CHICAGO - Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin scored on Chicago's first two shots, Corey Crawford made 42 saves and the Blackhawks defeated Minnesota 4-2 on Sunday to pull within a point of the Central Division-leading Wild.

Trevor van Riemsdyk and Marian Hossa also scored for the Blackhawks, who ended a two-game slide and won for the 13th time in their last 16. Kane's goal was his team-leading 30th and 10th in eight games.

Eric Staal scored his 22nd goal and Mikael Granlund got his 23rd for Minnesota, which has dropped three of four. Minnesota outshot Chicago 44-22 for a season high allowed by the Blackhawks.

Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk, looking for his career-high 37th win, was relieved by Darcy Kuemper less than five minutes into the game after allowing those early goals.

Dubnyk replaced Kuemper for the third period of the Wild's previous game, a 7-4 win at Florida on Friday night.

Chicago finished 3-1 against Minnesota in the regular season. The Blackhawks and Wild have met in the postseason three times - in 2013, 2014 and 2015 - and Chicago won all three series and twice went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Set up by Panarin, Kane opened the scoring just 51 seconds in from the edge of the right circle on a shot that deflected off defenseman Marco Scandella.

Panarin made it 2-0 at 4:38 on a rising one-timer from the slot that sailed over Dubnyk's blocker. That prompted coach Bruce Boudreau to summon Kuemper.

Crawford was sharp in the second period, stopping all 20 shots he faced. Meanwhile, van Riemsdyk scored at 5:28 during a delayed penalty to increase Chicago's lead to 3-1.

Minnesota's Ryan White pulled down Jordin Tootoo along the left boards. Play continued and Marcus Kruger stepped in and fed the loose puck to van Riemsdyk, who had streaked to the edge of the crease.

NOTES: Minnesota C Martin Hanzal missed the game with an illness. Wild C Jordan Schroeder moved back in the lineup after being scratched in four straight. ... Blackhawks veteran defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya were back in the lineup and paired together after getting a night off in a 4-2 loss at Detroit on Friday. ... Minnesota D Christian Folin missed his fourth game with an upper body injury. . The game started at 11:30 a.m. and was played before a season-high United Center crowd of 22,147. ... Chicago F Tomas Jurco was a healthy scratch for the first time since being acquired from Detroit on Feb. 24. ... The Blackhawks signed 22-year-old F John Hayden, 22, one of their top prospects after he concluded his senior year at Yale.

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GLENDALE, Ariz. - Tobias Rieder and Anthony DeAngelo each had a goal and assist and the Arizona Coyotes survived a furious New Jersey rally to hand the Devils their 10th consecutive loss, 5-4 on Saturday night.

The Coyotes led 4-0 early in the second period, but needed the goal from the rookie DeAngelo with 6:29 to play for what proved to be the winning margin.

DeAngelo's goal, a patient shot through traffic from the slot, put Arizona up 5-3 before John Moore's backhanded upper shelf shot past goalie Mike Smith cut it to 5-4 with 4:58 remaining.

Smith preserved the victory by blocking Taylor Hall's penalty shot with 2:38 to play.

Devils goalie Cory Schneider was lifted after allowing four goals on 10 shots in the first 24:13 of the game.

Smith had 26 saves. Schneider's replacement, Keith Kinkaid, had 20 saves on 21 shots.

Schneider left after Brendan Perlini's sizzling one-timer from the top of the left circle on a power play 3:59 into the second period.

The Coyotes were up 2-0 before the game was three minutes old.

The first came 1:27 into the game when Radim Vrbata took a pass from Max Domi in front of the net and tapped it past Schneider. Devils coach John Hynes challenged that Arizona was offside on the play but the goal was upheld.

A nearly identical score followed 1:26 later, this time the pass was from Jordan Martinook found Rieder open in front of the net. Rieder knocked it into the open left side of the net for his career-best 15th goal of the season and it was 2-0.

Arizona made it a three-goal first period, again from in front of the net. The power-play goal by Jakob Chychrun, with an assist by Rieder, made it three scores in eight first-period shots for the Coyotes. It was only the fourth power-play goal in the past 41 tries.

Shortly after Schneider's exit, the Devils got a power-play goal from Kyle Palmieri with a pretty assist from Hall to make it 4-1.

