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West update: Kings beat Jimmy Howard in his return

Detroit Red Wings v Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 13: Johan Franzen #93 of the Detroit Red Wings fights for the puck along the boards against Drew Doughty #8 of the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on March 13, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. The Kings won 5-2. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Stephen Dunn

On an action-packed Tuesday, it only makes sense to tie up some loose ends by covering the Western Conference developments in a quick-hit format.


  • To save time, read up here on Kari Lehtonen’s hot run and how the Dallas Stars expanded their Pacific Division lead with a 1-0 win against the Minnesota Wild.

  • Clearing up the other divisional race matters, the St. Louis Blues improved their lead in the Central even though the Chicago Blackhawks topped them 4-3 via a shootout. Check out highlights of that contest - which ended Jaroslav Halak’s eight-game winning streak - below.


  • Moving beyond the idle seventh-ranked Phoenix Coyotes, the eighth through 11th seeds are all locked up at 78 points in large part because of Tuesday’s games. The San Jose Sharks are currently in eighth place, but that’s only due to tie-breakers as the ninth-ranked Calgary Flames won 3-2 in overtime:

That game presented a little of the old and the new; Jarome Iginla and Logan Couture both hit the 30-goal mark - making it 11 seasons in a row for Iggy and two straight campaigns at that plateau for the young Sharks forward.

The contest was notable for two reasons beyond the standings impact: Jeff Carter’s empty-netter makes it five consecutive seasons with at least 20 goals while Jimmy Howard lost in his return, allowing four goals on 26 shots: