Blues keep pace with Stars in Western Conference

BLUES BLANK LEAGUE-LEADING CAPITALS FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT SHUTOUT
Jake Allen denied all 32 shots he faced to backstop the St. Louis Blues past the NHL-leading Washington Capitals for their fourth consecutive shutout and their 10th victory in their past 12 games.
* At 45-22-9 (99 points), the Blues kept pace with the Dallas Stars (45-22-9, 99 points), who also won, in the race for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference. Though the teams share identical records, Dallas sits in top spot by virtue of the ROW tiebreaker (DAL: 43, STL: 40).

* Allen had his sixth shutout of the season (11th of his career) to move into sole possession of second in the League behind Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (7).
* Via Elias, the Blues extended their shutout sequence to 240:18 to became the ninth different team in NHL history (achieved 11 times overall) to earn four consecutive shutouts in one season, a feat accomplished four times in the expansion era (since 1967-68):
SATURDAY'S RESULTSHome Team in Caps
BUFFALO 3, Winnipeg 2
Pittsburgh 7, DETROIT 2
Minnesota 4, COLORADO 0
Dallas 4, SAN JOSE 2
Boston 3, TORONTO 1
NY Rangers 5, MONTREAL 2
Anaheim 4, OTTAWA 3 (OT)
Florida 5, TAMPA BAY 2
St. Louis 4, WASHINGTON 0
NY Islanders 4, CAROLINA 3 (OT)
NASHVILLE 5, Columbus 1
ARIZONA 2, Philadelphia 1
LOS ANGELES 6, Edmonton 4
Chicago 4, CALGARY 1
Most Consecutive Shutouts in One Season, Since 1967-68
5 - Phoenix Coyotes: Dec. 31, 2003 - Jan. 9, 2004
4 - St. Louis Blues: March 19-26, 2016 (active)
4 - Philadelphia Flyers: Jan. 7-13, 1999
4 - Philadelphia Flyers: Dec. 14-21, 1996
MINNESOTA PULLS AHEAD IN WILD CARD RACE WITH WIN IN COLORADO
Devan Dubnyk turned aside all 29 shots he faced and Zach Parise (2-0-2) had his second straight multi-goal game (also Thursday vs. CGY: 3-1-4) to help the Minnesota Wild past the Colorado Avalanche for their fifth consecutive victory.
* At 37-28-11 (85 points), the Wild moved five points ahead of the Avalanche (38-33-4, 80 points) for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Minnesota, which has played one more game than Colorado, won the season series 4-0-1 (COL: 1-4-0).

* Dubnyk had his 19th NHL shutout and fifth this season, tied for third in the League. He owns a 6-0-1 record in his past seven decisions, including a five-game winning streak.
* Parise had back-to-back multi-goal games for the third time in his career (also Feb. 9-11, 2009 w/ NJD and Jan. 25-27, 2013 w/ MIN).
JAGR, LUONGO HELP PANTHERS RECLAIM ATLANTIC DIVISION LEAD
Four players had multiple points - including Jaromir Jagr (1-1-2) - and Roberto Luongo made 33 saves to help the Florida Panthers past the Tampa Bay Lightning and back into first place in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of Tampa Bay.
* At 42-24-9 (93 points), the Panthers moved within one victory of equaling their single-season record set in 1999-00 (43-27-12, 98 points).
* Jagr reached the 25-goal mark for the first time since 2007-08 (25 G in 82 GP w/ NYR) and for the 18th time in his NHL career to move past Mike Gartner (17) for the second-most such seasons in NHL history behind Gordie Howe (20).

* Luongo improved to 32-18-6 this season (58 GP) to move within three victories of tying his own single-season record for wins (2005-06: 35-30-9). He also sits four wins back of tying Jacques Plante (437) for sixth place in NHL history.
KINGS, DUCKS CONTINUE BATTLE FOR TOP SPOT IN PACIFIC
The Los Angeles Kings (45-25-5, 95 points) and Anaheim Ducks (41-23-10, 92 points), the top two teams in the Pacific Division, each earned wins Saturday:
* Three players - Tyler Toffoli (2-2-4), Jeff Carter (2-1-3) and Milan Lucic (0-3-3) - each earned at least three points to help the Kings to their ninth straight home win against the Edmonton Oilers since April 2, 2012 (EDM: 0-8-1) and a sweep of their five-game season series. Toffoli matched a career high for points in a game (2x in 2014-15) and Carter reached the 20-goal milestone for the 10th time in 11 NHL seasons.
* Down 3-0 after two periods, the Ducks scored four unanswered goals, including the tying marker by Hampus Lindholm (1-0-1) with 57.2 seconds remaining in the third period and the overtime winner by Rickard Rakell (1-1-2), to improve to 2-1-1 on their five-game road trip. Rakell, who scored his second career overtime goal (also Feb. 26 vs. EDM), reached 20 goals for the first time.
DID YOU KNOW?
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Ducks overcame a three-goal, third-period deficit to win for the third time in their history. The others: Jan. 23, 2010 at STL (trailed 3-1, 4-3 SO W) and March 31, 2014 vs. WPG (trailed 4-1, 5-4 OT W).

