The Vegas Golden Knights remained one of the hottest teams in the NHL with Saturday's 4-3 overtime win on the road, despite dealing with a string of injuries.

Vegas' victory over the Edmonton Oilers was their eighth win in nine, pulling them clear atop the Pacific Division in the process.

The close-fought battle saw the Oilers equalise on three separate occasions after falling behind to goals from Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev and Jonathan Marchessault, before Nicholas Roy put home the winner 2:26 into overtime.

Vegas were missing goaltender Logan Thompson and veteran winger Reilly Smith through recent injuries, adding to a longer list of unavailable players, but they figured out how to keep getting it done, becoming the first team in NHL history to win four games in a row with four different goaltenders.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy pointed to his team's "next man up" mentality, calling it a "good road win", while veteran defenseman Brayden McNabb added it was even better to get it done against a close division rival.

"It's a big win, a big road trip. They were sneaking up on us [in the standings]," he said, with the Oilers having won their previous five games.

"It felt a little bit like a playoff game, for sure. They're a great team, they've got a lot of dangerous skill, for sure, but for the most part we played pretty well and buried some chances.

"We've had injuries throughout the year, but guys are prepared and ready to step in. We've got great depth and great goaltending, and it showed tonight."

The result leaves Vegas on 98 points for the season, also leading the Western Conference ahead of the Los Angeles Kings (94), the Minnesota Wild (93), the Dallas Stars (92) and the Oilers (91) with nine games remaining.

Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery hailed his side for rising to the challenge of a tough schedule to beat the Montreal Canadiens.

A 4-2 win at TD Garden marked a fifth consecutive victory for the Bruins and saw the team hit the 55-win mark, their second-highest all-time total behind only the 57 wins secured by the 1970-71 side.

The Bruins' fine run has highlighted their resilience, having endured a two-game skid prior to their current streak, with no side in the NHL currently having a longer win streak.

Having already secured their playoff berth, the Bruins are looking to maintain their momentum heading into the postseason and Montgomery was delighted by the result, though admitting his team were not at their best.

"Happy that we got the two points. It's a tough league to win in," he told reporters after Thursday's win. "I know we've won a lot this year, but it really is.

"With the schedule as challenging as it is right now – we're playing four games a week, and it's four in six nights consecutively for five weeks – we're not going to have the most energy we usually do have.

"I don't think we skated very well tonight, but it's understandable at times. You've got to give credit to those guys. We find a way to win hockey games.

"It's not an easy league to win in, and we find ways to do it. That's the positive side of things."

David Pastrnak was again on form for the Bruins, hitting his 49th goal of the season to represent his best campaign and tie him with Ken Hodge for eighth-highest scorer all-time for the Bruins with 289.

The 26-year-old was not focused on his display, however, and simply enjoyed the rivalry clash against the Canadiens.

"This is the kind of game where the only thing you think about is getting the win," Pastrnak said.

"These games against Montreal never get old. It doesn't really matter where in the standings each team is. It brings so much history.JI

"It's a big win. When Montreal and the Bruins play, both teams are gonna play hard."

The Carolina Hurricanes secured their first back-to-back 100-point seasons in franchise history on Tuesday as they scored three in the third period to defeat the New York Rangers 3-2 on the road.

With the victory, the Hurricanes improved their record to 46-15-8 – trailing only the 54-11-5 Boston Bruins for the league's top mark – and 69 games is the fewest needed to reach 100 points in franchise history.

Adding to their historic night, Carolina set another franchise record with their 10th third-period comeback of the season.

Despite the action-packed finish, it was a defensive grind through two periods as an early goal from New York's Tyler Motte was the only score heading into the last.

Jalen Chatfield equalised nine minutes into the third period, but Kaapo Kakko put the Rangers back in front 2-1 just 31 seconds later.

The hectic scoring sequence was not over, as Stefan Noesen made it 2-2 only 18 seconds after the restart, setting up Teuvo Teravainen for the Hurricanes' winner with 2:33 remaining.

Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said he was inspired by the way his team refused to drop their heads after going down.

"I thought it was a great effort, right from the start," he told reporters. "We didn't come off of it. We had a game plan and the guys knew what we needed to do. 