New Jersey got its second goal when the puck skipped over the stick of Arizona's Luke Schenn and right to Beau Bennett, who shot the puck high into the left corner of the net, over the goalie, to make it 4-2 with 7:51 still to play in the second period.

Just 17 seconds into the third period, Palmieri scored his second of the game to cut the lead to 4-3.

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DETROIT - Tomas Tatar had two goals and an assist, Jimmy Howard made 24 saves in his return, and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Friday night.

Howard saw his first NHL action since injuring a knee Dec. 20 at Tampa Bay.

Tatar scored what proved to be the winner late in the second period and added an insurance goal in the third period to end Detroit's three-game losing streak. He has a team-high 17 goals.

Andreas Athanasiou and Xavier Ouellet also scored for Detroit.

The Blackhawks lost for the second straight night and had their club-record road winning streak end at eight games. Trevor Van Riemsdyk and Artemi Panarin scored for Chicago.

The Blackhawks opened the scoring at 4:23 of the first period on an impressive display of skill by Panarin and Patrick Kane. Just outside the Detroit zone, Panarin slid a backhand pass through defenseman Danny DeKeyser's legs to Kane, who carried the puck into the Detroit end. Kane zipped a quick cross-ice pass to a closing Panarin and he drove a one-timer past Howard.

Detroit tied it with 3:35 left in the period. Using Tatar as a screen, Ouellet drove a rising shot from the point past goalie Corey Crawford for his third goal of the season.

With only eight seconds to play in the second, Detroit regained the lead. Athanasiou accepted a drop pass from Nick Jensen and zipped a low shot by Crawford, who was again screened by Tatar.

The Wings increased their lead to 3-1 15:17 into the second period. Gus Nyquist carried the puck into the Chicago zone and dropped a pass to Henrik Zetterberg. Crawford stopped Zetterberg's shot but Tatar was on the doorstep to smack the rebound home.

A low point shot by Van Riemsdyk beat Howard on the stick side with just 44.3 seconds left in the second period to narrow Detroit's advantage to a goal.

Tatar completed the scoring at 15:31 of the third period. Nyquist forced a turnover along the boards and fed the puck to Zetterberg. He relayed it to Tatar in the high slot and he whipped a shot past Crawford.

NOTES: Including this game, Chicago will close out the regular season with 16 games over a 30-day span. ... Facing his former Detroit teammates for the first time, left-winger Tomas Jurco skated on a line with Marian Hossa and Marcus Kruger. ... Saying he was unhappy with his play in recent games, Detroit coach Jeff Blashill made rookie right winger Anthony Mantha, tied for second on the team with 14 goals, a healthy scratch . . . Defenseman Robbie Russo and forward Mitch Callahan made their Joe Louis Arena debuts as Red Wings . . . The Van Riemsdyk family has scored twice on the Wings this week. Trevor's older brother, James, scored for Toronto in the Maple Leafs' 3-2 win over the Red Wings on Tuesday night.

UP NEXT:

Blackhawks: Welcome the Minnesota Wild to the United Center on Sunday in a potential showdown for first place in the Central Division.

Red Wings: Host the New York Rangers on Sunday.

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CALGARY, Alberta - Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and three assists, and the Calgary Flames beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-0 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win.

Brian Elliott had 24 saves for his first shutout of the season. After assisting on all three second-period goals as the Flames blew open a 1-0 game, Gaudreau added his 14th goal at 16:12 of the third period.

Gaudreau has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) during the Flames' win streak. It's the longest streak for Calgary since it also won eight in a row in November 2005.

Mark Giordano, Sean Monahan, Michael Stone and Micheal Ferland also scored for Calgary (37-26-4), which visits Winnipeg on Saturday.

Montreal (38-22-8) had won six in a row. The Canadiens were without goaltender Carey Price (flu), who was supposed to start for the 10th time in the last 11 games but instead served as the backup to Al Montoya - although he didn't appear on the bench.

Montoya had 33 stops.

Elliott, playing his finest hockey of the season, improved to 11-1-1 in his last 13 starts. He has a .931 save percentage over that span. He is 19-13-3 on the season.

Stone made it 2-0 in the second when he scored through a crowd from the blue line. It was his first goal since joining Calgary in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 20.

Stone left early in the third. He appeared to be favoring his shoulder. The Flames also lost defenseman Dougie Hamilton to an undisclosed injury late in the second period.

