NHL NEWS FEB 19 – CLUBS INCH CLOSER TO WILD CARD SPOTS

The Sabres (26-23-10, 62 points), Devils (25-23-10, 60 points), Jets (27-29-5, 59 points) and Canucks (26-27-6, 58 points) each secured victories to inch closer to the final Wild Card spots in their respective conferences. In the Eastern Conference, five teams currently outside of a postseason berth are within four points of the final Wild Card position, while in the Western Conference, three teams chasing down the final Wild Card spot are within four points.

Nicholas Baptiste (1-1—2) registered the first multi-point game of his NHL career to help Buffalo snap St. Louis’ win streak at six games and improve to 4-1-0 in their last five contests. The Sabres moved within two points of the idle Bruins (29-23-6, 64 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Cory Schneider made 40 saves and the Devils held off a third-period Islanders rally to improve to 5-2-1 in their last eight games. New Jersey climbed within four points of Boston.

Patrik Laine (28-22—50) became the third rookie in Jets/Thrashers history to reach 50 points in a season, joining Dany Heatley (26-41—67) and Ilya Kovalchuk (29-22—51) in 2001-02. The Jets moved within three points of the Flames (29-26-4, 62 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

Vancouver surrendered a game-tying goal with 5.6 seconds remaining in regulation, but Christopher Tanev scored 34 seconds into overtime to guide the Canucks to victory. Vancouver climbed within four points of Calgary.

NHL NEWS AND MUSINGS

• Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo (33 saves) appeared in the 963rd game of his NHL career to tie Ed Belfour for fourth on the all-time list among netminders
• Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller (35 saves) earned the 356th win of his NHL career to pass Rogie Vachon (355) for sole possession of 19th on the all-time list among netminders
• Sharks forward Joe Thornton (0-1—1) extended his point streak to five games (2-4—6) and moved within two helpers of the 1,000-assist milestone
• Nicklas Backstrom (4-8—12 in 8 GP), Vincent Trocheck (2-5—7 in 5 GP), Jaromir Jagr (2-3—5 in 5 GP) and Radim Vrbata (0-5—5 in 5 GP) also extended point streaks
• Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews (262-338—600) and Wild captain Mikko Koivu (178-422—600) both reached the 600-point milestone
• Brent Seabrook (900) and Brian Boyle (600) each skated in milestone games
• The Canadiens honored referee Eric Furlatt, a native of Trois-Rivieres, Que., for recently working his 1,000th career NHL game
• The Maple Leafs announced Wendel Clark, Charlie Conacher, Red Kelly and Frank Mahovlich as the latest Legends Row inductees
• The Coyotes honored members of their 1996-97 team in a pre-game ceremony at Gila River Arena
• Stars play-by-play announcer Dave Strader made his return to the broadcast booth
• The Blackhawks, Blue Jackets and Red Wings each hosted events in support of Hockey Is For Everyone month
• The Canucks unveiled a statue honoring former head coach Pat Quinn outside of Rogers Arena.

SATURDAY’S NHL RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
BUFFALO 3, St. Louis 2
DETROIT 3, Washington 2 (SO)
Winnipeg 3, MONTREAL 1
Edmonton 3, CHICAGO 1
NEW JERSEY 3, NY Islanders 2
Ottawa 6, TORONTO 3
San Jose 4, ARIZONA 1
DALLAS 4, Tampa Bay 3 (OT)
MINNESOTA 5, Nashville 2
Florida 3, LOS ANGELES 2
VANCOUVER 2, Calgary 1 (OT)

SUNDAY’S NHL ACTION
All Times Eastern
Washington @ NY Rangers, 12:30 p.m.
Detroit @ Pittsburgh, 3 p.m.
Winnipeg @ Ottawa, 5 p.m.
New Jersey @ NY Islanders, 6 p.m.
Chicago @ Buffalo, 6 p.m.
Nashville @ Columbus, 6 p.m.
Toronto @ Carolina, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay @ Colorado, 8 p.m.
Boston @ San Jose, 8:30 p.m.
Los Angeles @ Anaheim, 9 p.m.
Philadelphia @ Vancouver, 10 p.m.