Around the League notebook for Wednesday, Feb. 18

WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS

Home Team in CAPS

OTTAWA 4, Montreal 2

Detroit 3, CHICAGO 2 (SO)

Minnesota 3, CALGARY 2 (OT)

Tampa Bay 4, ANAHEIM 1

Los Angeles 4, COLORADO 1

EDMONTON 4, Boston 3 (SO)

LIGHTNING STRIKE DUCKS TO REACH TOP OF ATLANTIC DIVISION STANDINGS...

The Tampa Bay Lightning netted four consecutive goals in the second period in a 4-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks. Tampa Bay's first win in Anaheim since Jan. 9, 2009 improved its record to 36-18-6 (78 points) this season and allowed it to tie the Montreal Canadiens for first in Atlantic Division standings points. Montreal, however, holds two games in hand; Tampa Bay owns the ROW tiebreaker (TBL: 34, MTL: 31).

* Tampa Bay has earned points in five of its last six road games (3-1-2).

* Anton Stralman (1-1-2) netted his fourth goal and added his 24th assist to post his seventh multi-point game of the season. Ondrej Palat (0-2-2) recorded his ninth multi-assist game of the season and extended his point streak to three games (1-3-4).

* Ben Bishop stopped all but one of 25 shots he faced to improve to 29-10-3 this season with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. Bishop has won 13 of his past 18 decisions (13-4-1) and ranks tied for fourth among League-leaders in wins this season with 29.

* Tyler Johnson (1-0-1) scored his 22nd goal of the season, which also stood as his fourth game-winning goal of the season and tied his career-high. Johnson leads the club in points this season with 56 (22-34-56).

* Steven Stamkos (1-0-1) scored his team-leading 31st goal of the season. Stamkos ranks tied for third among League-leaders in the category.

... WHILE DETROIT MAINTAINS PACE WITH SHOOTOUT WIN AGAINST CHICAGO

Tomas Tatar (1-0-1) scored in regulation and added the shootout-winner to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Red Wings, who have earned points in all 10 of their games against Central Division opponents this season (8-0-2), improved to 32-14-10 (74 points) overall and distanced themselves from the idle Washington Capitals, who occupy the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 31-17-10 (72 points).

* Tatar opened the scoring late in the second period with his team-leading 24th goal of the season and has netted four goals in six career games versus Chicago. Tatar has also converted on two of six shootout attempts this season, with his tally versus Chicago standing as his first game-deciding goal of the season.

* Darren Helm (1-1-2) scored his 13th goal and added his 15th assist to record his sixth multi-point game of the season. Three of Helm's six multi-point performances this season have come during his past five games.

* Jimmy Howard made 32 saves through 65 minutes and additionally stopped two of three shooters in the shootout to improve to 17-8-8 this season with a 2.10 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. With one more win, Howard will tie Jon Casey for 10th on the all-time wins list among American-born goaltenders (170 wins).

* Detroit forward Riley Sheahan (0-1-1) registered his 17th assist of the season while skating in the 100th game of his NHL career.

LOS ANGELES EARNS SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN TO TAKE SECOND WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD-CARD SPOT...

Jonathan Quick made 42 saves to backstop the Los Angeles Kings to their sixth straight win in a 4-1 victory against the Colorado Avalanche. The Kings improved to 27-18-12 (66 points) this season and passed the idle San Jose Sharks for possession of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Although both clubs are tied in terms of standings points, the Kings hold two games in hand over the Sharks.

* The Kings have earned points in seven consecutive games against the Avalanche (6-0-1) and have not lost to Colorado in regulation since a 3-1 defeat on Jan. 22, 2013.

* Quick has backstopped the Kings to all six of their consecutive victories and set a season-high personal win streak consequently. Quick improved to 23-15-10 this season with a 2.46 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.

