WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF RACE STAYS HOT
The Predators (39-25-11, 89 points), Flames (43-29-4, 90 points) and Blues (41-28-6, 88 points) all earned victories on Monday to keep pace in the Western Conference playoff race:

* Viktor Arvidsson (GWG) scored for the fifth time in his last six games as the Predators earned their fourth straight victory, moving within six points of the Wild (44-24-7, 95 points) for second place in the Central Division. Nashville will play Minnesota and St. Louis on April 1 and 2, respectively.

* Sean Monahan matched a career-high with 1-3—4 to help the Flames remain two points ahead of the Blues for the first Wild Card position in the Western Conference. Brian Elliott (24 saves) improved to 14-1-1 in his last 16 decisions while Johnny Gaudreau (1-1—2) extended his point streak to five games (2-7—9).

* Alexander Steen (0-4—4) recorded a career-high four assists while Jaden Schwartz (2-1—3) and Vladimir Tarasenko (1-2—3) each earned three points to help the Blues improve to 10-1-1 in their last 12 contests, keeping pace with the Predators as the teams battle for third place in the Central Division. Jake Allen improved to 8-1-1 in his last 10 decisions with a 1.39 goals-against average, .951 save percentage and two shutouts.

LOOSE PUCKS
Andreas Athanasiou scored his second overtime goal in as many games to help the Red Wings improve to 5-1-1 in their last seven contests . . . Jeff Skinner (1-0—1) scored to extend his goal and point streaks to six and seven games, respectively (8-2—10), while The Hurricanes (33-27-14, 80 points) extended their point streak to 11 games (7-0-4) . . . Sabres captain Brian Gionta scored the game-winning goal in his 1,000th NHL contest . . . Panthers forward Shawn Thornton (700) and Predators defenseman Roman Josi (400) also skated in milestone games . . . Coyotes forward Clayton Keller, a native of Chesterfield, Mo., made his NHL debut in his home state . . . Red Wings defenseman Dan Renouf also made his NHL debut . . . San Jose's Micheal Haley was suspended one game for roughing Nashville’s Calle Jarnkrok . . . Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen and Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf were named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the week ending March 26 . . . Renowned Canadian artist Tony Harris unveiled portraits of Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr as part of the NHL Centennial Celebration.

SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Winnipeg @ New Jersey, 7 p.m., MSG+, TSN3
Nashville @ Boston, 7 p.m., SN1, SNO, TVAS, NESN, FS-TN
Ottawa @ Philadelphia, 7 p.m., TCN-PH, RDS2, TSN5
Detroit @ Carolina, 7 p.m., FS-CR, FS-D+
Buffalo @ Columbus, 7 p.m., FS-O, MSG-B
Florida @ Toronto, 7:30 p.m., TSN4, FS-F
Dallas @ Montreal, 7:30 p.m., SNE, RDS, FS-SW
Washington @ Minnesota, 8 p.m., NHLN-US, FS-N, CSN-DC
Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 9 p.m., SNW, FS-W
Anaheim @ Vancouver, 10 p.m., SNP, PRIME
NY Rangers @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., SNE, SNO, CSN-CA, MSG
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PACIFIC DIVISION BATTLE RESUMES
The top three teams in the Pacific Division – separated by just two points – all take to the ice on Tuesday as they look to inch closer to securing a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

* The Ducks (41-23-11, 93 points) visit the Canucks (30-36-9, 69 points) as they look to increase their lead atop the division. Anaheim has won four straight games and has earned a point in each of its last seven contests (6-0-1).

* The Sharks (42-26-7, 91 points) look to snap a six-game slide when they host the Rangers (46-26-4, 96 points) at SAP Center. New York, who holds the first Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference, will try to close the gap on Columbus (48-19-7, 103 points) and Pittsburgh (46-18-11, 103 points) in the Metropolitan Division standings.

* The Oilers (41-25-9, 91 points) – who hold a 6-1-0 record in their last seven games – host the Kings (35-32-7, 77 points) at Rogers Place in the fourth of five meetings this season. The teams will conclude their season series on April 4 in Los Angeles.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for supplying the information above.