slide (0-2-3). DeKeyser’s decisive tally came less than two minutes after Islanders forward Jason Chimera, who was skating in his 1,000th NHL game, knotted the score at 4-4.

LOOSE PUCKS
Connor McDavid scored his 18th goal of the season to become the first player to hit the 60-point plateau (18-42—60) . . . Panthers goaltender James Reimer earned his 100th victory in his first start following the birth of his daughter . . . Islanders defenseman Dennis Seidenberg skated in his 800th contest . . . The NHL will take fans behind the scenes with NHL ALL-STAR ALL ACCESS presented by HONDA. The 30-minute production will premiere on Monday on NBCSN in the U.S. and on Sportsnet and Sportsnet NOW in Canada . . . The Avalanche and Flyers celebrated Hockey Is For Everyone month with local initiatives, while the Panthers celebrated Pride Night at BB&T Center.

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Washington @ Montreal, 1 p.m., SN, RDS, CSN-DC
Los Angeles @ Philadelphia, 1 p.m., NHLN, CSN-PH, FS-W
Winnipeg @ Colorado, 3 p.m., ALT, TSN3
Toronto @ Boston, 7 p.m., CBC, CITY, NESN
Ottawa @ Buffalo, 7 p.m., SN, TVAS, MSG-B
Anaheim @ Tampa Bay, 7 p.m., SUN, PRIME
Carolina @ NY Islanders, 7 p.m., MSG+, FS-CR
New Jersey @ Columbus, 7 p.m., FS-O, MSG
Pittsburgh @ St. Louis, 8 p.m., FS-MW, ROOT
Detroit @ Nashville, 8 p.m., FS-TN, FS-D
Chicago @ Dallas, 8 p.m., NHLN, FS-SW, WGN
Minnesota @ Vancouver, 10 p.m., CBC, SN, FS-N
Arizona @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., CSN-CA, FS-A
NBC Sports Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder
NHL Network Channel Finder

DIVISION LEADERS HIGHLIGHT FOUR-GAME HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA SLATE
Four of Saturday’s 13 games will be featured on national broadcasts in Canada. The Metropolitan and Atlantic Divisions’ top teams face off in a matinee when the Capitals (34-11-6, 74 points) visit the Canadiens (30-15-7, 67 points). Atlantic rivals then face off as the Maple Leafs (23-17-9, 55 points) visit the Bruins (26-22-6, 58 points), while the Senators (27-16-6, 60 points) head to Buffalo to battle the Sabres (20-20-10, 50 points). The broadcast concludes with the Western Conference-leading Wild (33-12-5, 71 points) looking to add to their League-best 37 road points when they take on the Canucks (23-22-6, 52 points).

the information above was provided by the NHL PR departmen