"They've got a high-offense team, so we were trying to limit their chances. Everybody – all 20 guys – contributed in this win. 

"Even though it wasn't looking good for most of the game, we were down, then we tied it up and they got another right away, I just loved the way we [shook it off], next shift. 

"It was great to tie it up and then get the late one. We got what we deserved tonight, for sure."

Offseason acquisition Brent Burns also got in on the history-making fun, adding to his franchise record for points by a defenseman (53) with the game-winning assist, and he pointed to Brind'Amour's system as the catalyst for his terrific year.

"The system has been great," he said. "We play with a deep team and we just roll. It's been a lot of fun. 

"I've said it before, but it's a great group, and a special group. It's been a lot of fun to try and come in and find a place."

Chatfield pointed to how previous comebacks have given the Hurricanes "more confidence" when faced with difficult situations, and they trust what they are doing as a unit.

"We know what we've got in this locker room, and we know how we want to play every night," he said.

"To be able to match up against these guys, another great team, [is great]. We lost the first two to them, so to be able to get this one feels nice. We just have to keep going from there."

Evander Kane underlined his value to the Edmonton Oilers with a hat-trick in their 6-4 win over the Seattle Kraken but he was more pre-occupied with what the victory meant to their playoffs hopes.

The Western Conference playoff chase is tight, with the Oilers edging ahead of the Kraken into third in the Pacific Division with Saturday's victory where they scored twice in every period in Seattle.

Edmonton are 39-23-8 on the back of three straight wins, just ahead of the Kraken (38-24-7) in the final automatic playoff spot from the Pacific Division. The Las Vegas Golden Knights (42-21-6) and Los Angeles Kings (40-20-9) lead the division.

Kane's hat-trick came from only three shots, marking his second three-goal performance of the season and fifth in his past 49 appearances.

"It's nice to help contribute to an important win," Kane said. "Big points with the division so tight.

"This is probably the tightest I've seen it with respect to the entire conference, both divisions, where you can literally be in first place in the Western Conference, or you could be in a Wild Card spot within a matter of a week. It's still tight.

"There are still very important games down the stretch left to be played, and I think it's a great opportunity for our group to enjoy that type of challenge and get you ready for the post-season."

"I've been in and out of the line-up with injuries all year, so just trying to get into some rhythm heading into the playoffs, and tonight definitely helps that."

Kane has only played in 29 of the Oilers' 70 games this campaign due to injuries, with coach Jay Woodcroft delighted to see him back at close to his best.

"Happy for him," Woodcroft said. "He's a warrior. He plays through injuries. He's just getting up and running again just because of his injuries and whatnot.

"It's kind of been a start-and-stop season for him, but he's been all around the puck in any game that he's played and for three to go in for him tonight, I was happy for him."

Kane's return to form and fitness has aided star man Connor McDavid, who had a goal and two assists, bringing up 134 points for the season.

"That's part of my job is to be productive for this group," Kane said. "Obviously we have two of the best players in the world, but they can't carry a team and win a championship. You need everyone pulling their weight.

"I've been in and out of the line-up with injuries all year, so just trying to get into some rhythm heading into the playoffs, and tonight definitely helps that."

McDavid's 134 points are the seventh-most points by a player in the past 30 years, while his performance was his 20th three-point game of the season.

Zach Hyman also added a goal and an assist, recording his first 30-goal season. He is the fourth Oilers player to reach that mark this season, the first time the franchise has achieved that since 1989-90.

Dallas Stars coach Peter DeBoer was thrilled with his team's efforts after Monday's 5-2 victory saw them sweep their two-game road series against the Seattle Kraken.

It took less than six minutes for the Stars to jump ahead by two, with Evgenii Dadonov's early opener followed shortly after by Jamie Benn's power-play goal.

The power-play unit consisting of Benn, Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson were dynamic, as Pavelski and Robertson assisted Benn's goal, before Benn turned provider for Pavelski early in the second period, and Benn nabbed another assist when he set up Robertson for the third power-play goal of the night to seal things.

Stars center Wyatt Johnson – who assisted the opener and scored his side's fourth goal – highlighted the impact of getting such incredible production from their power-plays.

"It's huge," he said. "Especially when you're on the road – just getting like three goals on the power play, it's always, always a big help."

