Around the League notebook: Friday, Jan. 22

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

Detroit 3, BUFFALO 0

NY Rangers 4, CAROLINA 1

NY Islanders 5, OTTAWA 2

FLORIDA 4, Chicago 0

COLORADO 2, St. Louis 1 (SO)

LUONGO CLIMBS ALL-TIME SHUTOUTS LIST IN WIN OVER BLACKHAWKS

Roberto Luongo stopped all 27 shots he faced, including 12 in the third period, as the Panthers shut out the defending Stanley Cup champions and snapped a four-game skid (0-3-1).

* At 27-15-5 (59 points), the Panthers hold a three-point lead over the Red Wings (24-15-8, 56 points) and idle Lightning (26-17-4, 56 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division.

* Luongo improved to 6-0-0 in his last six appearances on home ice and 20-13-4 overall (2.12 GAA, .929 SV%, 4 SO).

* Per Elias, Luongo earned his 72nd career shutout – and fourth this season – to pass Lorne Chabot and Harry Lumley for sole possession of 11th place in NHL history. Luongo trails Tony Esposito and Ed Belfour for ninth place, who share a tie with 76 career blank sheets apiece.

* Luongo’s 421 career wins are also two shy of matching Esposito (423) for seventh place in League history.

* Elias adds that the Panthers shut out the Blackhawks for the second time in franchise history. Also: 4-0 W on March 29, 1998 (John Vanbiesbrouck: 27 saves).

AROUND THE RINKS

* Petr Mrazek turned aside all 19 shots he faced to backstop the Red Wings to a 6-2-1 record in their last nine outings. Mrazek picked up his third shutout of the season and the eighth of his career, improving to 6-1-1 in his last eight appearances and 17-9-4 overall (2.03 GAA, .932 SV%, 3 SO). Dylan Larkin (1-1—2) scored the game-winning goal at 12:01 of the third period and added an assist to record his fourth multi-point game of the season (46 GP). Larkin leads all rookies with five game-winning goals and ranks second with 15 goals overall, trailing only Artemi Panarin (16 w/ CHI). At 24-15-8 (56 points), the Red Wings moved into a tie with the idle Lightning (26-17-4, 56 points) – in terms of points – for second place in the Atlantic Division. Tampa Bay, however, owns the ROW tiebreaker (TBL: 24, DET: 23).

* Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves and JT Miller scored twice to lift the Rangers to a 5-2-1 record in their last eight contests. Lundqvist picked up his third straight win and improved to 22-12-4 this season (2.41 GAA, .922 SV%, 2 SO), as well as 23-9-1 in 33 career appearances vs. CAR. Miller scored consecutive goals in a span of 2:10 to post the second multi-goal game of his NHL career (also Feb. 7, 2013 vs. NYI: 2-0—2). With 12 goals this season (47 GP), Miller eclipsed his single-season career high of 10 from 2014-15 (58 GP). At 26-16-5 (57 points) overall, the Rangers maintained a one-point lead over the Islanders (25-15-6, 56 points) – who defeated the Senators in regulation – for second place in the Metropolitan Division.

* Knotted at 2-2 through 40 minutes, Travis Hamonic (1-1—2), John Tavares (1-1—2) and Kyle Okposo (1-1—2) each scored in the third period as the Islanders pushed their point streak to four contests (3-0-1). Hamonic potted the game-winning goal at 2:58 of the frame – the second such marker of his career (also April 1, 2013 at NJD) – and added an assist to notch his first multi-point game of the season (42 GP). Okposo and Tavares each posted their eighth multi-point outings of the season and rank first and second in team scoring with 12-23—35 (44 GP) and 16-17—33 (43 GP), respectively.

* Down 1-0, Nathan MacKinnon tied the game with 53.7 seconds remaining in regulation and Gabriel Landeskog netted the decisive marker in the shootout to help the Avalanche pick up their third straight win and improve to 11-3-1 against Central Division teams this season. Semyon Varlamov turned aside 33 of 34 shots through 65 minutes and stopped all three shooters in the shootout to improve to 6-2-0 in his last eight outings and 18-12-3 overall (2.64 GAA, .915 SV%, 1 SO). At 25-21-3 (53 points), the Avalanche climbed within a point of the idle Wild (23-16-8, 54 points) for the first Wild Card position in the Western Conference.

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS

* Per Elias, Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg (305-513—818 in 883 GP) scored to pass Thomas Steen (264-553—817 in 950 GP) for sole possession of eighth on the NHL’s all-time points list among Swedish-born players. Markus Naslund (395-474—869 in 1,117 GP) ranks seventh.

* Forward Daniel Paille (15:17 TOI) made his debut with the Rangers, his first NHL game since March 22, 2015 vs. TBL (w/ BOS). Forward Jiri Sekac (11:19 TOI) made his debut with the Blackhawks.

LOOSE PUCKS

The Red Wings improved to 14-1-1 in their last 16 games vs. BUF dating to March 13, 2010 (BUF: 2-11-3)... Red Wings forward Luke Glendening (1-1—2) registered his first multi-point game of the season (46 GP)... The Rangers improved to 19-1-0 in their last 20 games vs. CAR dating to Feb. 22, 2011 (CAR: 1-13-6), including nine consecutive victories... Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad scored in his first game since Jan. 10... The Panthers earned their first win vs. CHI since March 8, 2011 (3-2 W), snapping an eight-game losing streak (0-5-3)... Islanders goaltender Jaroslav Halak (28 saves) improved to 12-8-4 this season (2.11 GAA, .925 SV%, 2 SO)... The Islanders improved to 4-0-1 in their last five road games vs. OTT dating to Nov. 1, 2013 (OTT: 1-3-1)... Senators captain Erik Karlsson (1-1—2) registered his 13th multi-point game of the season. Karlsson continues to pace all defensemen with 10-41—51 this season (48 GP) and reached the 50-point milestone for the fourth time in his seven NHL seasons... The Avalanche improved to 11-2-1 in their last 14 home games vs. STL dating to Feb. 8, 2010 (STL: 3-7-4)... Former defenseman Richard Wilson, a first-round selection in the 1980 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues, passed away at age 53... The Blue Jackets participated in their first outdoor skate, held at Winter Park in McFerson Commons across from Nationwide Arena... Friday’s game between the Ducks and Capitals at Verizon Center was postponed due to the severe snowstorm impacting the Washington, D.C., area. A makeup date will be announced as soon as it can be confirmed. A decision regarding Sunday’s game between the Penguins and Capitals at Verizon Center will be announced Saturday morning.