Around the League notebook for Tuesday, March 3

TUESDAY'S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

NEW JERSEY 3, Nashville 1

Calgary 3, PHILADELPHIA 2 (OT)

Washington 5, COLUMBUS 3

TAMPA BAY 3, Buffalo 0

Toronto 3, FLORIDA 2

MINNESOTA 3, Ottawa 2 (SO)

DALLAS 3, NY Islanders 2 (OT)

Anaheim 4, ARIZONA 1

Los Angeles 5, EDMONTON 2

San Jose 6, VANCOUVER 2

MAPLE LEAFS SNAP ROAD SKID WITH BIZARRE FINISH IN FLORIDA

Nazem Kadri and Peter Holland scored in the third period to rally the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win against the Florida Panthers, their first road win since Dec. 31 (at BOS), snapping a franchise-record 16-game road losing streak.

* Panthers goalie Al Montoya surrendered all three goals after starting the second period in relief of starter Roberto Luongo, who left the game due to injury. Montoya, however, was injured early in the third period, but remained in the game for more than 10 minutes following a brief delay.

* Luongo eventually replaced Montoya after putting on his gear for a second time. Before that though, the Panthers thought of using forward Derek MacKenzie as a replacement in net and, after receiving approval from the NHL, dressed goaltending coach Robb Tallas, who played 99 NHL games with the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks from 1995-2001.

* "[Montoya] stuck his neck out there for us," said Panthers forward Brandon Pirri, who scored his 12th goal of the season. "I don't know what's wrong with him, but you see he was in pain. But he went back in there. He's a tough guy. You've got to give him credit for helping the boys out."

* "That was definitely a weird game," said Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier, who made 40 saves in the victory. "I’ve never been part of a game like that when both goalies get hurt and they had to pick the least hurt, I guess."

PACIFIC BATTLE RAGES ON AS THREE CLUBS NAB WINS

The Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks all earned victories on Tuesday to pull with three points of the Vancouver Canucks, who lost to the San Jose Sharks, for second place in the Pacific Division.

* The Flames surrendered a two-goal lead in the third period, but Jiri Hudler scored the game-winner at 1:23 of overtime to lift Calgary to a 3-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers, its first win in Philadelphia since Nov. 26, 2010.

* Hudler (1-1—2) scored his second career overtime goal (also Dec. 7, 2013 at EDM) to boost his team-leading point total to 20-30—50. This is Hudler's third 20-goal season and fourth time with 50 points, seven shy of his career high set in 2008-09 (23-34—57 also w/ DET).

* Karri Ramo made 35 saves, including 13 in the third period, to improve to 11-7-1 this season. He has allowed only five goals in his string of four straight starts, all on the road, and owns a 1.87 goals-against average and .938 save percentage away from Scotiabank Saddledome in 2014-15.

* Anze Kopitar and Trevor Lewis each had 1-2—3 to help the Kings defeat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 and snap a three-game skid. The Kings improved to 18-1-7 against the Oilers dating to Nov. 26, 2008, including an 11-0-3 record in Edmonton during that span.

* Kopitar had his fourth game with at least three points this season, while Lewis set a career high for points in a game. Jeff Carter also scored; he leads the club with 21-28—49, one point more than Kopitar (13-35—48).

* Jonathan Quick made 21 saves to pick up his 26th win and improve to 13-1-5 with a 1.54 GAA and .939 save percentage in 19 career games against the Oilers.

* Matt Nieto scored twice and notched the primary assist on the eventual game-winning goal to help the Sharks defeat the Canucks 6-2 and earn consecutive wins for the first time since Jan. 21-31 (3-0-0). The Sharks pulled even in their season series against the Canucks (SJS: 2-2-0, VAN: 2-2-0). San Jose also won its fifth consecutive game in Vancouver dating to March 5, 2013; the season series wraps up Saturday at SAP Center.

* Nieto scored two goals and had three points for the first time this season, equaling career-highs in both categories -- Feb. 3, 2014 vs. PHI and Oct. 8, 2013 vs. NYR, respectively.

* Antti Niemi made 26 saves to end a personal three-game slide and improve to 8-3-0 with a 2.17 GAA and .931 save percentage in 11 career visits to Rogers Arena.

WILD KEEP WINNING, CLOSE IN ON JETS

After surrendering a two-goal lead in the second period, Charlie Coyle scored the game-deciding goal in the fifth round of the shootout to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators, their third straight victory and sixth win in their past seven.

