Joe Thornton of Sharks reaches 1,000 assists

THORNTON TALLIES 1,000TH ASSIST IN SHARKS VICTORY

* Thornton, who holds the San Jose Sharks record for assists, has recorded 213-715-928 in 900 GP with the franchise.
* The Sharks (39-19-7, 85 points) beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 to improve to 5-1-1 in their past seven games and opened a seven-point cushion atop the Pacific Division standings.

MONDAY'S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps
Dallas 4, WASHINGTON 2
OTTAWA 4, Boston 2
NY Rangers 1, TAMPA BAY 0 (OT)
San Jose 3, WINNIPEG 2

SENATORS TAKE ATLANTIC DIVISION DUEL

Mike Hoffman scored his 20th goal of the season and Craig Anderson won his fourth consecutive game as the Ottawa Senators (36-22-6, 78 points) opened a four-point lead on the Boston Bruins (34-26-6, 74 points) for second place in the Atlantic Division.
* Anderson (25 saves) improved to 7-2-0 with a 1.78 goals-against average, .944 save percentage and one shutout dating to Feb. 11, when he returned to the Senators lineup following a leave of absence.
* Erik Karlsson had two assists and leads NHL defensemen with 47 assists this season. Karlsson, who has led the Senators in scoring each of the past three seasons, leads them with 58 points (11 goals, 47 assists) in 64 games.
* Hoffman, who reached 20 goals for the third consecutive, scored his Senators-leading seventh game winning goal of the campaign, two shy of League-leader Jeff Carter (nine) of the Los Angeles Kings.

LOOSE PUCKS

Mika Zibanejad scored with 1:04 remaining in overtime and Antti Raanta made 38 saves for his third shutout of the campaign as the New York Rangers got their League-leading 23rd road win of the season. … Jamie Benn extended his point streak to a season-long seven games (5-5-10) as the Dallas Stars ended the Washington Capitals' home win and point streaks at 15 and 17 games, respectively. … Bruins forward Brad Marchand reached the 30-goal mark for the second consecutive season, while teammate David Pastrnak had an assist to extend his point streak to six games (1-6-7). … Capitals forward Daniel Winnik (700 GP) and Rangers forward Derek Stepan (500 GP) each skated in milestone games. … Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price were named the
NHL "Three Stars" for the week
ending March 5. … The Vegas Golden Knights signed Brandon Wheat Kings forward Reid Duke to an entry-level contract, making him the
first player in franchise history
. … Renowned Canadian artist Tony Harris unveiled portraits of legends Bobby Clarke and Luc Robitaille
as part of the NHL Centennial Celebration
. … Roy Forbes, a 1948 Olympic gold medalist with the Royal Canadian Air Force Flyers, dropped the puck at MTS Centre as part of Canadian Forces Appreciation Night.

SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY'S ACTION

All Times Eastern
New Jersey @ Columbus, 7 p.m., SNE, SNP, FS-O, MSG+, NHL.TV
NY Rangers @ Florida, 7:30 p.m., FS-F, MSG, NHL.TV
Philadelphia @ Buffalo, 7:30 p.m., NBCSN, CSN-PH, NHL.TV
Detroit @ Toronto, 7:30 p.m., TVA Sports, TSN4, FS-D, NHL.TV
St. Louis @ Minnesota, 8 p.m., FS-N, FS-WI, FS-MW, NHL.TV
NY Islanders @ Edmonton, 9 p.m., SNW, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV
Carolina @ Colorado, 9 p.m., ALT, FS-CR, NHL.TV
Montreal @ Vancouver, 10 p.m., SNP, SNE, RDS, NHL.TV
Nashville @ Anaheim, 10 p.m., SN1, SNO, SNW, PRIME, FS-TN, NHL.TV

EASTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD RACE TAKES CENTER STAGE

Several teams take to the ice looking to gain crucial points in the Eastern Conference, where six clubs competing for a wild card spot are separated by five points:
* The Rangers (42-22-2, 86 points), who hold the first wild card, visit the Florida Panthers (29-24-11, 69 points), who sit two points out of a playoff spot.
* The New York Islanders (30-23-11, 71 points) look to hold on to the second wild card as they visit the Edmonton Oilers (35-22-8, 78 points) in game seven of their nine-game road trip.
* The Toronto Maple Leafs (28-22-14, 70 points), who are one point behind the second wild card, host the Detroit Red Wings (25-27-11, 61 points).
* The Philadelphia Flyers (30-26-8, 68 points) and Buffalo Sabres (27-27-12, 66 points), separated by two points, will do battle on NBCSN as they wrap their season series in Buffalo.