Around the League notebook: Monday, Jan. 25

2016 HONDA NHL ALL-STAR GAME ANNOUNCEMENTS
The NHL announced the details of the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition and the format of the six events that will showcase hockey's top talent on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 7:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. CT on NBCSN in the U.S., and on CBC, Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada. Click here for more information.
Interviews, analysis, breakdowns and highlights will be featured throughout NHL Network's live coverage of the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, beginning Friday, Jan. 29 at 11:30 a.m. ET. NHL Network's NHL Tonight will also provide live coverage before and after the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition and the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game. Click here for more information.

NHL All-Star Friday Night: Live in Music City, a one-hour primetime television special featuring live roundtable discussions with NHL All-Star players, performances from top country music stars and a few surprises, will broadcast live from the Honda Stage at Bridgestone Winter Park in downtown Nashville on Friday, Jan. 29 at 7:00 p.m. CT / 8:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN in the U.S. and Sportsnet in Canada. Click here for more information.
MONDAY'S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
Detroit 4, NY ISLANDERS 2
Boston 3, PHILADELPHIA 2
COLUMBUS 5, Montreal 2
NY RANGERS 6, Buffalo 3
DALLAS 2, Calgary 1
Arizona 2, MINNESOTA 1 (SO)
BRASSARD'S FIVE-POINT NIGHT LIFTS RANGERS OVER SABRES
Derick Brassard (2-3-5) factored on five of the New York Rangers' six goals to help the Rangers enter the NHL All-Star break with points in each of their past six home games since Dec. 22 (5-0-1), a stretch including three straight wins.
* At 27-17-5 (59 points), the Rangers stretched their lead over the New York Islanders (25-16-6, 56 points) to three points for second place in the Metropolitan Division standings.
* The Rangers are 18-5-2 (38 points) in 25 games at Madison Square Garden this season. Per Elias, the Rangers have 18 wins and 38 or more points through their first 25 home games of a season for the first time since 1995-96 (18-2-5, 41 points).
* Brassard had a single-game career high with five points and leads the Rangers with 36 points (17 goals, 19 assists) this season (48 GP). Per Elias, he became the first Rangers player to earn five or more points in a game since Ryan Callahan on March 6, 2011 against the Philadelphia Flyers (4-1-5).
* Henrik Lundqvist (23 saves) has picked up wins in four of his past five games and is 23-13-4 (2.41 GAA, .921 SV%, 2 SO). Lundqvist has also won six consecutive appearances against the Buffalo Sabres since April 19, 2013.
* The Rangers are 8-0-0 in their past eight games against the Sabres since April 19, 2013 (BUF: 0-8-0). Per Elias, their eight-game winning streak is the longest in franchise history against the Sabres, eclipsing their previous seven-game streak against Buffalo from March 23, 1971 - March 2, 1972 (7-0-0).
ATKINSON (HAT TRICK) PROPELS BLUE JACKETS OVER CANADIENS
Cam Atkinson (3-0-3) had his first hat trick of the season when the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Montreal Canadiens and improved to 5-3-1 in their past nine home games.
* Atkinson had the third hat trick of his NHL career (also March 27, 2015 at CHI: 3-0-3 and April 5, 2012 at COL: 3-0-3). He also picked up his second multi-goal game of the season (also Dec. 10, 2015 at WPG: 2-0-2).
* Per Elias, Atkinson became the third player in Blue Jackets history to have three or more hat tricks with the club:
Most Hat Tricks, Blue Jackets History
5 - Rick Nash
3 - Tyler Wright
3 - Cam Atkinson
* Brandon Dubinsky (0-3-3) and Boone Jenner (0-3-3) had assists on all three of Atkinson's goals. Per Elias, it marked the first time in Blue Jackets history where a player earn a hat trick and the same two players provided assists on all three goals.
* Dubinsky matched a single-game career high with three assists, his second such performance of the season (also Dec. 29, 2015 vs. DAL: 0-3-3). Jenner earned a career high for assists and matched a career high for points in a game, his second such outing of 2015-16 (also Nov. 14, 2015 vs. ARI: 1-2-3).
THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC
The Detroit Red Wings (25-16-8, 58 points) and Boston Bruins (26-17-5, 57 points) each earned victories against Metropolitan Division opponents Monday. The Red Wings and Bruins are in the thick of a crowded Atlantic Division, where the five teams ranked 2-6 are separated by six points:
* Petr Mrazek made 27 saves and Danny DeKeyser scored the game-winning goal at 14:40 of the second period to help the Red Wings enter the NHL All-Star break with a 7-3-1 record in January, with all seven of their wins earned on the road (7-1-0). Per Elias, Detroit's seven victories as visitors in January match a franchise record for most road wins in a calendar month, last achieved in February 2011 (7-1-0). Mrazek improved to 7-1-1 in his past nine games and 18-9-4 overall (2.03 GAA, .932 SV%, 3 SO). The Red Wings passed the idle Tampa Bay Lightning (26-18-4, 56 points) and maintained a one-point lead over the Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division.
