Jonathan Quick made 27 saves for his 392nd NHL win, surpassing Ryan Miller for the most ever by a U.S.-born goaltender, and the New York Rangers became the first team to 50 wins this season with an 8-5 victory against the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena on Saturday.

“You do everything you can to not think about it, but it’s there,” Quick said. “It’s a good feeling to get it over with and get it done and focus on what’s important -- winning the division and winning the conference.”

This season, there was no question. No doubt. No surprise.

Whereas it took until the final days of the 2022-23 regular season for the Florida Panthers to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- before embarking on a run that would take them to the Stanley Cup Final -- this season it was long assured. The Panthers, who spent the season battling the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, were a lock.

But even as the Panthers clinched their fifth straight trip to the postseason on Thursday, their postgame dressing room wasn’t exactly overflowing with joy. The coach, Paul Maurice, said he didn’t feel like talking about it and their stars were muted.

“I appreciate the questions and I’m just a grumpy old man,” Maurice said. “So I’ll answer them all them all tomorrow. I don’t feel like talking about good things right now.”

Marc-Andre Fleury still has that passion, the fire still burning inside, to borrow his expression. And that fire is not likely to be extinguished by the end of this season.

Inside a small office at TRIA Rink, the Minnesota Wild practice facility, Fleury spoke at length about his future and his long NHL career in an interview with NHL.com/fr. There was one major point that stood out during the half-hour long conversation: he's not planning on hanging up his mask.

"The door is more open today for a return than it was in September or October," Fleury said this week.

Washington Capitals defenseman Ethan Bear has entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.

Bear will be away from the team indefinitely while he receives care. The league and union, which jointly run the program, made the announcement Wednesday.

With his parents at the top of Mullett Arena in a suite, Josh Doan scored two goals, including the go-ahead tally, in his first NHL game, and the Arizona Coyotes defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-2 on Tuesday night.

Doan, son of the Coyotes' longtime captain and all-time goal leader Shane Doan, scored an unassisted goal in the second period to put Arizona ahead 2-1, backhanding the puck past Columbus netminder Elvis Merzlikins at close range. He scored the winner in the third period, deflecting the puck past Merzlikins right in front of the crease at the 8:29 mark.

"I almost missed it," Shane Doan, speaking on the Coyotes' postgame telecast on Scripps Sports, said of his son's first goal. "It's so cool."

Winnipeg Jets coach Rick Bowness will return to the bench for Tuesday's home game against the Edmonton Oilers.

Bowness traveled to Winnipeg from New York last Tuesday to receive treatment for what the team called "a minor medical procedure." Associate coach Scott Arniel guided the Jets to a 1-3-0 record in his absence.

Josh Doan, the son of former Coyotes captain Shane Doan, will make his NHL debut with Arizona on Tuesday night against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Coyotes recalled the 22-year-old forward from AHL Tucson on Monday. He leads the Roadrunners with 46 points (26 goals, 20 assists) through 62 games this season. He leads all AHL rookies in goals.

T.J. Oshie returned to the Washington Capitals' lineup Sunday, getting back just in time for the ceremony honoring his milestone of playing in 1,000 NHL games.

And more importantly, at a crucial juncture of the season, with his team trying desperately to make the playoffs.

Former NHL All-Star forward Rick Nash has been named general manager for Canada's national men's hockey team at this year's world championship, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday.

Among the committee members who selected Nash for the tournament, which will be held May 10-26 in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic, were St. Louis Blues president Doug Armstrong and former Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf.

The Arizona Coyotes' success at an upcoming land auction could determine whether they remain in the greater Phoenix area.

Earlier this month, the Arizona State Land Department Board of Appeals unanimously approved a $68.5 million appraisal of a 95-acre parcel of land in north Phoenix that Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo is expected to bid on as the location for the team's new arena. The land must be advertised publicly now for 10 weeks before the auction can take place, likely in mid-June.