SCOREBOARD
Sunday, March 23
N.Y. Islanders at Philadelphia (7 p.m. EDT). The Flyers try to solidify their hold on one of the final playoff spots in the East when they host the Islanders.
Monday, March 24
Minnesota at Edmonton (9 p.m. EDT). The Oilers, winners of 11 of 14, continue their late playoff push when they host the Northwest Division-leading Wild.
STARS
Friday
-Jarome Iginla, Flames, had three goals in Calgary’s 5-4 win over Minnesota.
-Evgeni Malkin and Ryan Malone, Penguins. Malkin had two goals and an assist and Malone scored twice in Pittsburgh’s 7-1 rout of New Jersey.
-Teemu Selanne, Ducks, scored twice, including the tiebreaking tally with 9:20 left that lifted Anaheim to a 2-1 victory over Phoenix.
-Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings, set up two power-play goals and added a short-handed tally to lead Detroit to a 4-1 victory at Columbus.
-Sam Gagner, Oilers, scored twice and Edmonton held off Colorado 7-5.
-Saku Koivu, Canadiens, scored the only goal in the shootout and Montreal beat Boston 3-2.
-Tomas Vokoun, Panthers, made 32 of his 35 saves over the final two periods to help Florida top Tampa Bay 4-2.
UNPRECEDENTED SWEEP
Montreal completed the eight-game season sweep against Boston and have beaten the Bruins 11 straight times overall after its 3-2 shootout win Saturday night. The streak is the Canadiens’ longest against the Bruins in the 84-year rivalry between the two teams. Montreal won 10 straight against Boston during the 1944-45 season.
50-50-50
Detroit reached 50 wins for the third straight season by defeating Columbus 4-1 on Saturday. No NHL franchise has done that since Montreal did it four years in a row from 1975-79.
ALONE ON TOP
Pittsburgh gained sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division after beating New Jersey 7-1 on Saturday night. The Penguins won for the fifth time in six games and remain one point behind Montreal in the race for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
CLOSING THE GAP
ight against the Senators, are 12th in the conference and trail Philadelphia and Boston, tied at the postseason cutoff, by four points.
NO ORDINARY JOE
The first of two assists Colorado captain Joe Sakic had in Saturday’s 7-5 loss to Edmonton was the 1,000th of his career. He leads active players and became the 11th player in NHL history to hit the milestone.
FADING STARS
Dallas matched a season high with its fourth straight loss on Saturday, allowing three goals in a 1:42 span late in the third period for a 4-2 defeat to Los Angeles. The Stars have been outscored 11-0 in the third period of their last six games, 8-0 in the final period during the current slide. Dallas had won 13 of 15 before this slump knocked the Stars out of the Pacific Division lead. San Jose and Anaheim have both passed them by.
ONE-SIDED
Florida beat Tampa Bay for the 12th time in 15 games and capped a 6-0-1 homestand by beating the Lightning 4-2 on Saturday night. The Panthers are 26-9 in regulation at home against the Lightning.
HOME WOES
Phoenix dropped to 16-19-0-4 at home, the second-worst mark in the NHL, after falling to Anaheim 2-1 on Saturday night. Only Los Angeles – which has the fewest points in the league – has a worse mark at 15-19-2-1.
OFFENSIVE OFFENSE
Columbus was held to a franchise-low 12 shots at home in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Detroit.
SNAPPED
Nashville ended a six-game home losing streak with a 2-1 shootout win over Chicago on Saturday.
SPEAKING
“I’m down to my last nerve. It wasn’t easy. It should have been a lot easier than it was.” – Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish after the Oilers allowed four third-period goals before holding on for a 7-5 win over Colorado. The Oilers are now three points behind the Avalanche for the final playoff spot in the West.