Around the League notebook for Thursday, March 19

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

San Jose 4, TORONTO 1

MONTREAL 4, Carolina 0

OTTAWA 6, Boston 4

FLORIDA 3, Detroit 1

Washington 3, MINNESOTA 2

WINNIPEG 2, St. Louis 1 (SO)

DALLAS 2, Pittsburgh 1

CALGARY 4, Philadelphia 1

Columbus 6, VANCOUVER 2

Colorado 5, ARIZONA 2

PRICE PERFECT AS CANADIENS REGAIN LEAGUE LEAD

Carey Price denied all 31 shots he faced, including 27 during the final two periods, and Max Pacioretty had a goal and an assist to guide the Montreal Canadiens to their second straight win and a sweep of their season series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

* The Canadiens (45-20-7, 97 points) pulled ahead of the idle Anaheim Ducks (45-20-7, 97 points) for top spot in the NHL by virtue of holding the regulation/overtime wins tiebreaker (Montreal 39, Anaheim 37). The League's top eight teams remain separated by seven points.

* The Canadiens outscored the Hurricanes 11-2 in their three wins this season. They have earned at least one point in 10 straight games, dating to April 5, 2012 (8-0-2), including five straight wins at Bell Centre.

* Price established a career-high with his League-leading 39th win; he also leads goaltenders with a 1.89 goals-against average and .937 save percentage. The Elias Sports Bureau says Price is the third Canadiens goaltender to have at least 39 wins in a season, following Jacques Plante and Ken Dryden, who both hit the mark three times.

* In fact, Price is three victories shy of matching the single-season Canadiens record of 42 wins shared by Plante (1955-56, 1961-62) and Dryden (1975-76).

* Price is tied for second in the NHL with eight shutouts behind Marc-Andre Fleury (nine), matching a career high set in 2010-11. His 33 career shutouts are fifth on the Canadiens career list, one behind Bill Durnan (34).

* Pacioretty pulled into fourth in the NHL with his 35th goal, the second straight season he has reached the mark (39 in 2013-14). The last Canadiens player to score at least 35 goals in consecutive seasons was Vincent Damphousse in 1992-93 (39) and 1993-94 (40). He leads the Canadiens with 62 points this season, three points shy of his career high set in 2011-12 when he had 65 points.

* Dale Weise had his fourth career game-winning goal and first since March 16, 2014 at the Buffalo Sabres. Tomas Plekanec added two assists to reach 50 points for the fifth time. Brendan Gallagher also had a goal; he established career highs in goals (20) and points (42).

SENATORS STAY HOT, NARROW GAP ON BRUINS

The Ottawa Senators surrendered three one-goal leads but Bobby Ryan scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period to lift the Senators to their 13th win in their past 15 games (13-1-1).

* The Senators (35-24-11, 81 points) earned their fifth straight win to move within two points of the Boston Bruins (36-24-11, 83 points) for the final wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Ottawa has one game in hand and won the season series 3-2-0. Boston, however, owns the ROW tiebreaker (Boston 33, Ottawa 30).

* Per Elias, the Senators have earned a point in 14 of 15 games in one season for the first time since March 4 to April 3, 2007 (9-1-5), the season they the Stanley Cup Final. The last time they won 13 games in a 15-game span was from Jan. 16 to Feb. 14, 2010 (13-2-0).

* Andrew Hammond stopped 31 shots to improve to 12-0-1 since making his first NHL start Feb. 18. The last goaltender had at least one point in each of his first 13 NHL starts was Patrick Lalime of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1996-97 (14-0-2 in 16 games). Hammond's streak of consecutive games having allowed two goals or fewer ended at 12 games to start his career; that equals the NHL record set by Boston's Frank Brimsek in 1938-39.

* The line of Kyle Turris (two goals, one assist, plus-3), Milan Michalek (one goal, two assist, plus-2) and Mark Stone (three assists, plus-2) combined for three goals, six assists and a plus-8 rating. Turris had his second three-point game of the season (one goal, two assists Feb. 21 against the Florida Panthers). Michalek scored his 200th career goal and 13th this season. Stone had his second three-point game and first three-assist game. His 49 points this season are third among NHL rookies.

* Ryan matched a career high with his fifth game-winning goal of the season. He and Turris share the Senators lead with 50 points.

* ICYMI: Curtis Lazar enjoyed a post-game snack when fans threw hamburgers onto the ice following the victory.

"I do love a tasty burger..." pic.twitter.com/wPShq1VQv6

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 20, 2015

LUONGO, JAGR HELP PANTHERS KEEP PACE

Roberto Luongo made 26 saves and Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist to help the Florida Panthers end a two-game losing streak and earn their first home regulation win against the Detroit Red Wings since Feb. 8, 1996.

