Facts and Figures: Flames eye first division title since 2005-06

The Calgary Flames became the second team and first in the Western Conference this season to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs when the New York Islanders won 3-2 in overtime against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday.

The Flames (44-21-7) needed the second-fewest games in their history to reach 40 wins and 90 points and have their sights set on winning the division for the second time in the past 23 seasons and first since 2005-06, when they won the Northwest Division. Calgary won the Clarence Campbell Conference in 1987-88, 1988-89 and 1989-90, and has a one-point lead on the San Jose Sharks for the top spot in the West with 10 games to play.
Several players have helped the Flames excel in 2018-19:
* Mark Giordano, who is third among NHL defensemen with 67 points (14 goals, 53 assists) is a contender for the Norris Trophy after becoming the fourth defenseman in NHL history with at least 60 points at age 35 or older, joining Nicklas Lidstrom (four times), Al MacInnis (twice) and Sergei Zubov (once).
* Forward Johnny Gaudreau, who is tied for fifth in the NHL with 91 points (34 goals, 57 assists) is the second Flames player since Jarome Iginla in 2007-08 to get 90 points and the seventh in Atlanta/Calgary history to do it in 70 or fewer games. He can become the ninth Flames player with at least 100 points and first since Theo Fleury in 1992-93, when he had 100 (34 goals, 66 assists).
Instagram from @pr\_nhl: Only five other players have required fewer games to reach the 90-point mark than @johngaudreau03 in @nhlflames franchise history. #NHLStats
* The Flames have five players (Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk and Giordano) each with at least 60 points for the 11th time in their history and first since 1993-94.

Cardiac Flyers rally past Penguins

James van Riemsdyk's
goal with 18.8 seconds left
in the third period, and Sean Couturier scored with 3.4 seconds remaining in overtime, helped the Philadelphia Flyers to a
2-1 victory
against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. The win put the Flyers (35-29-8) six points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets (40-28-4) for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

Philadelphia rallied from down 1-0 on Sunday, 23 days after defeating Pittsburgh in the 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series when Jakub Voracek tied the game with 20 seconds remaining in the third period and Claude Giroux scored in overtime. The Flyers are the second team in NHL history to defeat the same opponent multiple times in a season in games where they scored the tying goal in the final 30 seconds of the third period, and the first since 2015-16, when the Carolina Hurricanes had two such wins against the Ottawa Senators (3-2 in overtime Nov. 7, 4-3 in a shootout March 8).

Avalanche keep pace in West

The Colorado Avalanche (31-29-12)
won 3-0
against the New Jersey Devils at Pepsi Center behind 22 saves from Philipp Grubauer, two goals from Tyson Barrie and a goal and an assist from Nathan MacKinnon to move four points behind the Arizona Coyotes (36-30-6) for the second wild card from the West.

MacKinnon, tied for fifth in the League with 91 points (37 goals, 54 assists) in 72 games, passed 90 points for the second straight season. He is the fifth player in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history to do it in at least two consecutive seasons and first since Peter Forsberg in 1997-98 (91 points) and 1998-99 (97 points).

March of the Golden Knights

Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith each had two points to help the Vegas Golden Knights to
a 6-3 win
against the Edmonton Oilers at T-Mobile Arena and reach 40 victories for the second time in as many seasons. Vegas (40-27-5) is third in the Pacific Division after winning 51 games in its inaugural season of 2017-18.
The Golden Knights have won 91 games in their history, the most by a team through its first two NHL seasons. The St. Louis Blues had 64 wins at the end of the 1968-69 season.

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Swede sensation

Sweden-born rookies Elias Pettersson and Rasmus Dahlin each scored to help the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres to shootout wins.
Pettersson leads NHL rookies with 60 points (27 goals, 33 assists). He's tied with Ivan Hlinka (1981-82 and Pavel Bure (1991-92) for most points by a
Canucks rookie in a season
. The Canucks play the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Monday (8:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, NBCSCH).
Dahlin, chosen with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, leads all first-year defensemen in scoring with 38 points (eight goals, 30 assists).