Around the League notebook for Monday, March 9

MONDAY'S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

NY Islanders 4, Toronto 3 (OT)

DETROIT 5, Edmonton 2

VANCOUVER 2, Anaheim 1

Nashville 2, ARIZONA 1 (OT)

SAN JOSE 2, Pittsburgh 1 (SO)

PREDATORS REACH TOP OF NHL STANDINGS WITH WIN AGAINST COYOTES

James Neal (1-0—1) scored with 2:15 remaining in overtime to power the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 victory against the Arizona Coyotes. The Predators, who lead the Central Division, improved to 42-19-7 (91 points) this season and tied the Anaheim Ducks for first in the NHL standings.

* Neal's goal was his 22nd of the season and sixth game-winning goal, which tied his career high set during the 2012-13 season as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

* Pekka Rinne made 27 saves to improve to 36-13-3 with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. Rinne's 36 victories rank him second among NHL goaltenders; Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens paces the League with 37 wins.

* Nashville improved to 11-3-2 against Pacific Division opponents.

TAVARES SCORES LATE OVERTIME GOAL TO LIFT ISLANDERS

Facing a two-goal deficit in the third period, the New York Islanders scored goals 30 seconds apart to tie the game and John Tavares (1-1—2) had the overtime winner with 22 seconds remaining for a 4-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Islanders, who lead the Metropolitan Division, improved to 43-21-4 (90 points) this season and tied the idle Montreal Canadiens for first in the Eastern Conference.

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Islanders' 43 wins this season are tied for the second-most victories through 68 games in franchise history. The Islanders had a record of 43-23-2 through 68 games during the 1983-84 season and a record of 43-13-12 through 68 games during the 1978-79 season. The franchise record is 47-14-7 through 68 games during the 1981-82 season.

* Tavares' goal was his team-leading 33rd, which extended his career high and stood as his seventh game-winning goal of the season. He added his team-leading 39th assist for his 21st multipoint game of the season and extended his point streak to three games (3-4—7). Tavares leads the League in points this season with 72 (33-39—72).

* In his Islanders debut, Tyler Kennedy (1-1—2) scored his fifth goal and had his sixth assist for his first multipoint game of the season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Kennedy is the second Islanders player this season to have a multipoint game in his team debut; Johnny Boychuk had 1-2—3 in his debut on Oct. 10, 2014 versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

* Josh Bailey (0-2—2) had his fourth multiassist game and extended his point streak to four games (2-3—5), which matched a season high. Travis Hamonic (0-2—2) had his third multiassist game.

* Michal Neuvirth made 22 saves to earn his first win with the Islanders. Neuvirth improved to 7-17-4 with a 2.98 GAA and a .916 save percentage.

* The Islanders have won five of their past six games in Toronto (5-1-0) and improved to 7-2-2 in their past 11 games overall against the Maple Leafs.

DETROIT DEFEATS EDMONTON, CLIMBS ATLANTIC DIVISION STANDINGS

Four different skaters had multipoint games to propel the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers. The Red Wings improved to 37-17-11 (85 points) this season and moved within three points of the idle Tampa Bay Lightning, who rank second in the Atlantic Division standings with a record of 41-20-6 (88 points).

* Henrik Zetterberg (0-3—3) had his third three-assist game of the season. Zetterberg has seven assists in his past four games (0-7—7) and leads the Red Wings in assists with 41.

* Teemu Pulkkinen (1-1—2) scored his third goal and had his first assist for the first multipoint game of his career. The goal stood as the first career game-winning goal for Pulkkinen.

* Pavel Datsyuk (1-1—2) scored his 23rd goal into an empty net and had his 33rd assist for his 15th multipoint game of the season. Datsyuk is tied for the Red Wings lead in points with 56 (23-33—56).

* Riley Sheahan (1-1—2) scored his 11th goal and had his 20th assist for his fifth multipoint game of the season.

* Jimmy Howard made 36 saves to improve to 20-9-9 with a 2.25 GAA and a .917 save percentage. Howard improved to 12-1-2 in 15 career decisions against Edmonton.

