Around the League notebook for Saturday, April 4

EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF RACE (Click chart below to zoom)	WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF RACE (Click chart below to zoom)
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Around the League notebook for Saturday, April 4

SATURDAY'S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

CAROLINA 3, Philadelphia 2 (SO)

COLUMBUS 5, Pittsburgh 3

WINNIPEG 5, Vancouver 4

BOSTON 2, Toronto 1 (SO)

OTTAWA 4, Washington 3 (OT)

Tampa Bay 4, FLORIDA 0

NY ISLANDERS 3, Buffalo 0

NY RANGERS 6, New Jersey 1

Detroit 3, MINNESOTA 2 (SO)

Dallas 4, NASHVILLE 3 (OT)

ARIZONA 5, San Jose 3

Calgary 4, EDMONTON 0

LOS ANGELES 3, Colorado 1

FLAMES, KINGS GAIN GROUND IN PACIFIC DIVISION

The Calgary Flames (43-29-7, 93 points) and Los Angeles Kings (39-25-14, 92 points) each earned wins Saturday to gain ground on the Vancouver Canucks (45-29-5, 95 points), who lost in regulation, as jockeying continues in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles holds a game in hand on each team and also faces Vancouver (Monday at VAN) and Calgary (Thursday at CGY) once more this season.

* Jonas Hiller stopped all 27 shots he faced in a relief effort and Dennis Wideman had a goal and two assists to power the Flames to their third win in their past four games and a sweep of their five-game season series with the Oilers.

* The Flames swept their season series with the Oilers for the first time since 2009-10 (6-0-0). Calgary has won 26 of the past 34 games dating to April 11, 2009, including seven straight victories since March 1, 2014.

* Calgary also earned their 22nd road win of the season, equaling a franchise record established in 1987-88 (22-12-6) and matched in 1988-89 (22-13-5), when they won their first and only Stanley Cup. The Flames have won 13 of their past 16 visits to Rexall Place since Oct. 3, 2009.

* Hiller did not allow a goal in 59:01 of relief after replacing starter Karri Ramo 58 seconds after the opening face-off. Though neither goaltender is credited with a personal shutout, Elias says Hiller's relief appearance was the longest in a team shutout in NHL history. Martin Gerber (55:45) set the previous mark on Oct. 22, 2005 when he stopped all 14 shots in relief of Cam Ward (3:48, 1 SV) in the Carolina Hurricanes' 4-0 win at the Washington Capitals.

* Wideman had his seventh career three-point game and second this season (March 11 vs. ANA: 0-3—3) to set a new career high for points in one campaign (52). He ranks seventh among NHL defensemen with 15-37—52.

* Markus Granlund (2-0—2) and Josh Jooris (0-2—2) each had multiple points for the Flames.

* Alec Martinez broke a 1-1 tie midway through the second period and Marian Gaborik added an insurance goal late in the final period to guide the Kings to a sweep of their three-game season series with the Colorado Avalanche.

* The Kings are 7-0-1 in their last eight games against the Avalanche since Feb. 23, 2013, including five straight victories and a 4-0-1 record at STAPLES Center.

* Martinez scored his first game-winning goal in the regular-season since March 1, 2014 against Carolina. Gaborik ranks second on the Kings with 26 goals.

* Dwight King scored the other Kings goal, while Jeff Carter and Robyn Regehr each had two assists. Carter (28-32—60) hit the 60-point plateau for the fourth time in his career and for the first time since 2010-11 (36-30—66 w/ PHI).

* The Kings outshot the Avalanche 26-10, matching the fewest shots allowed in one game in franchise history (also Jan. 11, 1994 at SJS).

STEMPNIAK, PERREAULT LIFT JETS BACK INTO PLAYOFF PICTURE

Lee Stempniak scored twice, including the eventual game-winning goal midway through the third period, and Mathieu Perreault added three assists to help the Winnipeg Jets halt a two-game losing streak and earn their first win against the Canucks since Jan. 31, 2014 (0-1-2 since).

* At 40-26-12 (92 points), the Jets are tied with the Kings (39-25-14, 92 points) – in terms of points – for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference but remain outside the playoff picture by virtue of the ROW tiebreaker (LAK: 37, WPG: 33).

* The Jets have reached the 40-win plateau for the third time in franchise history and for the first time since 2006-07 when the Thrashers went 43-28-11 to clinch the franchise's only postseason berth.

* Stempniak had his second multi-goal game and third game-winning goal this season. He has 14 goals and 26 points, including five goals and eight points in 14 games since being acquired from the New York Rangers on March 1.

* Perreault matched a career high for assists in one game. He has 18 goals and 40 points in 59 games, matching a career high for goals and pulling within three assists/points of personal bests established last season (18-25—43 in 69 GP).

