There's always a Winner and a Loser in the NHL, and this is a new nightly look at some of the winners and losers in the biggest games and biggest situations across the league.
Winners
Ilya Kovalchuk scores goal No. 400: If you're going to hit a milestone and a nice round number like 400 career goals, there's probably no better way to do it than having that goal be the only one for your team in a 1-0 win, and that's exactly what played out for Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night as they knocked off the Ottawa Senators. Big night for Kovalchuk, and a big night for the Devils as they keep pace in the East and keep a hold on the No. 6 playoff spot.
[Related: Devils 1, Senators 0]
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Florida Panthers: The Panthers spent most of the night running around in their own end of the ice trying to hold off the Flyers, but as they've done all season, they found a way to defy the odds and scratch out a 2-1 win in Philadelphia, allowing them to open up a five-point lead on the Washington Capitals for the top spot in the Southeast Division, and pull back to within two points of the Boston Bruins for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
[Related: Panthers 2, Flyers 1]
Los Angles Kings: The Kings were 5-2 winners over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night, picking up a big win in the playoff race with a rather impressive performance against a divisional rival, nearly doubling them on the shot chart and getting a couple of special teams goals, including a shorthanded tally from Mike Richards and a power play goal from Anze Kopitar . The Kings were able to keep pace with the Stars and Coyotes, both of whom picked up points on Tuesday night.
Speaking of which...
[Related: Carter's early impact with the Kings]
Dallas Stars: With first place on the line in the wild Pacific Division, the Stars ended up gaining the extra point over the Phoenix Coyotes with a 4-3 shootout win. Michael Ryder scored a pair of goals in regulation, giving him 31 on the season, while Mike Ribeiro scored the lone goal in the shootout to give the Stars the extra point in the standings, keeping their hold on first place.
[Related: Stars 4, Coyotes 3]
Losers
Phoenix Coyotes: Of course, if the Stars were winners in that game, the Coyotes have to be losers for the night, not only because they lost the extra point, but also because they risk losing Shane Doan to a suspension for his elbow to the face of Stars forward Jamie Benn .
[Related: Doan elbows Benn in the face]
San Jose Sharks: What on each has happened to this team? Their second half collapse continued on Tuesday night with the aforementioned 5-2 loss in Los Angeles. Bad times in San Jose right now.
[Related: Kings 5, Sharks 2]
The Winnipeg Jets road woes: The Jets playoff chances took a pretty significant blow on Tuesday night, and if they do end up falling short this season they will have to look no further than their inability to win on the road.
After losing to the Penguins, 8-4, their road mark for the season dropped to 11-20-4, and of their remaining nine games … six are on the road.
[Related: Penguins 8, Jets 4 -- Another five-point night for Malkin]
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