There were no updates available.

Calgary made it 4-0 on goals 26 seconds apart late in the second. Monahan fired in his team-leading 22nd goal after Stone's shot didn't get through. Then Ferland got his 14th goal, whipping a shot into the top corner.

NOTES: Calgary's franchise record win streak is 10 in a row from Oct. 14 to Nov. 3, 1978, while the team was in Atlanta. ... Montreal's Claude Julien coached his 1,007th game, tying him with Jacques Demers for 25th on the NHL's career list.

UP NEXT:

Canadiens: Visit Edmonton on Sunday night.

Flames: Visit Winnipeg on Saturday night.

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CHICAGO - Jonathan Bernier made 43 saves for his 100th NHL win, and Anaheim Ducks cooled off the Chicago Blackhawks with a 1-0 victory on Thursday.

Corey Perry scored in the second as Anaheim ended Chicago's seven-game winning streak despite being outshot 43-26 on the night. Corey Crawford blocked 25 shots as the Blackhawks lost for only the second time in their last 14.

Bernier's second shutout this season and 14th of his career helped the Ducks pull ahead of idle Edmonton for second place in the Pacific Division. Bernier made his sixth straight start with John Gibson sidelined a lower-body injury.

Perry stopped a 10-game scoring drought with his 12th goal at 17:44. He hadn't connected since scoring twice on Feb. 9 at Buffalo.

The Blackhawks outscored their opponents 53-29 in their previous 13 games, and they held the Ducks without a shot for more than 18 minutes stretching from the first period until early in the second.

But Chicago wasted a chance to overtake Minnesota for the top spot in the Central Division and Western Conference. The Wild lost 4-1 at Tampa Bay.

Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson returned after missing four games with an upper-body injury. He was paired with Swedish countryman Johnny Oduya, who played in his first game since being reacquired on Feb. 28 from Dallas. He had been resting an ankle injury.

Hjalmarsson and Oduya often played together on Chicago's 2013 and 2015 Stanley Cup teams.

The Blackhawks outshot the Ducks 19-2 in a chippy first. Anaheim forward Ryan Getzlaf fought Chicago's Richard Panik late in the first, and the Ducks captain drew an extra minor for instigating and a misconduct on the altercation. Getzlaf entered with just 26 penalty minutes.

The Blackhawks kept dominating into the second, but Bernier stepped up every time he was challenged. His best stops included a point-blank right pad save on Jordin Tootoo in the opening minute, a glove save on Patrick Kane's backhander with 5:05 left in the period and a block of Artem Anisimov's quick shot from the side of the net about a minute later.

Perry scored on the Ducks' 14th shot, just moments after Marian Hossa's drive dribbled off the post to Bernier's left. He beat Crawford on the stick side as he cut across the slot.

Aided by solid defensive support, Bernier preserved the lead in the third.

Bernier had to come up with a sprawling pad save in Artemi Panarin and close-in stop on Jonathan Toews with Crawford on the bench for an extra attacker in the final 1:40.

NOTES: With Gibson out, Bernier was backed up by Jhonas Enroth. Jeff Glass backed up Crawford for a third game. Scott Darling is recovering from an upper-body injury. ... Anaheim's Logan Shaw played in his 100th NHL game. ... With Hjalmarsson and Oduya in the lineup, Ds Michal Kempny and Michal Rozsival were scratched. ... Ducks F Antoine Vermette served the ninth game of a 10-game suspension for slashing linesman Shandor Alphonso. He's eligible to return when Anaheim hosts Washington on Sunday.

UP NEXT:

Ducks: At St. Louis on Friday in second of a two-game Midwest swing.

Blackhawks: At Detroit on Friday in their final visit to the Joe Louis Arena.

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When the San Jose Sharks looked to add some grit to their lineup, they swung a deal for Jannik Hansen just ahead of the NHL's trade deadline.

After nine days, they finally will get to see what their newest acquisition can do.

With immigration issues cleared up, Hansen is expected to debut with his new team and the Sharks will try to continue their domination of the league-leading Washington Capitals on Thursday night when San Jose opens a season-high six-game homestand.

Pacific Division-leading San Jose (39-19-7) picked up the Danish-born right winger from the Vancouver Canucks for Nikolay Goldobin and a 2017 draft pick on Feb. 28. Instead of suiting up for a team that is fading out of the playoff picture, Hansen reportedly will be on the Sharks' top line with Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton to go against a Capitals team that leads the league with 95 points.

