Best in the west.

The idle Chicago Blackhawks clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and top spot in the Central Division after the Minnesota Wild lost to the Nashville Predators on Sunday afternoon.

The Predators' 3-0 victory gave the Blackhawks their ninth consecutive postseason berth and ensured them of home-ice advantage for the first three rounds of the playoffs.

It's their 16th division title and the second time in franchise history that they've earned the top seed in the conference.

Chicago last entered the playoffs as the best in the West in 2012-13, also the last time it won the Central Division title. That season, the Blackhawks won their second Stanley Cup championship in four years and second of what would ultimately be three titles in a six-year span.

The Blackhawks sit nine points clear of the Wild atop the Central and three points behind the Washington Capitals in the Presidents' Trophy race with four games left in Chicago's regular-season schedule.

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The Edmonton Oilers had plenty of doubters heading into 2016-17, but the former basement-dwellers simply continue to impress.

They did so again Saturday night, temporarily laying claim to the Pacific Division lead with a 3-2 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks.

Edmonton withstood a fine performance from netminder John Gibson, who played his first game for Anaheim since March 10. Gibson and Co. nearly shut the dominant Oilers' offense down, but veteran Milan Lucic tallied his 19th of the season to tie the game with just two minutes remaining in the third.

With the tilt extending to overtime, McDavid stepped up for his club once again, capitalizing on a gaffe from Ryan Getzlaf before setting up Leon Draisaitl for the winner in extra time.

It was just the latest impressive performance for a club that has dealt with its fair share of doubt in recent years.

Whether it was bringing in oft-maligned defender Kris Russell, signing Lucic to a hefty seven-year contract, or trading away star winger Taylor Hall for rearguard Adam Larsson, Edmonton was undoubtedly expected to falter in 2016-17.

But with just a handful of games remaining, they sit atop their division, the playoffs in sight.

Stellar season-long efforts from McDavid and Cam Talbot have undoubtedly been the central reasons for Edmonton's ascent, but there's no denying the fact that - despite the chorus of jeers - general manager Peter Chiarelli managed to put together a fairly promising squad after all.

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Kari Lehtonen hopes it isn't too little, too late.

The Dallas Stars netminder has evidently saved his best for the season's closing weeks, using the stretch drive to string together his top performances of the campaign.

On Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes, Lehtonen recorded his second shutout in his past six outings, turning aside 25 Carolina shots.

No doubt Lehtonen has come on strong in his last half-dozen starts:

In all, Lehtonen is 4-1-1 in his past six outings, putting together a stellar .950 save percentage alongside a minuscule 1.32 goals-against average. The Finnish netminder was honored Monday as the second star of the week.

Like fellow Stars goalie Antti Niemi, Lehtonen is signed through next season, but the possibility remains neither could return as the Stars look to reshape their crease.

But Lehtonen's recent stretch may be enough to recover some of his lost shine. After rotating his netminders for much of the season, Stars coach Lindy Ruff finally has some consistency between the pipes, and Lehtonen's late-season push could be enough to save his spot next year.

Following Saturday's 3-0 victory over the Hurricanes, Ruff told reporters, "When the guys in front of him play well and limit the high-quality opportunities, Kari is the type of goaltender that can feed off them."

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Through the remainder of the regular season, we'll take a look at how the night's action impacts the playoff race, highlighting which teams' postseason odds went up or down significantly.

The Boston Bruins appear poised to end their modest two-year postseason drought. The Bruins, who last qualified for the playoffs in 2014, took a 5-2 win Saturday over the Florida Panthers, moving to 90 points on the season.

The Bruins hold the second wild-card seed and are four points up on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who weren't as successful Saturday, falling in overtime to the Montreal Canadiens. Tampa Bay holds one game in hand on Boston.

In the West, all but one seed is locked in. The Nashville Predators will have a chance to lay claim to the final spot Sunday versus the St. Louis Blues. A single point by Nashville would eliminate the Los Angeles Kings from playoff contention.

To see percentages for the entire NHL, visit Sports Club Stats.

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It's safe to say Patrick Maroon has picked up a few tricks playing on Connor McDavid's wing. Among them: the slickest of hands.

Maroon put his new moves on display Saturday during the Edmonton Oilers' matchup with the Anaheim Ducks, embarrassing a couple defenders before floating a pass through the slot for McDavid.

The captain's finish marked his 29th goal of the season, and took his league-leading point total to 92.

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Another day, another record for Auston Matthews.

The Toronto Maple Leafs phenom recorded two goals and an assist in a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings Saturday, with the second tally tying Matthews with Peter Ihnacak for the most points in a season by a Toronto freshman.

Ihnacak set the mark during the 1982-83 campaign. With five games remaining on the season, plenty of time remains for Matthews to claim sole possession of the record.

As impressive as the achievement is, it wasn't even the only record Matthews set on Saturday night:

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DETROIT - Auston Matthews scored twice to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs past the Detroit Red Wings 5-4 on Saturday night.

Matthews' second goal of the night at 18:51 of the third period gave Toronto a 5-3 lead, but proved to be the winner when Detroit's Mike Green tallied with 44.2 seconds left in regulation.

With two goals and an assist, Matthews tied Peter Ihnacak's Leafs rookie points record of 66, set in 1982-83.

James van Riemsdyk scored with 2:36 left in the third period to snap the 3-3 tie and put the Leafs ahead for good. Van Riemsdyk slipped a backhander past Detroit's Jimmy Howard.

Mitch Marner and William Nylander also scored for the Leafs, who moved into a second-place tie in the Atlantic Division with Ottawa.

Gustav Nyquist, Nick Jensen, and Niklas Kronwall had the other goals for the Red Wings.

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The Montreal Canadiens are the class of the Atlantic Division, and they aren't about to let the rest of the Eastern Conference forget it.

Canadiens winger Alexander Radulov made sure of this on Saturday night, wiring home a monstrous one-timer in overtime to clinch a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The tally, set up by captain Max Pacioretty, was Radulov's 17th of the season, and just his second game-winner. Montreal's victory gives them 45 wins in 2016-17, as well as a division-leading 99 points.

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