* The Panthers (32-25-14, 78 points) closed the gap on the Bruins (36-24-11, 83 points), who lost in regulation, in the race for the final wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference:

* Luongo had his 24th win of the season in his return to the Panthers lineup following a six-game absence because of a shoulder injury. He improved to 4-2-2 with a 1.96 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in his last nine games.

* Jagr scored his 718th career goal to pass Phil Esposito (717) for fifth place in NHL history. Jagr now has 1,791 points, seven from tying Ron Francis for fourth on the all-time list with 1,798 points.

* Brandon Pirri stretched his goal streak to four games, equaling a career high set from Jan. 31 to Feb. 5. He has three career game-winning goals, including the winning goal in each of the Panthers' past two wins (also March 14 at Carolina).

OVECHKIN POWERS CAPITALS TO FRANCHISE-FIRST VICTORY

Alex Ovechkin scored twice, including the game-winning goal early in the third period, to lift the Washington Capitals to their third straight victory and first ever road win against the Wild (1-6-1).

* The Capitals (39-23-10, 88 points) tied the Pittsburgh Penguins (39-22-10, 88 points) in terms of points for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh, however, holds one game in hand and owns the ROW tiebreaker.

* Ovechkin scored his 46th and 47th goals of the season to increase his League lead. He also moved into first place in the NHL scoring race with 73 points. He also scored his League-leading 11th game-winning goal, equaling a career-high set in 2007-08 and matched in 2010-11.

* Ovechkin leads the NHL with 98 multigoal games since his debut in 2005-06; Jarome Iginla (66) ranks second in that span. His 13 multigoal games this season are five more than the next closest players; Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks and the Dallas Stars' Tyler Seguin both have eight.

* Braden Holtby made 28 saves to improve to 35-18-9 in 2014-15. Olie Kolzig is the only goaltender in Capitals history to record more wins in one season (41 in 1999-00 and 37 in 2000-01). Holtby also had his 95th career victory, surpassing Al Jensen for third place in Capitals history.

GAUDREAU LIFTS FLAMES BACK INTO CONTENTION

Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and two assists to match a career high for points in a game to help the Calgary Flames end a two-game losing streak and earn their first home win against the Philadelphia Flyers since Mar. 22, 2001, ending a five-game skid (0-4-1).

* The Flames (39-27-5, 83 points) pulled ahead of the idle Los Angeles Kings (34-22-14, 82 points) into third place in the Pacific Division. They also narrowed the gap on the second-place Vancouver Canucks (40-26-4, 84 points), who lost in regulation Thursday.

* Gaudreau had his fourth career three-point game and with 56 points he moved past the Nashville Predators’ Filip Forsberg for the rookie scoring lead. Elias says the last Flames rookie with at least 56 points was Sergei Makarov, who had 86 points in 1989-90. Joe Nieuwendyk set the Flames rookie record with 92 points in 1987-88.

* TJ Brodie had his career-high third game-winning goal of the season. His 11 goals are tied with Mark Giordano for second among Flames defensemen, two behind Dennis Wideman.

* Jiri Hudler had two assists for his 11th multi-assist game of the season. He also tied a career-high with 37 assists. He is tied with Giordano for the Flames lead in that category and also leads the Flames with 62 points.

* Sean Monahan scored his Flames-best and career-high 28th goal of the season. He has seven goals and three assists in his past nine games and 28 goals and 52 points on the season.

* Karri Ramo stopped 26 shots for his fourth win in his past five decisions and 14th in 29 games this season. He is three victories shy of his career-high set in 40 games last season.

JETS GAIN GROUND IN WILD CARD RACE

Drew Stafford scored to tie the game with 6:44 left in regulation and scored in the shootout to help the Winnipeg Jets win their third straight and end a seven-game skid against the St. Louis Blues dating to Oct. 29, 2013 (0-5-2).

* At 36-23-12 (84 points), the Jets closed the gap on the Minnesota Wild (39-25-7, 85 points), who lost in regulation Thursday, for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Western Conference. They also opened a two-point lead on the idle Kings (34-22-14, 82 points), the first team outside the playoff picture.

* Stafford stretched his point streak to four games, and he has six goals and five assists in 15 games since joining the Jets via trade from the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 11. He improved to 2-for-3 in shootouts this season, and Andrew Ladd had his eighth career game-deciding goal.

* Ondrej Pavelec stopped 32 shots and denied two of three shootout attempts to earn his third straight win; he has a 1.30 goals-against average and .955 save percentage in that span.

* The Jets improved to 10-2-2 in 14 home games dating to Jan. 13 after beginning the season 7-9-3 at MTS Centre. They also earned their first win when trailing after two periods this season (1-19-4).