* Ondrej Pavelec (20-16-7) made 26 saves to reach the 20-win milestone for the fifth time. Teammate Michael Hutchinson (20-10-5) also has 20 victories this season. Elias says this is the first time in Jets/Thrashers history that multiple goaltenders have earned at least 20 wins in the same season.

* Jim Slater, Michael Frolik and Mark Scheifele added the other Jets goals. Slater has three goals in his past four games; he had four goals in his previous 127.

* The Jets have won seven of their past 10 games and is 13-4-2 in their past 19 games at MTS Centre since Jan. 13.

RED WINGS, BRUINS CONTINUE ATLANTIC BATTLE . . .

The Detroit Red Wings (41-24-13, 95 points) and Boston Bruins (41-25-13, 95 points) each picked up shootout victories to keep pace in the hunt for third place in the Atlantic Division. Detroit maintained its hold on the No. 3 seed by virtue of having one game in hand. Boston, however, owns the season series tiebreaker (BOS: 4-1-0, DET: 1-3-1).

* Darren Helm scored the game-deciding goal in the eighth round of the shootout to help the Red Wings end a three-game slide. The Red Wings are 3-0-1 in their past four games against the Minnesota Wild since March 22, 2014.

* Helm has scored on two-of-four career attempts in the tiebreaker, each game-deciding goals. Gustav Nyquist and Riley Sheahan scored in regulation and the shootout; Nyquist ranks second in the League with eight shootout goals.

* Jimmy Howard made 22 saves, and denied six more in the shootout. He is 11-3-3 in 17 career appearances against Minnesota (2.19 GAA, .907 SV%, 1 SO).

* Patrice Bergeron scored Boston's lone goal in regulation 19 seconds into the second period and also scored his 10th career game-deciding goal to guide the Bruins to their fifth straight victory and a 13-3-3 record in their past 19 regular-season games against the Toronto Maple Leafs since March 31, 2011.

* The Bruins have won five straight games three other times this season: Oct. 30 to Nov. 10, Jan. 7-15 and March 7-14. Their last winning streak of more than five games was a 12-game run from March 2-22, 2014.

* Tuukka Rask has been in net for each game on Boston's current streak and is 5-0-1 in his past six games (1.62 GAA, .946 SV%). Bergeron has 17 goals and 47 points in 52 career regular-season appearances against Toronto, including a goal and four points this season.

* The Bruins fired 50 shots on goal through overtime, their highest total in the regular-season since April 2, 2013 (50 shots, 3-2 W vs. OTT). Boston is 13-2-2 in its past 17 games against Toronto at TD Garden.

. . . TURRIS' OT HEROICS HELP SENATORS STAY IN THE HUNT

The Ottawa Senators jumped to a 3-0 lead before the 10-minute mark of the opening period, but surrendered three straight Capitals goals before Kyle Turris scored at 3:14 of overtime to lift Ottawa to its third straight victory.

* The Senators (40-26-12, 92 points) remain three points back of the Bruins (41-25-13, 95 points) for the second wild card spot into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference and Red Wings (41-24-13, 95 points), who occupy third place in the Atlantic Division. There are six teams vying for the final five playoff positions in the East.

* Turris ranks second on the Senators with 23-35—58 this season (78 GP), matching his career high set last season (82 GP). His six game-winning goals lead the Senators and are a career-high. His only other overtime goal was March 16, 2013 at the Buffalo Sabres (2-1—3).

* Andrew Hammond made 29 saves, including 11 in the third period and overtime. He is 17-1-1 in 20 appearances this season (1.86 GAA, .938 SV%).

* Erik Karlsson (0-2—2) had his 15th multi-point effort of the season. He leads NHL defensemen and all Senators with 20-44—64 this season (78 GP).

* Karlsson (83-218—301) became the second defenseman in Senators history to reach 300 career points (Wade Redden: 101-309—410 in 838 GP).

* Via Elias, Karlsson (393 GP) is the 10th Swedish-born defenseman to earn 300 career NHL points and the second-fastest to reach the mark behind Borje Salming (388 GP). The last defenseman of any nationality to earn 300 points in fewer than 400 games was Sergei Zubov on Jan. 11, 1998 (354 GP).

* Mark Stone scored to stretch his point streak to five games (3-3—6). Mika Zibanejad and Clarke MacArthur each scored and added an assist; Zibanejad reached the 20-goal milestone for the first time in his career.

HALAK, ISLANDERS CLIMB METROPOLITAN LADDER

Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves and Kyle Okposo's first-period goal stood as the game-winner when the Islanders stretched their point streak against the Sabres to eight games since Feb. 23, 2013 (5-0-3).

* The Islanders (46-27-6, 98 points) leapfrogged the Capitals (43-25-11, 97 points), who lost in overtime, into second place in the Metropolitan Division, where seeds two, three and four are separated by three points.