* Wayne Simmonds scored twice to erase a 2-0 deficit, but Brett Connolly scored the game-winning goal with 1:54 remaining in regulation to power the Bruins to their fifth victory in their past six games. Brad Marchand (1-0-1) reached the 20-goal mark for the third straight year and the fifth time in his seven NHL seasons. Marchand stretched his point streak to six games (5-1-6), which includes goals in a career-high five consecutive contests. The Bruins leapfrogged the idle Lightning for sole possession of third place in the Atlantic Division.
AROUND THE RINKS
* Antti Niemi made 23 saves, and Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza scored in a span of 1:20 during the second period, and the Dallas Stars defeated the Calgary Flames and head into the NHL All-Star break with a 7-2-0 record in their past nine home games since Dec. 19. Niemi is 18-9-5 this season (2.42 GAA, .912 SV%, 3 SO) with career record of 14-4-3 in 21 appearances against Calgary. Benn scored his 28th goal of the season and ranks tied for second among NHL leaders (w/ Alex Ovechkin). He also ranks second in the NHL with 58 points (28 goals, 30 assists) (50 GP), trailing only Patrick Kane (30-43-73). Spezza scored the game-winning goal, his fifth of the season (50 GP). At 30-14-5 (67 points), the Stars extended their lead over the idle St. Louis Blues (28-16-8, 64 points) to three points for second in the Central Division and climbed within three of the idle Chicago Blackhawks (33-15-4, 70 points) for the top spot.
* Down 1-0, Antoine Vermette scored the game-tying goal while shorthanded with 1:13 left in the third period and Anthony Duclair scored the decisive goal in the shootout when the Arizona Coyotes stretched their road point streak to five games (4-0-1), a run which includes three straight wins. Vermette scored his first shorthanded goal of the season (42 GP) and the 22nd of his NHL career. Louis Domingue made 34 saves through 65 minutes and denied all three shooters in the shootout to improve to 9-4-3 this season (2.08 GAA, .931 SV%, 2 SO). At 24-19-5 (53 points), the Coyotes increased their lead over the idle Vancouver Canucks (20-18-11, 51 points) to three points for sole possession of third in the Pacific Division and climbed within one point of the idle San Jose Sharks (25-18-4, 54 points) for second.
MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Andrei Markov (0-1-1) earned his 406th career assist and tied Guy Lapointe for second on the Canadiens' all-time list among defensemen. Larry Robinson (686) is the franchise leader.
* Coyotes captain Shane Doan skated in his 1,433rd career game and passed Mike Gartner (1,432 GP) for sole possession of 25th on the NHL's all-time list.
* Rangers coach Alain Vigneault coached his 1,019th career game and tied Pat Burns for 19th on the NHL's all-time games coached list.
* Per Elias, Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk (921 GP) tied Igor Larionov for seventh on the NHL's all-time games played list among Russian-born players.
* Sabres forward Evander Kane skated in the 400th game of his NHL career.
LOOSE PUCKS
Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin (0-1-1) ranks second among all rookies with 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) this season (48 GP)... Islanders forward Brock Nelson (1-0-1) has scored five times in his past five games (5-1-6)... Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron (1-0-1) stretched his point streak to five games (4-2-6)... Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (34 saves) has won three of his last four appearances and is 17-14-4 this season (2.45 GAA, .918 SV%, 4 SO)... The Bruins are 16-4-2 in their past 22 regular-season road games against the Flyers since Feb. 19, 2004 (PHI: 6-13-3)... Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds (2-0-2) had his third multi-goal game of the season (46 GP)... The Flyers' Shayne Gostisbehere (0-1-1) leads all rookie defensemen with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) this season (28 GP)... Blue Jackets forward Brandon Saad (2-0-2) had his third multi-goal game of the season (49 GP), which included scoring the game-winning goal... Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (32 saves) is 3-1-1 in his past three games and 4-5-2 this season (2.82 GAA, .914 SV%)... Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher (1-1-2) had his sixth multi-point game of the season (32 GP)... Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (1-1-2) had his sixth multi-point game of the season (49 GP) and has at least one point in 10 of his past 12 games (3-8-11)... Rangers forward J.T. Miller scored his fourth game-winning goal of the season (49 GP), eclipsing his single-season career high of three from 2014-15 (58 GP). Miller has scored five times in his past six games (5-0-5)... Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons (2-0-2) scored twice in a span of 1:13 for his first multi-goal game of the season (41 GP)... Sabres forward Jack Eichel (0-2-2) is tied for third among rookies with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) this season (49 GP)... The Stars' defenseman John Klingberg (0-1-1) ranks second among all defensemen with 34 assists this season (50 GP), trailing only Erik Karlsson (41)... Wild forward Charlie Coyle (1-0-1) has scored in three straight games (3-0-3)... The NHL and Major League Baseball Advanced Media unveiled details for three redesigned digital platforms aimed at giving hockey fans a better user experience on all devices... The Flyers hosted the first You Can Play Night of the season at Wells Fargo Center. The You Can Play Project was created to ensure equality, respect and safety for all athletes without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity. It was co-founded by NHL Director of Player Safety Patrick Burke, who also serves as YCP President... The Panthers signed center Aleksander Barkov to a six-year, $35.4 million contract extension, according to the Miami Herald... Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov, Devils right wing Lee Stempniak and Blues goaltender Brian Elliott were named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the week ending Jan. 24... Stars defenseman John Klingberg had a hamburger named after him at American Airlines Center, coined "The Klingburger."