Around the League notebook: Tuesday, Feb. 16

GOSTISBEHERE EXTENDS POINT STREAK TO 13 GAMES . . .
Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere scored to extend his point streak to 13 games (4-12-16), the second longest in the NHL this season behind Patrick Kane (Oct. 17-Dec. 13: 16-24-40 in 26 GP).
* Gostisbehere added to his NHL record for longest point streak by a rookie defenseman as well as his Flyers record for a rookie. The Elias Sports Bureau notes that Gostisbehere also became the first defenseman with a 13-game point streak since Brian Leetch had at least one point in 14 consecutive games with the New York Rangers from Oct. 30-Dec. 1, 1996 (6-14-20).
* Elias said that Gostisbehere's run is tied for the fourth-longest point streak by any rookie since the start of the 1987-88 season:

Longest Rookie Point Streaks, Since 1987-88
20 - Paul Stastny (COL) from Feb. 3-March 17, 2007 (11-18-29)
17 - Teemu Selanne (WPG) from March 9-April 15, 1993 (20-14-34)
14 - Joe Juneau (BOS) from Oct. 8-Nov. 12, 1992 (7-15-22)
14 - Joe Nieuwendyk (CGY) from Dec. 20, 1987 through Jan. 21, 1988 (15-14-29)
13 - Shayne Gostisbehere (PHI) from Jan. 19-Feb. 16, 2016 (4-12-16)
13 - Nathan MacKinnon (COL) from Jan. 25-March 6, 2014 (5-13-18)
* Via Elias, Gostisbehere is the first Flyers player to have a point streak of at least 13 games since Eric Lindros from Jan. 7-Feb. 18, 1999 (14-21-35 in 18 GP).
* Gostisbehere leads rookie defensemen and is fifth among all rookies with 11-21-32 (38 GP). Elias says only one Flyers rookie defenseman has scored more goals in a season: Behn Wilson in 1978-79 (13 G in 80 GP).

. . . AS WILD CARD RACE TIGHTENS
The Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators each won to gain ground in the Eastern Conference wild card race, in which five teams are within six points of a playoff spot:
* The New Jersey Devils tied the game midway through the third period, but the Flyers responded with four goals - including two 50 seconds apart by Wayne Simmonds (1-1-2) and Nick Cousins (GWG) - to move to 2-1-1 in their past four games. Brayden Schenn (1-2-3), Claude Giroux (0-3-3), Ryan White (1-1-2), R.J. Umberger (0-2-2) also had multipoint games for the Flyers, who earned a split of their season series with the Devils (each team: 2-1-1), one of the teams ahead of them in the postseason race.
* Riley Nash (1-1-2) factored on each goal, and Eddie Lack made 20 saves to lift the Hurricanes to a 10-3-3 record since Jan. 8, including at least one point in five straight games (3-0-2). Nash had the fourth game-winning goal of his NHL career (last: March 22, 2014, at WPG). The Hurricanes are 12-4-3 in their past 19 games at PNC Arena. Nash has 4-2-6 in his past six games, compared to 2-5-7 his first 37 this season.
* Craig Anderson made 38 saves through overtime and denied each attempt in the shootout to help the Senators end a three-game skid (0-3-0). Anderson moved to 13-4-1 in 19 career appearances vs. BUF (2.15 GAA, .933 SV%, 2 SO). Bobby Ryan clinched the victory with his League-leading sixth shootout goal (on eight attempts). Kyle Turris also scored in the tiebreaker.
60 IS NOT ENOUGH
The St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins each won in overtime to gain ground in their playoff bid:
* Kevin Shattenkirk scored the second overtime goal of his NHL career at 1:11 of the extra period to lift the Blues past the Dallas Stars and to a 10-3-5 record in their past 18 games, including a point in each of their past five (4-0-1). Shattenkirk has scored each of his overtime goals against the Stars (also Dec. 29, 2013, at DAL). At 33-17-9 (75 points), St. Louis moved within five points of Dallas (37-15-6, 80 points) for the top spot in the Central Division and Western Conference. They also climbed four points closer to the idle Chicago Blackhawks (37-18-5, 79 points) for second place in the division and conference.

* Loui Eriksson scored 33 seconds into overtime to lift the Bruins to a 10-4-1 record in their past 15 games, including 7-1-0 in their past eight on the road. Eriksson, who reached the 20-goal mark for the sixth time in his NHL career, extended his goal streak to four games (4-1-5) and scored his ninth NHL overtime goal (first this season). Patrice Bergeron, who missed the previous two games due to injury, scored in regulation, and Tuukka Rask (28 SV) improved to 4-1-0 in his past five games. At 31-20-6 (68 points), the Bruins leapfrogged the idle Detroit Red Wings (29-19-9, 67 points) into second place in the Atlantic Division.