* Jeff Carter (2-0-2) posted his third multi-goal performance of the season and extended his season-high point streak to five games (4-5-9). Carter's latter tally into an empty net also stood as his seventh power-play goal of the season. Paired with the win, the Kings improved to 13-0-0 this season when Carter records a multi-point game.

* Tyler Toffoli (1-1-2) netted his 19th goal and added his 19th assist to post his ninth multi-point performance of the season. Toffoli's tally also stood as his first game-winning goal of the season. Combined with the victory, Los Angeles improved to 8-1-0 this season when Toffoli posts a multi-point performance.

* Drew Doughty (0-2-2) posted his fourth multi-assist game of the season. Doughty also skated in the 499th game of his career, allowing him to tie Lubomir Visnovsky for sixth on the Kings' all-time games played list among defensemen.

* Dwight King (0-1-1) extended his career-high point streak to five games (3-5-8) while Anze Kopitar (0-1-1) and Trevor Lewis (0-1-1) extended their points streaks to three games. Kopitar and Lewis have each posted 1-2-3 during their respective streaks.

... WHILE WILD KEEP PACE WITH OVERTIME WIN AGAINST FLAMES

Mikko Koivu (1-0-1) scored 1:50 into overtime to propel the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 victory against the Calgary Flames. The Wild, who have earned points in 13 of their past 15 games (11-2-2), improved to 29-21-7 (65 points) overall this season and moved within one point of the Los Angeles Kings and the idle San Jose Sharks. Although the Kings and the Sharks are tied in terms of standings points, Los Angeles occupies the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with two games in hand on San Jose.

* The marker was the ninth goal and the second game-winning goal of the season for Koivu, who ranks second on the club in points (9-26-35).

* Devan Dubnyk made 35 saves through regulation and overtime to record his 20th win of the season. Dubnyk improved to 20-7-3 overall this season with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage, including a record 11-2-1 in 15 decisions since being acquired by the Wild. Dubnyk also recorded his second assist of the season in the victory.

* Charlie Coyle (0-2-2) recorded his fourth multi-assist game of the season.

OILERS EARN FIRST HOME WIN AGAINST BOSTON SINCE 2000

Martin Marincin scored the lone goal of a 12-round shootout to power the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 victory against the Boston Bruins. The Oilers earned their first home win against the Bruins since they defeated them 6-1 on Oct. 17, 2000 and improved to 17-32-10 (44 points) overall this season.

* Ben Scrivens made 38 saves through 65 minutes and additionally stopped all 12 shooters in the shootout to improve to 11-17-7 this season with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage. Scrivens also improved to 2-2 in shootout scenarios this season, where he has stopped 22 of 27 shooters for a .815 shootout save percentage.

* Teddy Purcell (1-1-2) scored his seventh goal on a power-play and added his 19th assist to record his fifth multi-point game of the season. The marker was also the third power-play goal of the season for Purcell.

* Jordan Eberle (0-2-2) posted his fourth multi-assist game of the season, two of which have come during his past two games. Eberle leads the Oilers in assists (26) and points (15-26-41) this season.

* Nail Yakupov (1-0-1) opened the scoring with his ninth goal of the season and extended his point streak to six games (4-3-7). Yakupov's six-game point streak tied his career-high; he also recorded a point in six consecutive games from Jan. 28-Feb. 6, 2013 (3-3-6).

* Derek Roy (0-1-1) extended his point streak to three games (1-2-3), which tied his season-high.

HAMMOND POSTS FIRST CAREER WIN AS OTTAWA DEFEATS MONTREAL

In his first career start, goaltender Andrew Hammond made 42 saves to backstop the Ottawa Senators to a 4-2 victory against the Montreal Canadiens. Hammond's first career win allowed the Senators to improve to 23-23-10 (56 points) this season.

* Hammond stopped 42 of 44 shots to record the first win of his NHL career. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Hammond's 42 saves are a franchise record in terms of Ottawa goaltenders who have earned their first career win in their first start. Elias also says at 27 years, eight days old, Hammond is the oldest goaltender in Senators history to earn a win in his first career start.