Coach DeBoer called it "an important four points" as the Stars hold onto a three-point buffer atop the Central division, and sit one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.

"You look at the standings and we're in a fight for first in the division, first in the conference," he said. "[Seattle are] in a battle for playoff positioning. 

"They've been playing great all year, so this was a real test for us coming in here for two games and I thought our group really responded."

On the other side, the Kraken blew a golden opportunity to establish themselves as one of the West's top sides, getting leapfrogged by Dallas, the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings during their current three-game losing streak.

"Bottom line, we didn't get job done," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. "At the end of the day that's what matters.

"We've been a group that's been able to turn the page and go back to the next job at hand. This group has to be able to do that again."

Vegas Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault hailed goaltender Jonathan Quick after recording his first shutout for his new side in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Quick only joined VGK earlier this month via trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets, making 33 saves in the win where they scored in every period from Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Paul Cotter and Brett Howden goals.

The veteran goaltender is 3-0-0 since joining the Golden Knights, playing his part as the Hurricanes were shut out for the first time since November 23.

"Quick was unbelievable tonight," Marchessault told reporters. "We're able to get him the shutout. That's something the team should be really proud to do for him.

"It's easy to get a guy like that going in your locker room. He's such a good veteran. He's been around for a long time and we're lucky to have him."

The win was 40-20-6 Vegas' fifth from their past six games, while it snapped the Hurricanes' four-game winning streak, leaving them 43-13-8.

Marchessault added: "I thought we were pretty good. They had a strong first period but I thought we kept a lot of their chances to the outside. Definitely a lot of positives today."

The result sees VGK improve their record to 40-20-6 to remain top of the Pacific Division, clinching their second win in the third game of their five-game road trip.

The Golden Knights won 4-3 in overtime at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, having lost 2-1 to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, with games against the St Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers to come.

"That's a pretty tough road trip," Marchessault said. "To get two wins out of those three teams is really good for our group.

"We've got a few guys down so we need guys to step up which is what we're doing now.

"We've got to be ready to go back out there tomorrow and do the same thing."

The Colorado Avalanche failed another test against an NHL playoff contender, losing 5-2 to the Los Angeles Kings to leave head coach Jared Bednar frustrated.

The Kings recorded their fifth straight win, improving their record to 38-20-8 to sit second in the Pacific Division.

But the Avs are third in the Central Division with a 35-21-6 record, having lost four of their past five games, all against sides in the playoffs contention.

"There's another level of determination and passion that we can play with, if we want to win against the good teams," Bednar told reporters.

"It's deflating, because you feel like you're right there and you know they're a difficult team to score against."

Adrian Kempe opened the scoring in the first period and Gabriel Vilardi doubled their advantage at 17:10.

Evan Rodrigues halved the deficit, deflecting in Samuel Girard's point shot at 14:59 of the second period. But Kempe restored the Kings' two-goal lead early in the third.

Nathan MacKinnon made it 3-2 with a snap shot at 4:24 on the power play, only for Phillip Danault to score twice to seal victory for the Kings, the latter into an empty net.

Avs defenseman Cale Makar reiterated Bednar's sentiment, with Colorado's postseason hopes getting tight.

"We should have approached this like a playoff game tonight," Makar said. "Felt like we knew the type of team they are.

"We know that they're so systematically sound that it tends to frustrate teams when they sit back and don't allow you to get in their zone."

Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason hailed goal-tender Marc-Andre Fleury as they extended their points streak to 11 games with a 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.

The Wild improved their recent run to 9-0-2, despite losing in an over-time shoot-out to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, to continue their postseason push.

Marcus Foligno grabbed a goal and an assist, while Frederick Gaudreau, Ryan Hartman and Mason Shaw also scored, but Fleury made 46 saves and earned praise from Evason.

"Our goal-tender won the hockey game for us," Evason told reporters.

"It was obvious what happened against Calgary, [Flames goal-tender] Markstrom won it probably for them. Goal-tenders come up big and Fleury was huge for us tonight."

The Wild may have boosted their playoffs case but they were left with an injury worry with top scorer Kiriil Kaprizov hitting the ice hard and exiting the game in the third period.