STILL IN THE HUNT

The San Jose Sharks, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars all posted regulation wins Thursday to keep pace in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

* Logan Couture had a goal and an assist and Joe Thornton had two assists to power the Sharks to their ninth win in their last 11 games against the Toronto Maple Leafs dating to Nov. 15, 2003 (9-1-1). Thornton had his 10th multi-assist game of the season to become the 19th NHL player to reach 900 career assists. Antti Niemi made 27 saves to end a personal two-game losing streak and improve to 5-1-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .937 save percentage in his career against Toronto. Tomas Hertl, Melker Karlsson and Tommy Wingels also had goals for the Sharks; Karlsson is tied for sixth among rookies with 13 goals.

* Semyon Varlamov stopped 28 shots, including 11 in each in the first and third periods, and Freddie Hamilton's first NHL goal stood as the game-winner as the Avalanche won for the sixth time in their last seven games. Varlamov had his 25th win of the season and stretched his personal winning streak to six games, tying a career high set twice before, most recently March 25 to April 5, 2014. He has a 1.17 goals-against average, .963 save percentage and one shutout in that span. Ryan O'Reilly and Gabriel Landeskog each had a goal and an assist. Landeskog reached the 20-goal mark for the third time and kept pace with Jarome Iginla for the Avalanche scoring leading with 49 points. Iginla's goal gave him 1,216 career points, tied with Jeremy Roenick and Larry Murphy for 41st on the all-time points list.

* The Stars scored two goals in a span of 83 seconds during the second period and Kari Lehtonen stopped 31 of 32 shots to guide the Stars to their fourth win in their last five games and a sweep of their two-game season series with the Penguins. Lehtonen reached the 30-win mark for the fifth time in his career and for the second straight season (33 in 2013-14). He has won five of his past six decisions, with a 1.82 goals-against average and .928 save percentage in that span. Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist for his 17th multipoint game of the season, and the goal tied him with Tyler Seguin for the Stars lead with five game-winning goals. Benn leads the Stars with 66 points.

DANO LEADS BLUE JACKETS RALLY IN VANCOUVER

After surrendering two goals in a span of 40 seconds early in the second period, the Columbus Blue Jackets scored six unanswered goals, including two by Marko Dano, for their fifth win in their past six games.

* Dano also had an assist and established career-highs for goals and points in a game. The native of Eisenstadt, Austria was selected by Columbus in the first round (No. 27) in the 2013 NHL Draft. He has seven goals and seven assists in 25 games this season, including three goals and four assists in his past five games.

* Alexander Wennberg had a goal and an assist for his third career multipoint game. He has one goal and four assists, plus two game-deciding shootout goals, in his past four games.

* Rene Bourque, Cam Atkinson and Scott Hartnell also scored for the Blue Jackets. Hartnell has six goals and an assist in his past six games. He has 22 goals this season, his highest total since 2011-12 when he had 37 with Philadelphia.

* Columbus earned its first win in Vancouver since Oct. 5, 2009, ending a 0-4-3 skid. They also defeated the Canucks in regulation for the second time in their past 18 games, dating to Jan. 5, 2010 (4-9-5).

LOOSE PUCKS

Minnesota Wild forward Thomas Vanek stretched his point streak to six games; he has four goals and three assists in that span. … Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk made his career-high 30th consecutive start (29 with Minnesota, one with Arizona Coyotes) while playing his career-high 48th games of the season. … Despite their loss the Blues improved to 4-0-2 in six trips to MTS Centre in Winnipeg. … Sidney Crosby and Jakub Voracek each had their 49th assist of the season, trailing Washington's Nicklas Backstrom with 54. Crosby is tied with Backstrom and the New York Islanders' John Tavares for second in scoring with 72 points. … Stars forward Cody Eakin had his 100th NHL point. … Ryan Spooner had two goals, Torey Krug and Carl Soderberg each had a goal and an assist and David Pastrnak had two assists for the Bruins. … Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped 38 shots in a loss. … Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored his 18th and 19th goals of the season to move into first place among NHL defensemen. His 19 goals are tied for fourth-most in a single season by a defenseman in Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets history behind Phil Housley (23, 1990-91 and 1991-92), Dave Ellett (22, 1988-89) and Frederik Olausson (20, 1991-92). … Blue Jackets forward Artem Anisimov had his 100th NHL assist. … Coyotes captain Shane Doan played in his 1,384th career game, tying Larry Robinson for 37th in NHL history. … Blues defenseman Zbynek Michalek (700), Wild forward Sean Bergenheim (500), Avalanche forward John Mitchell (400) and Maple Leafs forward Trevor Smith (100) played in milestone games. … Montreal native Danny Biega of the Carolina Hurricanes made his NHL debut in his hometown. … 2015 NHL Draft prospect Jack Eichel, the No. 2 ranked North American skater in NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings, was named one of 10 finalists for the 2015 Hobey Baker Award, presented annually to the top players in college hockey.