* Halak earned his sixth shutout of the season, one shy of his career high established in 2010-11 (with the St. Louis Blues). Only Chico Resch has more shutouts for the Islanders in one season (7 in 1975-76).

* Halak also extended his career high and franchise record with his 37th win of the season (2.39 GAA, .915 SV%). He is 7-2-0 in nine career appearances against Buffalo (2.32 GAA, .908 SV%, 2 SO).

* Okposo scored his second game-winning goal of the season. His other decisive goal came Jan. 16 when he had a career-high four goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

* Nikolay Kulemin scored while skating in his 500th NHL game. Brock Nelson added the other score to become the third Islanders player to hit the 20-goal mark this season.

* John Tavares is second in the NHL with 35-45—80, one point behind League-leader Sidney Crosby (27-54—81) and one point shy of his career high set in 2011-12 (31-50—81).

RANGERS TAKE OVER TOP SPOT IN NHL

Rick Nash had a goal and assists, including his career-high 42nd goal of the season, to power the Rangers to their third straight victory and fifth consecutive win against the New Jersey Devils (3-0-0 this season).

* The Rangers (50-21-7, 107 points) leapfrogged the idle Anaheim Ducks (50-23-7, 107 points) into first place in the NHL, where the top seven teams are separated by five points.

* The Rangers reached the 50-win plateau for the fourth time in franchise history. They have recorded more than 50 twice in franchise history: 1993-94 (52-24-8, 112 points), when they won the Stanley Cup for the fourth time, and 2011-12 (51-24-7, 109 points).

* Nash's 42 goals this season are tied for second in the NHL (with Steven Stamkos). Jaromir Jagr (54 goals: 2005-06) is the only player with more goals in one season for the Rangers in the past 19 years.

* Henrik Lundqvist made 35 saves and is 5-1-0 in his past six games. He is 33-14-6 in 53 career appearances against New Jersey (1.86 GAA, .932 SV%, 8 SO).

* Derek Stepan (1-1—2) has 10 goals and 22 points in 23 career games against the Devils, including multiple points in each of his last four games (6-3—9).

* Dominic Moore (2-0—2) and Keith Yandle (1-1—2) provided the other Rangers goals. Ryan McDonagh (0-6—6) and Derick Brassard (3-2—5) each stretched their point streaks to four games.

BISHOP SETS FRANCHISE MARK, LIGHTNING PULL EVEN IN ATLANTIC

Ben Bishop denied all 34 shots he faced and Steven Stamkos (2-1—3) had his eighth three-point effort of the season to help the Tampa Lightning halt a two-game skid. The Lightning are 7-1-0 in their past eight games against the Panthers.

* The Lightning (48-24-8, 104 points) pulled into a tie with the idle Montreal Canadiens (47-22-10, 104 points) – in terms of points – for top spot in the Atlantic Division. Montreal holds one game in hand, but Tampa Bay owns the ROW (TBL: 46, MTL: 41) and season series (TBL: 5-0-0, MTL: 0-4-1) tiebreakers.

* Bishop set a career high and franchise record with his 38th victory of the season, which is fourth in the League. His fourth shutout of the season also is one shy of his career high set last season.

* Stamkos paces the Lightning and is tied for ninth in the NHL with 42-29—71. His 42 goals also share second in the League and are the most he has scored since 2011-12, when he scored a career-high 60 goals to win his second career Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (also 2009-10: 51 goals).

* His six decisive goals also lead the Lightning and are the most he has scored since 2011-12 when he had a career-high 12. Stamkos is three points shy of 600 in his NHL career (275-222—497 in 490 GP).

* Ryan Callahan and Tyler Johnson added the other goals for the Lightning, who have scored a franchise-record 255 goals this season, seven more than the next-closest team (DAL: 248) and two more than their previous high (253 in 2006-07).

(ANOTHER) HAT TRICK HELPS BLUE JACKETS SET FRANCHISE RECORD

The Penguins held a 2-0 lead late in the second period, but Nick Foligno had his first career hat trick to rally the Columbus Blue Jackets to their franchise-record ninth consecutive victory.

* Columbus' winning streak is the longest in the NHL this season, one better than the eight-game runs by the Chicago Blackhawks, Kings and Rangers. The Blue Jackets are 13-2-0 since March 6, a stretch that includes 11 comeback victories.

* Foligno also reached the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career. He paces all Blue Jackets and shares 12th in the NHL with 30-40—70 this season (75 GP).

* Foligno joins teammate Ryan Johansen, who scored 33 goals in 2013-14, Rick Nash (7x) and Geoff Sanderson (2x) as the only players to hit the 30-goal milestone in a Columbus uniform.