"I've not been in the rooms, so I don’t know yet," Evason said about Kaprizov's status. "He was able to skate off, so if there's a positive, that was one of them."

Evason hailed center Oskar Sundqvist who provided two assists, having only joined the Wild in a trade from the Detroit Red Wings last week.

"We liked Sundqvist's game tonight," Evason said. "His stick was real good. He made a couple of nice passes last night, we just didn’t convert.

"He's got a skill set that combined with his size and ability to get up the ice and finish checks, hopefully he can continue to generate offensive opportunities for us."

Jonathan Quick was reported to be unhappy with the trade that took him away from the Los Angeles Kings this week, but he was soon back at the top of the Pacific Division.

Goaltender Quick was included in a trade deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets as the Kings moved for Joonas Korpisalo.

A two-time Stanley Cup champion in LA, Quick paid the price for a difficult season but was said to have remained in the city amid frustration at his departure.

Rather than heading to Columbus, he will instead make the shorter trip to Las Vegas after the Golden Knights agreed their own trade with the Blue Jackets.

Starting Golden Knights netminder Logan Thompson is out injured, potentially presenting the opportunity for Quick to come straight into the team.

The veteran's new Golden Knights team-mates are tied with the Kings at the top of the division.

Vegas will play the Kings once more this season, on April 6.

Patrick Kane described making his debut for the New York Rangers as "pretty cool" but saw considerable room for improvement after a 5-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

Kane's trade this week from the Blackhawks marked the end of an era, with his 16-season stint in Chicago having included three Stanley Cup triumphs.

The first overall pick in the 2007 draft has still been performing at a high level in this campaign, ranking second at Chicago this season in goals (16) and points (45).

He has left a team at the foot of the Central Division for the Rangers, who sit third in the Metropolitan Division, and Kane received a warm welcome at Madison Square Garden.

"It was awesome. The crowd and coming out for warm-ups and the pre-game introduction, just the first game as a Ranger, it was a pretty cool experience," Kane said.

"Obviously I would have liked to play a little bit better and come out with a win, but hopefully it will come.

"I haven't played in a little bit, so I'm maybe a little bit rusty, but excited to get feeling good with this team.

"I'm excited to be here and excited to get better and play better for my teammates."

It was his first game since February 22, with Kane unable to prevent the Rangers (35-18-9) sliding to a loss to the Senators (31-26-4).

Rangers coach Gerard Gallant, quoted on the NHL website, said: "There was some good and there was a lot of bad, but there was some real good stuff too.

"They were good five-on-five for the most part, but I thought the power play hurt us, just trying to be too pretty and too many passes. Bottom line is you have to put the puck in the net, and we didn't do that."

Kane is hoping for better against the Boston Bruins on Saturday and over coming games as he begins to find his way.

"It'll be nice to settle in, get a couple of practices and kind of understand the way they want to play systematically, with the puck, offensive zone, things like that," he said. "They haven't given me too much yet, just telling me to go out there and play."

Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery has learned to normalise the success of his team this season, even as they made NHL history on Thursday.

In beating the Buffalo Sabres 7-1, the Bruins improved to 48-8-5 and 101 points for the year.

The Bruins passed 100 points in their 61st game, beating the previous record set by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens, who reached that mark in 62 games.

But Montgomery was relatively unmoved by the achievement, having grown used to his brilliant team setting the benchmark over the course of the campaign.

"For me personally, it doesn't mean that much," the Boston coach said. "We try to stay in the moment, and we've been doing that.

"We started off 11-1, and I was like, 'man, that's unreal,' and then you catch yourself and you go back into the moment, and we've probably gone 11-1 every 12 games to have the record we have.

"It's been really amazing to watch them want to be great, because with the schedule and everything, it's really impressive."

The latest win came on an eventful day for the Bruins, who tied David Pastrnak to an eight-year, $90million extension earlier on Thursday.

Pastrnak then had a goal and two assists against the Sabres just hours later.

The Bruins also traded for forward Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings ahead of Friday's deadline.

The Los Angeles Kings have traded goaltender Jonathan Quick to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

According to widespread reports, the Kings moved to push through the deal late on Tuesday.

The package is said to include defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo moving the opposite way.