* At 34-22-7 (75 points), the Wild pulled within one point of the idle Jets (32-20-12, 76 points) for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

* Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves and denied four attempts in the shootout to improve to 25-8-3 with a 2.14 GAA, .926 save percentage and six shutouts this season.

* Dubnyk started his 21st straight game since making his debut on Jan. 15, establishing a franchise record for consecutive starts (previously: Niklas Backstrom, Mar. 3 – Apr. 10, 2009).

* He boosted his record in a Wild uniform to 16-3-1 with a 1.65 GAA and .937 save percentage, allowing two goals or less in 16 of those games.

* Matt Dumba notched both Wild goals in regulation, his first career multigoal game. He has four goals in his past seven games, compared to three in his first 45 games.

* Coyle has two career shootout goals, each a game-deciding goal. Mikko Koivu and Jason Pominville also scored in the shootout; Koivu has 39 career shootout goals, tied for second among active players.

* Jordan Leopold (Golden Valley, Minn.), who was acquired at the NHL Trade Deadline after his daughter wrote a letter to Wild coaches, logged 17:19 in his debut. He is the 21st Minnesotan to play with the club. Chris Stewart had one assist and 15:06 TOI in his first game with the Wild.

OVECHKIN, BACKSTROM HELP CAPITALS GAIN GROUND IN METROPOLITAN

Alex Ovechkin posted his second straight two-goal game and second consecutive game-winning goal to lift the Washington Capitals to their second straight win, 5-3 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

* The Capitals (35-20-10, 80 points) moved nine points clear of the idle Bruins for the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and pulled within one point of the idle Pittsburgh Penguins (36-17-9, 81 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division, where Nos. 1-4 are separated by five points.

* Ovechkin scored his League-leading 10th game-winning goal, the fifth time he has reached double digits in that category. Elias says his five seasons with 10+ game-winning goals are the most in NHL history, besting the previous mark of four shared by Guy Lafleur and Jeremy Roenick.

* He scored at least two goals in consecutive team games for the 12th time in his career and second time this season (also Oct. 11 at BOS and Oct. 14 vs. SJS).

* It was his 12th multigoal game of the season; no other player has more than seven. Ovechkin has recorded more multi-goal games in a season only three times in his career: 13 in 2007-08 and 2008-09 and 14 in 2009-10. He finished with 65, 56 and 50 goals in those seasons, respectively.

* Ovechkin scored his 42nd and 43rd goals of 2014-15, increasing his League lead. He (43-24—67) and Nicklas Backstrom (18-49—67) share the overall scoring lead with 67 points.

* Backstrom (0-2—2) leads the NHL with 49 assists. He and Ovechkin share second in franchise history with 416 career assists, two behind Michal Pivonka (418).

* Braden Holtby made 27 saves, including a penalty shot attempt by Scott Hartnell, to earn his 31st victory of the season.

SILFVERBERG, COGLIANO LIFT DUCKS INTO FIRST-PLACE TIE

Jakob Silfverberg had 1-2—3 and Andrew Cogliano scored twice to power the Anaheim Ducks to a 4-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes. It was their third straight win and fifth straight victory on the road, their longest such streak since Dec. 6-23, 2013 (6-0-0). The Ducks lead the NHL with 20 road wins and 44 road points this season.

* The Ducks (41-17-7, 89 points) pulled into a tie with the Nashville Predators (41-17-7, 89 points) for first place in the NHL. Nashville, however, holds the ROW tiebreaker (NSH: 35, ANA: 33).

* Silfverberg had multiple assists for the second time in his career (also Oct. 13 at BUF) and set a career high for points in a game. He is tied for fifth on the Ducks with 10-20—30 in 64 GP; his 10 goals equal his total from each of his first two seasons.

* Cogliano had his second multigoal game of 2014-15 (also Feb.1 5 vs. WSH), including his 11th career shorthanded goal (third this season).

* Cogliano skated in his 277th straight game with the Ducks, establishing a new franchise record for longest consecutive games played streak. He also holds the League's active iron man streak, having played in 605 consecutive games since his NHL debut in 2007-08.

* Making his first appearance since Feb. 8, Frederik Andersen made 29 saves to earn his 30th win of the season.

VASILEVSKIY, LIGHTNING BLANK SABRES TO CLOSE GAP IN ATLANTIC

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves and Steven Stamkos scored the eventual game-winning goal to help the Tampa Bay Lightning shut out the Buffalo Sabres 3-0. They improved to 4-0-1 against the Sabres this season, including two shutouts (also 5-0 on Dec. 4).