* Foligno is the third player to score a hat trick for the Blue Jackets this season, all of which have come in the their past six games: March 24 against Anaheim (Scott Hartnell: 3-0—3) and March 27 at Chicago (Cam Atkinson: 3-0—3). Atkinson also had Columbus' last hat trick before this season, on April 5, 2012 at Colorado (3-0—3).

* Hartnell scored his 50th career game-winning goal (second this season) to tie Johansen for second on the Blue Jackets with 26 goals this season. The Blue Jackets have never had multiple 30-goal scorers in the same season.

* Brandon Dubinsky had three assists, one on each of Foligno's goals, to match a career high for assists in one game. Matt Calvert added the other goal and Marko Dano contributed two assists.

* Sergei Bobrovsky has been in net for the past eight wins of the Blue Jackets' winning streak (2.33 GAA, .931 SV%). Elias says that is the second-longest personal winning streak in franchise history; he also set the benchmark with a nine-game run from Nov. 29, 2013 to Jan. 23, 2014.

* The Blue Jackets earned their first regulation win against the Penguins at Nationwide Arena since Jan. 11, 2006.

AROUND THE RINKS

Highlights from the rest of Saturday's 13-game slate:

* Cody Eakin scored on his first career penalty shot at 4:04 of overtime to help the Dallas Stars end a two-game skid and win their first game at the Nashville Predators since April 12, 2013. The penalty shot goal was the first in overtime in Stars/North Stars franchise history and the first by any NHL team since April 12, 2014 (Brian Gionta w/ MTL vs. NYR). Eakin has career highs in game-winning goals (6), goals (18), assists (20) and points (38) this season. Tyler Seguin, Travis Moen and Colten Sceviour scored the other Stars goals; Seguin matched a career-high with his 37th goal of the season.

* Oliver Ekman-Larsson (2-1—3) and Shane Doan (1-2—3) each had three points to power the Arizona Coyotes past the San Jose Sharks for their first regulation win since Feb. 3 at Columbus. Ekman-Larsson leads Arizona with 23-20—43 this season. His 23 goals pace all NHL defensemen and match the highest single-season total by a defenseman in franchise history (Phil Housley: 23 in 1990-91 & 1991-92 w/ WPG). Mark Arcobello and Sam Gagner each posted 1-1—2; Arcobello has a career-high 17 goals this season, including nine goals and 16 points in 24 games with Arizona.

* The Hurricanes surrendered a 2-0 lead, including the tying goal with 1:50 left in regulation, but Nathan Gerbe and Chris Terry scored in the shootout to help them end a three-game skid and earn their third straight win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Cam Ward made 21 saves and denied two of three shots in the tiebreaker and is 3-1-0 in his past four games. Jordan Staal (1-1—2) added his third multi-point game of the season.

LOOSE PUCKS

Sidney Crosby stretched his point streak to five games (3-4—7) to maintain his hold on first place in the NHL scoring race (27-54—81) . . . Braden Holtby made his 22nd consecutive start Saturday, tying Wayne Stephenson (Feb. 23 – April 5, 1980) for the most consecutive starts in franchise history . . . Holtby also appeared in his 70th game of the season; Elias says that is the most appearances by a goaltender from any NHL team since 2011-12 (Jonas Hiller: 73 GP w/ ANA, Pekka Rinne: 73 GP w/ NSH, Miikka Kiprusoff: 70 GP w/ CGY) . . . Predators forward Filip Forsberg (1-1—2) pulled even with Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau (22-39—61) for the rookie scoring lead . . . Predators forward Mike Ribeiro earned his 500th NHL assist . . . Sabres goaltender Andrey Makarov and Oilers defenseman David Musil each made their NHL debut . . . Oilers defensemen Justin Schultz (200), Bruins forward Reilly Smith (200) Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy (100) also played in milestone games . . . Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele and Vancouver's Alexandre Burrows (2-0—2) scored eight seconds apart in the second period . . . Zach Parise scored each goal for the Wild; he leads Minnesota with 32 goals this season – his most since 2009-10 (38 with New Jersey) . . . Daniel Sedin (1-2—3) and Henrik Sedin (1-1—2) added the other Vancouver goals; they lead the Canucks with 17-54—71 and 18-50—68, respectively. Henrik needs one assist to become the first player in franchise history with 700 for his career . . . Flyers forward Sean Couturier (1-1—2) established a career high with his 14th goal of the season, which forced overtime with 1:50 left in regulation . . . The Department of Player Safety fined Devils forward Scott Gomez for elbowing Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin . . . ICYMI: The United States earned a 7-5 win over Canada to win the 2015 IIHF Women's World Championship in Malmo, Sweden . . . Commissioner Gary Bettman announced North Saanich, B.C., as the winner of Kraft Hockeyville 2015. The community will host a 2015-16 preseason game between the Sharks and Canucks . . . Canadiens great Elmer Lach passed away at age 97.