"It could be an easier opponent for sure, but these are the teams you've got to play," Hansen told the San Jose Mercury News after practice on Wednesday.

Hansen clearly is not aware of the Sharks' history against Washington (44-14-7).

San Jose has not lost at home in regulation to the Capitals since Oct. 20, 1993, going 12-0-2 with one tie. The Sharks also improved to 10-1-2 in their past 13 matchups overall with Washington following a 3-0 victory on Nov. 8.

Injuries have limited Hansen to just six goals and seven assists in 28 games this season. That doesn't seem to matter to Sharks coach Peter DeBoer, who just wants Hansen to keep doing what has kept him in the league for 10 seasons.

"Come in and play your game," DeBoer told the Mercury News. "No expectations. We don't need him to fix our scoring woes or anything else. Just work hard, play your game and enjoy the situation. We've got a great group. We're winning a lot of games, and we want him to be a part of that."

San Jose opens its longest run of 2016-17 at SAP Center after defeating the Jets 3-2 in Winnipeg on Monday, the Sharks' fourth win in five games. Just over a month after Patrick Marleau posted his 500th goal, Joe Thornton drew his 1,000th career assist on Pavelski's empty-net goal in the final minute.

Thornton has multi point games in four of his past five appearances against Washington, including goals in four consecutive contests. Overall, "Jumbo Joe" has notched four goals and five helpers in the series dating back to 2014-15.

The Capitals will play 10 of their final 17 games on the road starting with this contest. Despite a 17-8-6 record in opposing rinks this season, Washington is 4-4-1 in its past nine on the road.

While 27 goals in a season for many players would be a success, it is not for Washington winger Alex Ovechkin, who recorded at least 50 in each of the previous three campaigns. He has just three goals in his past 15 games -- none at even strength.

"Early in that streak, I don't think he was getting very many chances," Washington coach Barry Trotz said Monday. "I think he's working better for those chances. Like I say, the hockey gods sort of are making him pay and making have to work for it for a little bit. ... It's tightening up now. You have to work for your goals, work for your space, all those things."

One of Ovechkin's two career goals in San Jose came at even strength.

The expected goaltending matchup should be a good one.

Washington's Braden Holtby leads the league with a 1.93 goals-against average and eight shutouts. He ranks third with 34 wins and fifth in save percentage at .929.

Holtby, who could be in line for his second straight Vezina Trophy later this year, is 7-0-1 and has allowed just 17 goals in his past nine road games.

San Jose's Martin Jones, meanwhile, is tied for fifth with 30 wins, and he blanked Washington in November with a 24-save effort.

If he starts, Holtby would try to help the Caps bounce back after their franchise-record, 15-game home winning streak was snapped Monday in a 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. The Capitals haven't lost back-to-back games in regulation since Nov. 26 and Dec. 1.

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Defenseman Fredrik Claesson scored his first NHL goal and added an assist to help the Ottawa Senators win their fourth straight game, 5-2 over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.

Ottawa moved within four points of first-place Montreal in the Atlantic Division. The Senators' winning streak began after they acquired Viktor Stalberg and Alexandre Burrows near the trade deadline.

Craig Anderson made 35 saves and tied the Ottawa franchise record with his 146th victory.

Stalberg and Cody Ceci also each had a goal and an assist for the Senators, and Mike Hoffman had two assists.

Chris Wideman and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored against Dallas starting goalie Kari Lehtonen, who left at 3:21 of the second period after allowing three goals in 18 shots.

Antti Niemi replaced Lehtonen. Ottawa didn't have a shot on goal against Niemi for 14:48, until Stalberg scored on the power play for a 4-1 lead. Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza scored for Dallas.

The Senators scored first on the power play at 13:41 of the first period. Stalberg passed cross-ice to Wideman in the right faceoff circle, and he put a wrist shot into the right side of the net before Lehtonen could get back.

Ottawa took a 2-0 lead at 15:21 when Zack Smith won a faceoff back to Claesson high in the slot for a slap shot and his first goal in 36 career NHL games.

Pageau slid the puck from the slot through traffic and between Lehtonen's legs to knock the goalie from the game.