It comes on the back of three-time Stanley Cup winner Patrick Kane moving from the Chicago Blackhawks to the New York Rangers in another high-profile trade.

Quick had played close to 750 games for the Kings, whom he started his career with in the 2007-08 season, and has been part of two Stanley Cup title-winning squads.

It is the end of an era in Chicago with the Blackhawks sending superstar Patrick Kane to the New York Rangers.

The trade, which had been expected for days, was reported by several media outlets on Tuesday.

In return for the three-time Stanley Cup winner, the Rangers are sending the Blackhawks a 2023 second-round draft pick and a fourth-round pick. The second-round selection will become a first-rounder in either 2024 or 2025 if the Rangers reach this year's Eastern Conference Finals.

Kane leaves the Blackhawks as one of the greatest players in franchise history.

He was instrumental to their dynasty in the 2010s, helping the club to Stanley Cup titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015. He scored the championship-clinching goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime of Game 6 of the 2010 Finals, while winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs in 2013.

The 34-year-old Kane had spent his entire 16-season NHL career with the Blackhawks after being selected first overall in the 2007 draft.

The nine-time All-Star ranks second all-time in franchise history with 1,225 points, while his 446 goals are third-most by a Blackhawk. He also ranks third in franchise history in games played (1,161) and fourth in power-play goals (122).

As a 19-year-old rookie in 2007-08, Kane made an immediate impact in the NHL, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's top first-year player.

Eight years later in 2015-16, Kane won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP as well as the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion.

He is still performing at a high level, ranking second on Chicago this season in goals (16) and points (45), but the Blackhawks have the second-fewest points in the Western Conference and are in full rebuild mode.

Kane is in the final year of an eight-year, $84million contract he signed in 2014 and had a no-trade clause, so he had a choice in where he could be traded.

With the Rangers, who are in third place in the Metropolitan Division, he will be reunited with Artemi Panarin, who leads New York with 67 points.

Kane and Panarin were team-mates in Chicago for two seasons – including Kane's MVP and scoring champion season of 2015-16.

Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand says they could not "care less about any regular-season records" as hype swirls about breaking the long-standing NHL points record.

The NHL-leading Bruins possess a 43-8-5 record through 56 games, putting them on track for 133 points which would eclipse the record during an 80-game season of 132 points set by the Montreal Canadiens in 1976-77.

Boston are also on pace for 63 wins which would surpass the single-season record of 62 victories held by both the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning.

But Marchand downplayed the significance of those milestones within the playing group who were focused on bigger targets.

"People have talked a lot about some of these records, that we could potentially hit or we have hit," Marchand told ESPN.

"Nobody cares about those in this room. We couldn't care less about any of these regular-season records because they really don't mean anything.

"Before we were going through this season, if you asked any of the guys on this team who owned any of those records, nobody would know, because nobody cares, because it's not about the regular season.

"As soon as somebody brings it up, it's in one ear and out the other."

Marchand added that lifting the Stanley Cup was the goal, rather than records or finishing atop the standings after the regular season.

"If you win the Presidents' Trophy but you don't win the Cup, nobody cares," he said. "That's what we know on this team."

David Pastrnak became the fifth Bruins player to score 40 goals in consecutive seasons as the Bruins remained on pace for a history-making season with Monday's 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators.

Pastrnak scored twice, breaking the second-period tie to move beyond the 40-goal mark for the third time in his career.

The win improved the NHL-best Bruins' record to 43-8-5, extending their current win streak to four games.

Boston are currently on pace for 62 wins, which would match the record held by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Bruins are also on pace for 133 points, which would exceed the record held by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens.

Boston also tied the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers for the fewest games to reach 90 points in NHL history.

Bruins center David Krejci, who brought up his 1000th game, said the challenge for the team was to not mentally let standards slip.

"We're at that point in the season where it's mental," Krejci told reporters. "We all know what we can do in this room, and we've got to be mentally prepared for each game.

"We hit a little tough patch maybe a couple of weeks ago, but we're a good team. We've got good guys on the team, and we talk about it.

"Like I said, it's mental. We've just got to get ready for those games. We've got to stay sharp because it is not easy.

"This is the time of the year that if you let up, it can get away from you pretty easily, so we've got to stick together, grind it out and be mentally sharp."