Around the League notebook: Tuesday, Jan. 26

TUESDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

Anaheim 6, BOSTON 2

PITTSBURGH 2, New Jersey 0

CAROLINA 5, Chicago 0

Columbus 5, MONTREAL 2

Buffalo 3, OTTAWA 2

FLORIDA 5, Toronto 1

WINNIPEG 5, Arizona 2

Nashville 2, VANCOUVER 1

SAN JOSE 6, Colorado 1

LUONGO CONTINUES CLIMB UP ALL-TIME WINS LIST

Roberto Luongo made 22 saves to continue his climb up the NHL all-time wins list and help the Florida Panthers improve to 10-1-0 in their past 11 home games, including three straight wins.

* At 29-15-5 (63 points), the Panthers regained their five-point lead on the idle Detroit Red Wings (25-16-8, 58 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division.

* Luongo won his 423rd NHL game to tie Tony Esposito for seventh place in NHL history. Jacques Plante ranks sixth all-time with 437 wins.

* Luongo improved to 8-0-0 in his last eight home games to extend his franchise record for wins in consecutive home games. He has a 1.35 goals-against average, .951 save percentage and two shutouts during that stretch. Overall he is 22-13-4 in 39 games this season and ranks among the top five in the League in shots-against (1,146; fifth), saves (1,066; fifth), save percentage (.930; fifth), shutouts (4; tied for third)

* Hours after signing a six-year contract extension, Aleksander Barkov scored the first of five unanswered goals to spark the Panthers' rally. Reilly Smith (1-1—2) scored for a fourth straight game, while Vincent Trocheck (1-1—2), Jussi Jokinen (1-1—2) and Brian Campbell (0-2—2) also had multipoint games.

THORNTON REACHES 1,300 POINTS AS SHARKS CONTINUE STREAK

Joe Thornton had two assists to reach 1,300 NHL points and help the San Jose Sharks extend their point streak to 10 games (8-0-2), their longest such run since Jan. 15 – Feb. 9, 2011 (9-0-1).

* At 26-18-4 (56 points), the Sharks increased their lead on the Arizona Coyotes (24-20-5, 53 points) to three points for second place in the in Pacific Division.

* Thornton (367-933—1,300 in 1,333 GP) became the 33rd NHL player with 1,300 career points and the second active player to reach the milestone, behind Jaromir Jagr (737-1,098—1,835 in 1,596 GP).

* Thornton had his 215th NHL multi-assist game, second-most among active players behind Jagr (255), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He also moved within one assist of tying Al MacInnis (934) for 15th place in League history.

* Thornton, who has at least one point in 18 of his past 19 games, extended his point streak to 10 games (2-12—14), matching his longest such run since Nov. 14 – Dec. 3, 2009 (3-15—18 in 10 GP).

PENGUINS, HURRICANES GAIN GROUND IN WILD CARD RACE ...

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes had shutout wins to improve their position in the Eastern Conference playoff race:

* Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves for his 42nd NHL shutout and fourth this season to help the Penguins improve to 6-0-2 in their past eight home games (four straight wins). Fleury stretched his home point streak to six games; he's 5-0-1 with a 1.98 GAA, .934 save percentage and two shutouts during that span. He also improved to 11-1-0 in his past 12 games against the New Jersey Devils at Consol Energy Center dating to Dec. 6, 2010, including seven straight wins. With the regulation victory against New Jersey, the Penguins (24-17-7, 55 points) leapfrogged the Devils (25-20-5, 55 points) into the final wild card spot in the East. Both teams have 23 regulation/overtime wins but Pittsburgh has two games in hand.

* Eddie Lack made 26 saves for his eighth NHL shutout and second this season to backstop the Hurricanes to a 7-2-1 record in their past 10 games. Lack improved to 9-9-3 in 22 games this season and also moved to 4-1-0 with a 1.97 GAA, .940 save percentage and one shutout in five career games against the Blackhawks. Per Elias, the Hurricanes' 5-0 win was their largest margin of victory in a shutout since Feb. 20, 2012 when they beat the Washington Capitals 5-0. The Hurricanes (23-20-8, 54 points) leapfrogged two teams to move within one point of the Penguins for the final playoff spot.

... PREDATORS, DUCKS DO THE SAME IN WESTERN CONFERENCE

The Nashville Predators and Anaheim Ducks had road wins to gain ground in the Western Conference standings:

* James Neal (1-0—1) scored the tiebreaking goal at 15:16 of the third period to lead the Predators to their fourth win in their past five games, including a 3-0-0 mark to start their four-game road trip. Pekka Rinne made 28 saves, including 23 during the first two periods, to earn his third straight win. At 23-18-8 (54 points), the Predators moved within one point of the Avalanche (26-22-3, 55 points), who lost in regulation Tuesday, for the final playoff spot in the West.