GRUBAUER, KUZNETSOV HELP CAPITALS STAY HOT AT HOME . . .
Philipp Grubauer made 39 saves, including 19 in the third period, and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the go-ahead goal with 2:02 remaining to help the Capitals defeat the Los Angeles Kings and improve to a 15-1-1 record in their past 17 games at Verizon Center dating to Nov. 21.
* At 41-10-4 (86 points), the League-leading Capitals moved within four victories of equaling their total from the 2014-15 season (45-26-11, 101 points). They also improved to 21-4-2 (44 points) on home ice in 2015-16; they share second in the NHL in home wins and place third in points behind the Blackhawks (22-7-2, 46) and Rangers (21-5-3, 45 points).
* Grubauer made at least 39 saves for the fourth time in his NHL career (34 GP), improving to 2-1-1 in such games. The others: March 9, 2013, at NYI (40 SV; 5-2 L); Dec. 13, 2013, at FLA (39 SV; 3-2 L OT); and Dec. 20, 2013, at CAR (39 SV; 4-2 W). He is 6-4-1 with a 2.13 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in 14 appearances this season.
* Kuznetsov has 1-15-16 in his past 11 games. He leads the Capitals and ranks fifth in the NHL with 16-41-57 overall, including four game-winning goals.

. . . DUCKS, SHARKS NARROW GAP IN PACIFIC DIVISION
The Anaheim Ducks (29-19-8, 66 points) and San Jose Sharks (30-20-5, 65 points) each won to gain ground on the Kings (33-20-3, 69 points), who lost in regulation, in the race for the top spot in the Pacific Division. San Jose holds one game in hand on Los Angeles and Anaheim, and the Kings lead in ROW (LAK: 31; SJS: 28; ANA: 27).
* Five Ducks scored - including former Edmonton Oilers forward David Perron - to help them boost their record to 17-4-2 dating to Dec. 27, including wins in 10 of their past 12 games (10-1-1). Perron has 6-7-13 in 13 appearances with the Ducks after he had 4-12-16 in his first 43 games of the season (w/ PIT). Frederik Andersen made 24 saves to improve to 9-0-1 in his past 10 decisions following a 5-8-5 start to the season. Andersen also moved to 5-0-1 in six career appearances against the Oilers (2.16 GAA, .916 SV%).

* Martin Jones made 28 saves, including 20 in the second and third periods, and Matt Nieto (1-1-2) scored the go-ahead goal at 1:17 of the third period to lead the Sharks to a 12-2-3 record in their past 17 games dating to Jan. 9. Joe Thornton had two assists to extend his point streak to six games (3-6-9). Thornton has at least one point in 24 of his past 26 games (8-26-34) to climb into a share of fifth in the League with 38 assists (55 GP).
DID YOU KNOW?
Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (0-1-1) extended his NHL career-high assist/point streak to eight games (0-8-8). Via Elias, that is the longest assist streak ever by a Sharks defenseman and one shy of tying the franchise record by any player (Joe Thornton from Nov. 15 through Dec. 3, 2009: 15 A in 9 GP).
* Only two other Sharks defensemen have had an eight-game point streak, including Brent Burns earlier this season (Dec. 22, 2015 through Jan. 12, 2016: 6-6-12). The other: Sandis Ozolinsh from Feb. 5-21, 1994 (4-7-11).
* Vlasic's eight-game assist streak is tied for the second-longest in the NHL this season, behind Gostisbehere (Jan. 21-Feb. 11: 11 A in 9 GP).
MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Senators forward Ryan Dzingel, a seventh-round selection (No. 204) in the 2011 NHL Draft, scored his first NHL goal (7 GP).

* Eriksson and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Matt Carle each played in his 700th NHL game. Buffalo Sabres forward Brian Gionta (900) and Blues forward Scottie Upshall (600) each also played a milestone game.
* Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano (GWG) played in his 678th consecutive game - all since his League debut on Oct. 4, 2007 w/ EDM - to move within one of tying the Vancouver Canucks' Henrik Sedin (March 21, 2004 through Jan. 18, 2014: 679 GP) for the sixth-longest consecutive games played streak in NHL history.
LOOSE PUCKS
Bruins forward Brad Marchand saw his NHL career-high goal/point streak end at seven games (8-3-11). His seven-game goal streak is tied for the longest such run in the NHL this season, with Kane(Nov. 2-15: 7-9-16) and the Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby(Jan. 21-Feb. 8: 10-6-16) . . . Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf (0-1-1) extended his assist/point streak to six games (2-8-10). He also extended his road point streak to nine games (3-12-15) to help Anaheim improve to 9-1-3 in its past 13 games as visitors . . . Columbus Blue Jackets forward Alex Wennberg scored on a first-period penalty shot. Skaters improved to 14-for-47 on penalty shots this season (29.8%) . . . Kings forward Anze Kopitar scored the 10th shorthanded goal of his NHL career and first since March 13, 2012, vs. DET . . . ICYMI: The NHL and its partners are hosting the
2016 NHL Stadium Series Spectator Plaza
, a free, two-day fan festival outside TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis leading up to the outdoor game Sunday between the Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild . . . The Devils wore their
retro red and green jerseys
.