* Niklas Kronwall (1-0—1) scored his eighth goal and third power-play goal of the season 21 seconds into the second period. With 333 career points (70-263—333), Kronwall passed Ulf Samuelsson for sole possession of eighth on the all-time points list among Swedish defensemen.

* Kronwall skated in the 659th game of his NHL career and tied Shawn Burr and Darren McCarty for 20th on Detroit's all-time games played list.

* Detroit has won eight consecutive games against Edmonton and has earned points in 17 straight games against the Oilers (15-0-2). Dating to the beginning of the 2001-02 season, the Red Wings have lost in regulation twice in the past 47 meetings between the clubs (29-2-16).

NIEMI LEADS SHARKS TO SHOOTOUT VICTORY AGAINST PENGUINS

Antti Niemi made 39 saves through 65 minutes and stopped seven of eight shooters in the shootout to lead the San Jose Sharks to a 2-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sharks improved to 33-26-8 (74 points) this season and moved within four points of the idle Winnipeg Jets, who occupy the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a record of 33-21-12 (78 points).

* Niemi improved to 26-18-7 with a 2.58 GAA and a .914 save percentage. Niemi is 3-4 in shootout scenarios this season, where he has stopped 27 of 35 shooters for a .771 shootout save percentage.

* Tommy Wingels scored the shootout winner in the eighth round. Wingels had his first game-deciding goal of the season by converting on his first shootout attempt.

* After going winless in the franchise's first eight contests against Pittsburgh (0-6-2), San Jose has posted a record of 16-2-2 in their past 20 games against the Penguins. The Sharks improved to 11-0-1 in their past 12 home games against Pittsburgh.

LATE GOAL BY KASSIAN LIFTS CANUCKS AGAINST DUCKS

Zack Kassian (1-0—1) scored the game-winner with 3:59 left in the third period to propel the Vancouver Canucks to a 2-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks. The Canucks, who are second in the Pacific Division standings, improved to 38-24-4 (80 points) this season and moved three points ahead of the idle Calgary Flames, who are third with a record of 36-25-5 (77 points).

* Kassian's goal was his 10th of the season and third game-winning goal, which established a new career high.

* Eddie Lack made 29 saves to improve to 10-8-3 with a 2.46 GAA and a .920 save percentage. Lack has earned points in eight of his past 10 decisions (7-2-1).

* The Canucks have earned points in eight of their past 11 games (7-3-1).

LOOSE PUCKS

Islanders forward Anders Lee (0-1—1) extended his point streak to five games (2-3—5), which matched a career high. … Toronto forward James van Riemsdyk (1-1—2) had his 11th multipoint game of the season. … Toronto forward David Booth (1-0—1) extended his season-high point streak to four games (3-1—4), which includes goals in a season-high three straight games. … Toronto forward Peter Holland (1-0—1) extended his point streak to a career-high four games (2-2—4). … Toronto goaltender Jonathan Bernier made 39 saves. … Anaheim forward Nate Thompson (0-1—1) had the 100th point of his NHL career. … Arizona goaltender Louis Domingue made a career-high 31 saves in his fourth career appearance. … Arizona forward Kyle Chipchura (1-0—1) scored the first power-play goal of his career. … Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang (0-1—1) had his 41st assist of the season and established a new career high with 51 points (10-41—51). Letang paces League defensemen in assists and points. … Pittsburgh forward Sidney Crosby (1-0—1) scored his 22nd goal of the season. Crosby's 67 points (22-45—67) tie him for fourth in the League. … Calgary Flames center Jiri Hudler, Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov and New York Rangers goaltender Cam Talbot have been named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the week ending March 8. … Referee Evgeny Romasko made his debut Monday at Joe Louis Arena and became the first Russian-born referee in NHL history.

Post-game photo in Detroit with @Nail10_1993 and the first Russian @NHL referee Evgeny Romasko. pic.twitter.com/mMLB94SAc9

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 10, 2015