* It marked the fourth time this season that a team won a game after trailing by three goals in the third period. The three other instances: the Wild on Oct. 8 at COL (trailed 4-1, 5-4 W); the Stars on Nov. 28 at MIN (trailed 3-0, 4-3 OT W); and the Calgary Flames on Dec. 1 vs. DAL (trailed 3-0, 4-3 SO W).
TRIO OF METROPOLITAN CLUBS POST WINS
Seeds No. 2-4 in the Metropolitan Division, the New York Rangers (43-24-8, 94 points), Pittsburgh Penguins (41-25-8, 90 points) and New York Islanders (40-25-9, 89 points), each earned wins in pursuit of playoff berth:
* The Rangers scored four times in the second period, powered by Chris Kreider (2-1-3) and Derick Brassard (1-2-3), en route to their third straight victory. Kreider, who matched a career-high for points in a game, had his sixth career multi-goal game and second this season (also Jan. 17 at WSH: 2-0-2).
* Phil Kessel (1-4-5) and Nick Bonino (1-4-5) each established career highs for assists and points in a game to help the Penguins to their seventh win in their past eight games (7-1-0). Per Elias, it marked the first time two Penguins skaters each had five points in a game since March 10, 2013 vs. NYI (Chris Kunitz: 3-2-5 and Sidney Crosby: 0-5-5).
* The Islanders yielded three straight goals to see their 2-0 lead erased, but Cal Clutterbuck (2-0-2) tied the game 30 seconds into the third period and added the winner with 13.8 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Islanders past the Carolina Hurricanes. Clutterbuck had his second multi-goal game of the season (72 GP) to equal his total from his first 495 career appearances.
OTHER CONTENDERS CONTINUE PLAYOFF PUSH
Four other clubs took strides toward a postseason berth:
* Five different Nashville Predators scored - including Shea Weber (1-1-2) and James Neal (1-1-2) - to help them stretch their home point streak to 10 games (7-0-3). Weber scored his 164th NHL goal (all w/ NSH) to move into second place on the Predators' all-time list behind David Legwand (210). Neal reached the 30-goal mark for the second time in his career (40 G in 2011-12 w/ PIT).

* Andrew Ladd (2-1-3) had his 15th career three-point performance (second of 2015-16) to help the Blackhawks start their four-game road trip with a victory. Ladd has 20 goals and 42 points season (71 GP), including five goals and eight points 12 games with the Blackhawks.
* Mattias Janmark (2-0-2) returned from a six-game absence to earn his first career multi-goal game (70 GP) and help the Stars past the San Jose Sharks for their fourth win in their past five games. Antti Niemi (34 SV), who played with San Jose from 2010-15, made 34 saves to earn his first career victory against his former team.
* The Boston Bruins scored three unanswered goals, including second-period goals by Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara, to halt a five-game slide (0-5-0) and win the finale of their season series with the Toronto Maple Leafs (BOS: 4-0-1, TOR: 1-3-1).
ROOKIE NOTES
* Oilers forward Connor McDavid (1-1-2) extended his point streak to seven games (1-9-10), matching a career high. McDavid ranks fourth among rookies with 15-30-45 this season, despite playing in 41 games.

* Rookies Sam Reinhart (1-1-2), Jack Eichel (1-0-1) and Hudson Fasching (1-0-1) each scored to erase a 2-0 deficit and help the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-1-1 record in the past six games. Via Elias, it marked the first time in Sabres history that three different rookies accounted for all of Buffalo's goals in a game.
* Blues defenseman Colton Parayko (1-0-1, +4) scored his eighth goal of the season to equal the Blues' single-season record by a rookie defenseman (Dennis Wideman: 8 G in 2005-06). He shares second among NHL defensemen with a +27 rating in 2015-16.
MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (0-1-1) played in his 700th NHL game. He has collected at least one point in 13 of his past 14 games (6-15-21) and ranks third in the League with 31-46-77 this season (73 GP).
* Forward Pavel Datsyuk, who has spent his entire career with the Detroit Red Wings, became the fifth player in tehri history to record 600 career assists.
* Wild defenseman Ryan Suter had one assist to reach 400 NHL points (60-340-400).
* Columbus Blues Jackets defenseman Dean Kukan and Sabres forward Hudson Fasching (1-0-1) and defenseman Casey Nelson (0-1-1) all made their NHL debuts.
LOOSE PUCKS
Mike Smith made 34 saves, but fell 40 seconds short of a shutout, to help the Arizona Coyotes past the Philadelphia Flyers for their sixth win in their past eight games . . . Wild forward Erik Haula (0-1-1) extended his career-high point streak to eight games (3-5-8) . . . Jamie Benn (37), Steven Stamkos (36) and Vladimir Tarasenko (35), three of the League's top six goal scorers, each found the back of the net on Saturday . . . Stamkos (5-2-7) and Hurricanes forward Chris Terry (3-2-5) each extended their point streaks to five games . . . Panthers forward Jussi Jokinen (1-1-2) also pushed his point streak to five games (4-4-8). He has at least one point in 15 of his past 16 games (6-14-20) . . . Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck (1-0-1) matched a career high with a goal in his fourth straight game (4-1-5) . . . Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw (GWG) scored for the third straight game . . . Blues forward Kyle Brodziak (1-0-1) and Penguins forward Carl Hagelin (2-0-2) established and matched career highs with their fourth and fifth game-winning goals of the season, respectively . . . Predators defenseman Roman Josi (0-3-3) matched a career high for assists in a game (also March 14, 2014 at CHI) . . . The Predators had 27 shots in first period, the most in any period in their history . . . Jets forward Mark Scheifele had an assist to establish a career high for points in a season (24-26-50 in 64 GP) . . . The Blue Jackets signed defenseman Dalton Prout to
a two-year contract
. . . NHL officials donned the initials "BM" on their helmets in honor of the late NCAA referee Oliver "Butch" Mousseau.