OVECHKIN, CAPITALS END DROUGHTS
Alex Ovechkin scored to snap a 10-game goalless drought and Nicklas Backstrom collected three assists to help the League-leading Capitals (45-17-7, 97 points) halt a four-game slide (0-4-0).

* Washington reestablished a two-point lead over Pittsburgh (43-16-9, 95 points) and moved within three points of reaching the 100-point mark for the third consecutive season.

* Backstrom (21-50—71) reached the 50-assist mark for the fourth consecutive season and seventh time in his NHL career (all w/ WSH). Elias notes that Backstrom extended his franchise record for most 50-assist seasons, three more than Adam Oates, Michal Pivonka and Ovechkin (four each).

ISLANDERS, LIGHTNING GAIN GROUND IN RACE FOR FINAL WILD CARD SPOT
The Islanders (33-25-11, 77 points) and Lightning (34-26-9, 77 points) each secured overtime victories to gain ground in the race for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference:

* New York scored twice in a span of 25 seconds to overcome a 2-0 deficit and John Tavares tallied 34 seconds into overtime to propel the Islanders to victory. Tavares scored the ninth regular-season overtime goal of his NHL career (all w/ NYI) to extend his franchise record. The Islanders moved ahead of the Maple Leafs (31-23-14, 76 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Victor Hedman scored at 4:05 of overtime as the Lightning extended their win and point streaks to four and six games (5-0-1), respectively. Hedman scored the third regular-season overtime goal of his NHL career (all w/ TBL) to tie Dan Boyle for the most by a defenseman in franchise history. The Lightning also leapfrogged the Maple Leafs, keeping pace with the Islanders.

LOOSE PUCKS
The Oilers (36-24-9, 81 points) matched a season high with seven goals to strengthen their grip on the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference and climb within a point of the Ducks (36-23-10, 82 points) for third place in the Pacific Division . . . Joe Pavelski (2-0—2) scored twice for the second straight game to guide the Pacific Division-leading Sharks (42-20-7, 91 points) to victory . . . Thomas Vanek registered a career-high four assists to help the Panthers snap a five-game slide (0-4-1) . . . Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (31 saves) improved to 6-0-1 in his last seven appearances dating to Feb. 27 (1.38 GAA, .958 SV%) . . . Toronto’s Mike Babcock coached his 1,100th career game as an NHL head coach . . . Sharks forward Joe Thornton (1-5—6) and Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (1-4—5) extended their point streaks to five games . . . Stars forward Jason Spezza (900) and Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (500) appeared in milestone games . . . Tuesday’s game between the Jets and Devils at Prudential Center was postponed due to the severe winter storm impacting the area. The game has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 28 . . . The Canadiens honored the CWHL’s Les Canadiennes de Montreal, who recently won the 2017 Clarkson Cup.

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m., TVAS, BCSN
Boston @ Calgary, 9 p.m., SN, NESN
Detroit @ Colorado, 9:30 p.m., ALT, FS-D+
St. Louis @ Anaheim, 10 p.m., NBCSN, FS-MW
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FLAMES AIM TO SET FRANCHISE RECORD WITH 11TH STRAIGHT VICTORY
The Flames (39-26-4, 82 points) aim to secure their 11th straight victory and establish the longest single-season win streak in franchise history when they host the Bruins (37-26-6, 80 points) at Scotiabank Saddledome. With a victory, Calgary would eclipse their previous franchise benchmark from Oct. 14 – Nov. 3, 1978 (10-0-0) and reach the 40-win mark for the first time since 2014-15 (45-30-7, 97 points).

PENGUINS-FLYERS, BLUES-DUCKS FEATURED ON NBCSN DOUBLEHEADER
Two of tonight’s four games are featured on NBCSN with the Penguins (43-16-9, 95 points) visiting the Flyers (31-29-8, 70 points) at Wells Fargo Center and the Ducks (36-23-10, 82 points) hosting the Blues (36-27-5, 77 points) at Honda Center:

* Pittsburgh enters the contest with points in six consecutive games (5-0-1) and can move back into a tie with Washington for the most points in the NHL with a win. Philadelphia, meanwhile, looks to snap a three-game slide (0-3-0) and inch closer to the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Anaheim earned a 5-2 win over Washington in their last outing and looks to gain ground in the crowded Pacific Division, where positions 2-4 are separated by one point. St. Louis enters the contest on a five-game win streak and occupies the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, two points back of Nashville (34-24-11, 79 points) for third place in the Central Division.

the above information was supplied by the NHL PR department