* Corey Perry (1-1—2) scored the first of four straight Ducks goals to help them overcame an early 1-0 deficit for their third straight win and finish with a 7-3-1 record in January. Perry reached the 20-goal mark for the eighth time in his 11-season NHL career, all with the Ducks. That ranks second in Ducks history behind Teemu Selanne, who had 11 20-goal seasons. At 22-18-7 (51 points), the Ducks moved within two points of the Coyotes (24-20-5, 53 points), who lost in regulation Tuesday, for third place in the Pacific Division.

ROOKIES LEAD TEAMS TO VICTORY

* Nikolaj Ehlers had his first NHL hat trick to help the Winnipeg Jets improve to 6-0-0 against the Coyotes at MTS Centre. Per Elias, Ehlers (19 years, 347 days) became the second teenager in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history with a hat trick, following Ilya Kovalchuk (19 years, 235 days) on Dec. 6, 2002 at WSH (3-1—4). Ehlers also became the sixth rookie with a hat trick this season and the fourth to do so this month. The others: Coyotes forward Anthony Duclair (Oct. 14 at ANA), Boston Bruins forward Frank Vatrano (Dec. 18 at PIT), Buffalo Sabres forward Sam Reinhart (Jan. 10 at WPG), Coyotes forward Max Domi (Jan. 12 vs. EDM) and Calgary Flames forward Sam Bennett (Jan. 13 vs. FLA; 4-0—4).

* Jack Eichel scored twice, including the eventual game-winning goal early in the third period, to help the Sabres end a three-game losing streak. Eichel had his second straight multipoint game and third multigoal game of the season. Eichel (16-18—34), the second pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, is second among rookies in goals and points, behind Chicago Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin (17-29—46).

* Joonas Korpisalo made 28 saves, including 20 in the final two periods, to help the Columbus Blue Jackets sweep their back-to-back, home-and-home series with the Montreal Canadiens on the strength of consecutive 5-2 victories. Korpisalo improved to 5-5-2 in his first 12 NHL games, including 4-0-1 with a 1.71 GAA and .945 save percentage in his last four starts. Per Elias, the Blue Jackets defeated the same opponent on consecutive days for the second time (March 9-10, 2013 vs. DET: 3-0 W, 3-2 SO W).

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS

* Panthers defenseman Alex Petrovic (82 GP) and Sharks defenseman Dylan DeMelo (23 GP) both scored their first NHL goal.

* Blackhawks forward Mark McNeill, the 18th pick of the 2011 draft, and Avalanche goaltender Roman Will both made their League debut. Avalanche forward Cody McLeod (600) also played in a milestone game.

* Andrei Markov played in his 896th career game, all with the Canadiens, to tie Patrice Brisebois for 11th place on Canadiens' all-time games played list.

LOOSE PUCKS

The Sharks improved to 18-3-0 in their past 21 regular-season home games against the Avalanche dating to Dec. 30, 2005 (COL: 3-14-4). … Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had the game-winning goal to extend his point streak to seven games (5-5—10). He also has at least one point in nine straight home games (9-6—15). Crosby has 17 goals this season, including a League-leading eight in January (tied w/ Sam Bennett). … Jets teammates Dustin Byfuglien (2-1—3) and Blake Wheeler (0-3—3) had three-point games. … Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri scored Tuesday. He has 4-9—13 in 13 career games against the Panthers. … Blue Jackets forwards Cam Atkinson (1-1—2) and Brandon Dubinsky (1-1—2) have combined for 5-5—10 in their past two games. … Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson (1-0—1) leads NHL defensemen and ranks fourth in the League with 52 in 50 games. … Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (0-2—2) ranks third among defensemen with 33 assists, behind Karlsson (41) and John Klingberg (34). … Goaltender Robin Lehner made 34 saves, including 22 in the third period, to earn his first win with the Sabres in his fifth game, and did it while facing his former team, the Senators. … Bruins forward Matt Beleskey, who played for the Ducks from 2008-15, had two assists in his first game against his former team. … Senators teammates Bobby Ryan (5-2—7) and Mika Zibanejad (2-5—7) extended their point streaks to six games. … Canucks forward Brandon Sutter scored in his first game since Nov. 10. … Ducks teammates Corey Perry (1-1—2), Ryan Kesler (1-1—2), Shea Theodore (1-1—2), David Perron (1-1—2), Ryan Getzlaf (0-2—2) and Jakob Silfverberg (0-2—2) all had multipoint games. … Hurricanes teammates Kris Versteeg (0-1—1) and Joakim Nordstrom (1-0—1) both found the score sheet while facing the Blackhawks for the first time departing in a trade on Sept. 11, 2015. … Ducks forward Shawn Horcoff has been suspended 20 games for violating terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. … The Blackhawks signed general manager Stan Bowman to a three-year contract extension. … ICYMI: The NHL and NHLPA announced a renewal of their partnership with GoPro. Click here to watch the trailer of the 11-part "NHL After Dark" series.