Seguin pulled Dallas back within two goals at 3-1. Spezza passed from behind the net to Seguin at the left, and he put the puck into a narrow opening inside the left post.

Stalberg deflected Dion Phaneuf's shot from the left post past Niemi.

Spezza scored on the power play in the third period with a shot that deflected off Mark Borowiecki's right leg.

Ceci's goal at 9:01 of the third went in off Niemi's skate.

NOTES: The Stars signed RW Adam Cracknell to a one-year contract extension for $675,000. In his seventh season, the first with Dallas, he has career highs of seven goals and 54 games played. . Ottawa C Kyle Turris missed his first game this season because of an injured finger. ... In Pageau's past four games against the Stars, he has six points (three goals, three assists). He won 10 of 11 faceoffs in the first two periods. ... Playing in his third NHL game, Dallas' Remi Elie had his first assist on Seguin's goal, and Ales Hemsky had his first point in only five games played in an injury-riddled season. ... Borowiecki, the league leader in penalty minutes, increased his total to 126 with a double minor for roughing in the first period. ... The Senators had two goals on three power plays, after going 2 for 16 in their past six games, and Dallas' penalty killers had been 14 for 16 in the previous six.

UP NEXT

Senators: Play the second of three road games in four nights on Friday at Arizona.

Stars: Begin a four-game trip on Sunday at San Jose.

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DENVER- Paul Stastny scored his first goal against his former team, Jake Allen stopped 27 shots, and the St. Louis Blues ended a five-game skid by beating the Colorado Avalanche 3-0 on Sunday night.

Stastny got the Blues going with a power-play goal early in the first period, his first score in 11 career games against Colorado. He spent eight seasons with the Avalanche before leaving for St. Louis.

Kyle Brodziak and Patrik Berglund also scored for the Blues, who moved into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Allen was shaken up with just more than three minutes remaining when Gabriel Landeskog's wrist shot appeared to hit him awkwardly. He was checked out by trainers before finishing off his third shutout of the season.

The last-place Avalanche were blanked for the 11th time this season.

Berglund scored on a power play in the second to give the Blues a 3-0 lead. It ended a seven-game goal drought and also marked his first since signing a five-year extension worth $19.25 million on Feb. 25.

Allen made one big save after another, especially in the second when he thwarted Rene Bourque's breakaway attempt by stopping the shot with his chest. With around 30 seconds left, he stopped another shot by Bourque.

This was the second half of a back-to-back for the Avalanche. They were routed 6-1 in Winnipeg, leading Landeskog to say the squad looked ''like a junior C team.''

Once again, the Avalanche came out sluggish in dropping their fourth straight game.

Stastny and Brodziak scored 1:37 apart in the first to help the slumping Blues get back on track. Stastny's goal was set up off a precision pass by Jaden Schwartz from down low. Stastny celebrated by pumping both his gloves. He still ranks ninth on the Avalanche's all-time points list (458).

Brodziak added another goal by firing in a shot after an Avalanche turnover near the net.

Jeremy Smith was in goal a night after Calvin Pickard was pulled against the Jets after allowing five goals in 29 minutes.

Forward Sven Andrighetto made his first appearance with the Avalanche. He was acquired in a deal with Montreal, but didn't join the team in Winnipeg as he waited for a visa.

He was thrown ''right in the fire'' - coach Jared Bednar's description - by being paired on the second line with Matt Duchene and Mikko Rantanen. Andrighetto turns 24 on March 21 and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

NOTES: Blues D Jordan Schmaltz made his NHL debut. ... LW Zach Sanford was a scratch. He was acquired as part of the recent trade that sent Kevin Shattenkirk to Washington. ... Schwartz appeared in his 300th career game. He played at Colorado College in nearby Colorado Springs.

UP NEXT

Blues: At the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday to wrap up a three-game trip.

Avalanche: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

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CALGARY, Alberta - Sean Monahan had a goal and an assist and the Calgary Flames beat the New York Islanders 5-2 on Sunday for their seventh straight victory.

Brian Elliott made 33 saves for his sixth straight win. Elliott is 7-0-1 since his last regulation loss on Feb. 5 when he made 28 saves during a 4-3 loss in New York to the Rangers.

Michael Frolik, T.J. Brodie, Micheal Ferland and Kris Versteeg also scored for the Flames.

John Tavares and Jason Chimera scored for the Islanders. They are 3-2-1 on a nine-game trip.

