NHL NEWS MARCH 27 – EASTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD RACE TAKES CENTER STAGE

Monday’s six-game slate features three teams aiming to gain ground in the tightly-contested race for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Islanders (35-27-12, 82 points) host the Predators (38-25-11, 87 points) at Barclays Center. New York sits two points back of Boston (39-30-6, 84 points) for the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference, while Nashville, winners of three straight contests, look to strengthen their grip on third place in the Central Division.

The Lightning (36-29-9, 81 points) welcome the Western Conference-leading Blackhawks (48-21-6, 102 points) to Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay has won two consecutive games and looks to snap a three-game home losing streak (0-3-0), while Chicago, 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, looks to rebound from a 7-0 loss in their previous outing.

The Hurricanes (33-27-13, 79 points) open a four-game homestand when the Red Wings (30-32-12, 72 points) visit PNC Arena. Carolina enters the contest with points in their last 10 outings (7-0-3), while Detroit owns a 4-1-1 record in their last six games.

NHL NEWS MARCH 27 AND MUSINGS

• Six different skaters scored to help the Flyers (35-32-8, 78 points) move within six points of the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference
• Mathieu Perreault collected 1-1—2 to extend his point streak to six games (4-6—10) and lead the Jets to their third consecutive home win
• Rangers forward Rick Nash scored for a fourth consecutive game (4-0—4)
• Devils defenseman Andy Greene skated in his 700th NHL game
• Sharks forward Micheal Haley will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Monday for an incident involving Predators forward Calle Jarnkrok
• Devils forward Blake Coleman (Plano, Texas), who played youth hockey in Dallas, scored the first goal of his NHL career (17 GP) against the Stars.

SUNDAY’S NHL RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
DETROIT RED WINGS 3, Minnesota 2 (OT)
Dallas 2, NEW JERSEY 1 (OT)
Philadelphia 6, PITTSBURGH 2
WINNIPEG 2, Vancouver 1
ANAHEIM 6, NY Rangers 3

MONDAY’S NHL ACTION
All Times Eastern
Detroit @ Carolina, 7 p.m., FS-CR, FS-D+
Florida @ Buffalo, 7 p.m., MSG-B, FS-F
Nashville @ NY Islanders, 7 p.m., SN, MSG+, FS-TN
Chicago @ Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m., TVAS, NBCSN, CSN-CH
Arizona @ St. Louis, 8 p.m., FS-MW, FS-A
Colorado @ Calgary, 9 p.m., SNW, ALT