Kings, Canucks coming to China for preseason games

KINGS, CANUCKS TO MEET IN FIRST PRESEASON GAMES PLAYED IN CHINA

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WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps
Chicago 5, PITTSBURGH 1
Los Angeles 4, CALGARY 1
Washington 5, COLORADO 3
St. Louis 3, ARIZONA 1

IGINLA NETS WINNING GOAL AS KINGS KEEP PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE

Jarome Iginla (1-1-2) scored the 100th game-winning goal of his NHL career to help the Kings (36-33-7, 79 points) defeat the Calgary Flames (43-30-4, 90 points), preventing Calgary and the St. Louis Blues from clinching a berth in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* Iginla, who scored 268 home goals as a member of the Flames, scored for the first time as a visitor in Calgary. He's two points shy of becoming the 34th player in NHL history to earn 1,300 points (624-674-1,298).
* Elias notes that Iginla became the

to score 100 career game-winning goals. Jaromir Jagr (135), the League's all-time leader in that category, is the only active player with more.

BLUES CLIMB STANDINGS, CLOSE IN ON PLAYOFF BERTH

Vladimir Tarasenko scored the game-winning goal to help the Blues (42-28-6, 90 points) leapfrog the idle Nashville Predators (39-26-11, 89 points) into third place in the Central Division. St. Louis is 11-2-1 in March, including points in its past seven games (6-0-1).
* Tarasenko scored his seventh game-winning goal of 2016-17 to match a single-season NHL career high set in 2015-16. He ranks fourth in the League with 36 goals (76 GP).
* The Blues and Predators close their season series on Sunday at Scottrade Center, with the Predators holding a 3-1-0 advantage through four games (STL: 1-3-0). St. Louis, however, leads the ROW tiebreaker 41-37.

CAPITALS, BLACKHAWKS KEEP PACE IN PRESIDENTS' TROPHY RACE

The League-leading Washington Capitals (51-17-8, 110 points) and Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks (49-21-7, 105 points) each earned wins to keep pace in the Presidents' Trophy race:
* The Capitals built a 4-1 lead and held off a Colorado Avalanche rally to extend their point streak to eight games (7-0-1), including six consecutive wins. Washington posted its fourth winning streak of at least six games in 2016-17; Elias notes that this is the first season in Capitals history when they have four winning streaks of at least six games.
* Five different skaters scored to help the Blackhawks improve to 7-1-2 in their past 10 games, opening a nine-point lead over the Minnesota Wild (44-24-8, 96 points) as they inch closer to a Western Conference title. Chicago, which plays three of its five remaining games as visitors, earned its 24th road win of 2016-17 to match a single-season Blackhawks record set in 2014-15.

LOOSE PUCKS

Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (34-50-84) reached the 50-assist mark for the second straight season and fourth time in his NHL career, taking sole possession of second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy . . . Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa scored the 524th goal of his NHL career to tie Bryan Trottier for 34th on the all-time list . . . Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau (2-8-10 in 6 GP) and Blues forward Jaden Schwartz (4-3-7 in 5 GP) extended their point streaks . . . Kings forward Trevor Lewis scored while skating in his 500th NHL game . . . Cigna was named the
Official Health Insurance Provider
of the NHL in the U.S. and will be the Presenting Sponsor of the NHL's Every Save Counts campaign . . . The
list of players protected and made available
by each NHL team for the Expansion Draft will be released to the public.

SNEAK PEEK AT THURSDAY'S ACTION

All Times Eastern
NY Islanders @ Philadelphia, 7 p.m., SN1, SNO, CSN-PH, MSG+
Columbus @ Carolina, 7 p.m., FS-CR, FS-O
Dallas @ Boston, 7:30 p.m., TVA Sports, NBCSN
Florida @ Montreal, 7:30 p.m., SNE, RDS, FS-F
Detroit @ Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m., SUN, FS-D
Toronto @ Nashville, 8 p.m., FS-TN, TSN4
Ottawa @ Minnesota, 8 p.m., FS-WI, FS-N+, RDS2, TSN5
Anaheim @ Winnipeg, 8 p.m., TSN3, FS-W
San Jose @ Edmonton, 9 p.m., SNW, CSN-CA
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CRUCIAL NIGHT IN EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF RACE

Seven of nine games on the schedule tonight feature at least one team in the hunt for one of four remaining playoff spots in the Eastern Conference:
* The Atlantic Division-leading Montreal Canadiens (43-24-9, 95 points) look to clinch a playoff berth when they host the Florida Panthers (33-32-11, 77 points).
* The Ottawa Senators (41-25-9, 91 points), who hold a game in hand on Montreal, look to inch closer to a postseason berth when they visit the Wild (44-24-8, 96 points).
* The Toronto Maple Leafs (36-24-15, 87 points) seek to maintain their hold on third place in the Atlantic Division when they visit the Predators (39-26-11, 89 points).
* The Boston Bruins (40-30-6, 86 points), owners of the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference, set out for a third straight win when they host the Dallas Stars (31-34-11, 73 points).
* The Tampa Bay Lightning (37-29-9, 83 points), three points behind the Bruins, look to extend their winning streak to four games when they host the Detroit Red Wings (31-33-12, 74 points).
* The New York Islanders (35-28-12, 82 points) clash with the Philadelphia Flyers (36-32-8, 80 points) at Wells Fargo Center with each team looking to stay in the playoff hunt.
* The Carolina Hurricanes (34-27-14, 82 points) strive to extend their point streak (8-0-4) to a franchise-record 13 games when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets (49-19-7, 105 points) at PNC Arena.