Thomas Greiss started in net for the Islanders and stopped 17 of 21 shots in the first period before being replaced by Jean-Francois Berube, who finished with 15 saves.

Greiss stopped the first 16 shots before the Flames scored four goals in a 4:40 span late in the first.

Frolik started things off when he shoveled a sharp-angle shot past Greiss at 14:56. Brodie banked the puck off the New York goalie's leg from behind the net at 16:28.

Ferland took a pass from Monahan 42 seconds later and fired a quick shot past Greiss. Monahan then converted a feed from Johnny Gaudreau to finish off a 3-on-1 with 23.3 seconds.

The Islanders rebounded with a better effort in the second period, but were only to score one goal when Tavares swatted a rebound past Elliott.

Versteeg added an insurance goal at 6:58 of the third, and Chimera replied for the Islanders at 11:32.

Notes: Islanders D Johnny Boychuk sat out with a sore foot after blocking a shot during a 2-1 shootout loss in Chicago against the Blackhawks on Friday night. ... D Travis Hamonic suited up for his second straight game with the Islanders after missing the previous 24 outings with a lower-body injury. ... D Matt Bartkowski had an assist on Versteeg's goal for his first point in his eighth game with the Flames.

UP NEXT

Islanders: At Edmonton on Tuesday night.

Flames: Host Montreal on Thursday night.

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When a collision knocked off Mike Smith's mask, the Arizona Coyotes goaltender was less than pleased upon being told a few minutes later he had to leave the game.

One of the NHL's central spotters in New York made that call to trainer Jason Serbus, and in accordance with the league's concussion protocol, Smith's departure was mandatory.

''Mike didn't want to come out, but that's what was going to be done,'' coach Dave Tippett said. ''I'm interested to see how that one goes in an overtime in playoffs or something like that. We'll see how teams react to that one.''

The playoffs are still a month away, and teams already are not reacting well to concussion protocol for goalies, which is why it's one of the topics that general managers are expected to discuss at their annual March meeting beginning Monday in Boca Raton, Florida. Smith and New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist are among those who have been critical of the rule.

Other issues as GMs try to refine rules they've put in place in recent years include the offside rule, coaches' challenges, goalie equipment and goalie emergencies.

Video review is among the hottest topics, especially the time it takes. Major League Baseball recently instituted timing guidelines for umpires, and that could soon happen for hockey officials.

''That's probably maybe the No. 1 discussion,'' Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill said via phone Sunday. ''Other than getting the call right, it is the time frame. It's something we can't go seven, 10, 12 minutes to get it right. ... It is something where I think the call has to be done within a certain time frame to keep the game going.''

GMs also will discuss some controversial coach's challenges where a player's skate is off the ice and the play is ruled offside. It came up during a playoff series last year between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues and has been a subject of discussion at previous meetings.

Updates to the league's concussion protocol will be under the microscope after Smith and Lundqvist blasted the system as flawed. Connor McDavid and other skaters have expressed concerns that the rules could have a major impact come playoff time - and goalies are at the center of the debate.

''If there is an instance that takes place where you think there is a possible concussion, I think we need to look after that,'' Nill said. ''When you do that, there's a risk of a player coming in cold. I guess the answer to that for me sometimes, it's no different than if a goalie hurts his knee, he's coming out and the other guy's coming in cold.''

Goalie equipment and emergencies - where teams have to sign players to tryout contracts to back up for a game - are also on the agenda. After missing the past two meetings, George McPhee will attend as GM of the Vegas Golden Knights for the first time; owner Bill Foley's final expansion payment went through last week.

GMs said criteria for the June 21 expansion draft have been made clear, so there's no need for further clarification. Blind-side hits, which were discussed at the November meeting, and playoff formats aren't on the official agenda but may be brought up over the course of the three-day meeting.

Ken Holland of the Detroit Red Wings has suggested expanding the playoffs to nine or 10 teams in each conference with play-in games similar to MLB, and the strength of the Metropolitan Division this season - where the fourth-place team has more points than the Atlantic Division leader - has generated some questions.

''I don't know that they want to keep changing it, but this has got to be an impetus for at least a discussion when something happens like this where there's so many good teams in the one division,'' said Brian MacLellan of the league-leading Washington Capitals, who acknowledged it would be self-serving to propose a change.

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