* Mark Stone (1-2-3) scored his 14th goal on a power-play and added two assists to post the first three-point performance of his career. The marker was also the second game-winning goal and the career-high second power-play goal of the season for Stone, who ranks fourth on the club in points (14-22-36).

* Milan Michalek (1-1-2) opened the scoring in the second period with his 11th goal and added his 11th assist to record his fourth multi-point game of the season. Michalek has posted five points (3-2-5) in his past three games, which include two of his four multi-point performances this season.

* Erik Karlsson (0-2-2) recorded his sixth multi-assist game of the season and extended his point streak to a season-high five games (1-8-9), which includes four consecutive two-assist games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the most-recent NHL player to post four straight multi-assist games was also Karlsson, who recorded four consecutive two-assist games from Feb. 20-26, 2012 during an eight-game point streak from Feb. 9-28, 2012 (7-11—18).

* Mike Hoffman (0-1-1) extended his career-high point streak to five games (3-3-6) and Erik Condra (0-1-1) extended his point streak to a season-high three games (1-3-4).

Congrats!! @andrewhammond30 pic.twitter.com/WBwWYfhydu

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) February 19, 2015

LOOSE PUCKS

Montreal defenseman Nathan Beaulieu (1-0-1) scored the first goal of his NHL career. ... Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban (0-1-1) extended his point streak to four games (0-5-5), which tied his season-high. ... Montreal forward Max Pacioretty (1-0-1) scored his team-leading 27th goal of the season eight seconds after Ottawa opened the scoring in the second period. ... Montreal coach Michel Therrien passed John Muckler for sole possession of 46th on the NHL's all-time games coached list. ... Chicago forward Brandon Saad (1-0-1) scored 39 seconds after Detroit opened the scoring late in the second period. Saad extended his point streak to four games (2-3-5), which tied a career-high; he has recorded six career four-game point streaks, including three such streaks this season. ... Chicago forward Marian Hossa (0-1-1) has recorded nine points (7-2-9) in his past six games. ... Calgary defenseman Dennis Wideman (0-2-2) posted his fifth multi-assist performance of the season. ... Calgary forwards Jiri Hudler (1-0-1) and Sean Monahan (0-1-1) extended their point streaks to three games (3-2-5 and 2-3-5, respectively). ... Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano skated in the 507th game of his career and tied Craig Conroy for 15th on the Flames' all-time games played list. ... Colorado forward Gabriel Landeskog (1-0-1) has scored in four consecutive games (4-0-4). Landeskog's four-game goal streak tied his career-high; he also recorded a goal in four consecutive games from March 14-20, 2014 (4-1-5). ... Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon (0-1-1) extended his point streak to a season-high four games (0-4-4). ... Colorado goaltender Semyon Varlamov made his career-high 14th consecutive start in his 189th career game with the Avalanche franchise. Varlamov passed Stephane Fiset for sole possession of fifth on their all-time games played list among goaltenders. ... Boston defenseman Dougie Hamilton (0-2-2) posted his fourth multi-assist performance of the season. ... The Philadelphia Flyers signed defenseman Nick Schultz to a multi-year contract extension. ... The 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series in Santa Clara, Calif., will feature a pre-game celebration of the growth of hockey in the Bay Area and throughout California and a salute to Sharks alumni. The outdoor game also will feature performances by rock legend and Bay Area native John Fogerty, Grammy Award-winning artist Melissa Etheridge, singer-songwriter Kris Allen and Symphony Silicon Valley. ... Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Nick Spaling, Zach Sill and Robert Bortuzzo of the Pittsburgh Penguins surprised 40 children involved with the Little Penguins by taking the ice during a unique practice on Wednesday.

Here are some of our favorite photos from today’s Little Penguins practice. Full gallery here: http://t.co/PUiQvNENmB pic.twitter.com/HqhTJr9HPx

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 18, 2015