* The Lightning improved to 39-20-6 (84 points) to pull within three points of the idle Montreal Canadiens (41-17-5, 87 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division. Montreal holds two games in hand, but Tampa Bay owns the ROW tiebreaker (TBL: 37, MTL: 35).

* Vasilevskiy earned his first win since Feb. 5 at DAL and improved to 5-3-1 with a 2.21 GAA, .921 save percentage and one shutout in 11 career appearances. Per Elias, Vasilevskiy, 20, is the youngest goaltender in franchise history to record a shutout for the Lightning.

* Ben Bishop posted a 28-save shutout against Chicago on Friday in Tampa Bay's previous game at Amalie Arena. Elias says the last time the Lightning posted shutouts in back-to-back home games was Oct. 22 and Oct. 29, 2011.

* The Lightning have won 13 of their past 15 games at Amalie Arena, where they will play eight of their next 10 games. They rank second in the NHL with 24 home wins and 49 home points.

* Stamkos scored his 36th goal of the season to pull within two of Rick Nash for second place in the NHL. It was his fifth game-winning goal of 2014-15, tying Ondrej Palat for first on the team.

* Ryan Callahan reached the 20-goal milestone for the fourth time in his career and first since 2011-12 (w/ NYR). Victor Hedman scored his third power-play goal of the season (45 GP), matching his total from his first 333 games.

TUESDAY NOTABLES

Highlights from the rest of the 10-game slate Tuesday:

* The New Jersey Devils jumped to a two-goal lead less than four minutes after the opening face-off and Cory Schneider made 33 saves as the Devils defeated the Predators 3-1 for their sixth win in their past eight games (6-1-1). Schneider improved to 13-8-6 with a 1.79 GAA and .935 save percentage in 28 games at Prudential Center this season, including an 10-2-3 record since Dec. 23. Adam Larsson (15 games) and Eric Gelinas (19 games) each ended goal droughts, while Mike Cammalleri scored his 24th goal of the season to stretch his point streak to seven games (6-3—9).

* After yielding the tying goal with 1.1 seconds left in regulation, Cody Eakin (1-1—2) scored at 2:18 of overtime to help the Dallas Stars defeat the New York Islanders 3-2. The Stars ended a six-game skid and earned their first home win since Feb. 13 (0-2-2 since). Eakin scored his sixth career game-winning goal (third this season) and first in overtime; his 15 goals in 2014-15 are one shy of his career-high set in 81 games last season. Kari Lehtonen made 35 saves, including 17 in the first period, to earn his 26th win of the season.

LOOSE PUCKS

Henrik Sedin (2-0—2) eclipsed 900 NHL points, all with the Canucks, to become the first player in franchise history to reach the milestone (208-693—901 in 1,073 GP). He has points in each of his past eight games (6-7—13) . . . Aaron Ekblad scored his 11th goal of the season, setting a Panthers franchise record for a rookie defenseman (previously Ed Jovanovski: 10, 1995-96) . . . Senators teammates Mika Zibanejad (2-2—4) and Mike Hoffman (3-3—6) each stretched their point streaks to four games . . . Flames forward Sean Monahan scored his 22nd goal of the season (63 GP), equaling his rookie total from 2013-14 . . . Despite their loss, the Flyers earned a point for the fifth consecutive home game (3-0-2) . . . Flyers captain Claude Giroux notched his 300th career assist, which also was his 60th point of 2014-15 . . . Predators forward Matt Cullen played in his 1,200th career game, becoming the 103rd player in NHL history to reach the milestone . . . After signing a three-year contract on Monday, Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson played in his 200th NHL game . . . Capitals forward Joel Ward (500), Flames defenseman Deryk Engelland (300), Flyers forward Chris VandeVelde (100) and Sabres forward Zac Dalpe (100) also played in milestone games . . . The Flyers signed forward Tyrell Goulbourne to a three-year entry-level contract . . . Kings coach Darryl Sutter was behind the bench for his 1,102nd career game, tying Billy Reay for 16th in NHL history . . . Stars defenseman Patrik Nemeth logged 12:08 TOI in his return from a 58-game absence due to injury . . . Oilers defenseman Jordan Oesterle recorded his first NHL assist/point . . . Sharks teammates Patrick Marleau (3-2—5), Joe Pavelski (1-4—5) and Matt Irwin (2-2—4) each extended point streaks to four games . . . Lightning forward Tyler Johnson had his 62nd point of the season -- eighth in the League -- to stretch his point streak to four games (2-4—6) . . . Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash dropped the puck before the SJS-VAN game.