The West just got wilder Jakob Silfverberg Jersey , and are going all-in on their late-season NHL playoff push.The Blue Jackets followed up last week’s additions of Ottawa forwards Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel by acquiring New York Rangers defenseman Adam McQuaid and New Jersey goalie Keith Kinkaid before Monday’s NHL trade deadline. Those moves were then overshadowed by a series of trades made by some of the top contenders in the Western Conference.A year after reaching the Stanley Cup Final, the Vegas Golden Knights not only acquired Ottawa forward Mark Stone but also reached an agreement to sign the pending unrestricted free agent and five-time 20-goal-scorer to a contract extension.“You hope it brings something,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “He’s one of the top players in this league and he should definitely bring a lot of energy to our room.”The Golden Knights are 3-9-1 in their past 13 and are third in the Pacific Division.The Central Division-leading Winnipeg Jets completed six trades, most notably acquiring center Kevin Hayes by sending forward Brendan Lemieux and a first-round pick to the retooling New York Rangers. Hayes has topped 40 points in four of his five NHL seasons, and projected to take over the second-line center spot alongside Patrik Laine.“It’s obviously tough to leave New York, but I’m excited to join the Jets,” Hayes said. “I mean, everybody knows how good they are and the type of players they have on their team.”Predators general manager David Poile was certainly aware of the moves being made by his nearest competitors, but said they had no influence on him striking two deals to upgrade Nashville’s offense.“You can’t help but keep an eye on that. We got all the TVs in the room and you see what someone is doing,” Poile said. “But I think we have to be focused on ourselves.”Nashville acquired forward Mikael Granlund in a trade that sent Kevin Fiala to Minnesota, and then added power forward Wayne Simmonds in a deal that sent Ryan Hartman to Philadelphia.The Predators, 3-4-1 in their past eight, began the day a point behind the Jets.“You look at the top of the food chain in the West, each team added some players. It will be a challenge going forward http://www.officialducks.com/authentic-adidas-john-gibson-jersey ,” San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson said, assessing the transformed landscape.Wilson improved his lineup a day earlier by acquiring Gustav Nyquist in a deal with Detroit.The Colorado Avalanche, who began the day ninth in the West and a point out of contention, attempted to fortify their playoff chances by acquiring forward Derick Brassard from Florida. Brassard is a 12-year-veteran who is switching teams for the second time in three weeks after being dealt to Florida by Pittsburgh.Overall, there were 20 trades completed involving 32 players, the fewest since 30 players changed teams at the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season’s deadline.Aside from Columbus, the most notable move in the East involved the Boston Bruins. They acquired forward Marcus Johansson from New Jersey for a 2019 second-round and 2020 fourth-round pick.Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen was initially considered a seller leading up to the deadline. He instead continued a buying spree by shoring up Columbus’ blue line and goaltending depth.“I think Jarmo — and that’s what I love about him — I think he’s got some jam. He wants to win,” coach John Tortorella said. “He’s letting the team know, and the team has heard it loud and clear, that he’s worked hard to upgrade our roster.”Just as notable, the Blue Jackets didn’t trade forward Artemi Panarin and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, two players eligible to become unrestricted free agents this summer.Kekalainen denied the notion the Blue Jackets were going “all-in,” by noting the team has several young developing prospects in its system. And yet, the trades leave the Blue Jackets with just two selections in this year’s draft.He also struck a hard line when it came to rejecting offers for Panarin and Bobrovsky.“We would’ve moved them if it would’ve made sense for now and into the future Authentic Josh Manson Jersey , and it didn’t. So here they are,” Kekalainen said.The Blue Jackets have won seven of 10 and jumped into third place of the Metropolitan Division, a point ahead of Pittsburgh, which is currently ninth and out of the playoff picture.Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan was intrigued by Kekalainen’s approach.“He got put in a difficult situation with two of his real high-end players that weren’t willing to commit to re-sign,” MacLellan said. “I think you’ve got to give him credit for going all-in on it and seeing what happens.”The Stanley Cup champion Capitals didn’t make any moves Monday, after upgrading their roster last week by acquiring forward Carl Hagelin from Los Angeles and defenseman Nick Jensen from Detroit.The Penguins made two trades in shoring up an injury-depleted defense. They acquired Chris Wideman from Florida, and Erik Gudbranson in a deal that sent Tanner Pearson to Vancouver.The league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning stood pat. Others contending teams that were quiet included the Metropolitan-leading New York Islanders and the Carolina Hurricanes, who are attempting to snap a nine-year playoff drought — the NHL’s longest active streak. Carolina holds the conference’s second and final wild-card berth.The rebuilding Senators added to their haul of prospects and draft picks by acquiring defenseman Erik Brannstrom, center Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 second-round selection in trading Stone to Vegas.The 19-year-old Brannstrom was the key to the deal. He was selected with the 15th pick in the 2017 draft and has seven goals and 21 assists as a rookie with the AHL Chicago Wolves.“He was undoubtedly the best prospect available at the trade deadline and in addition to his talent, he is a natural born leader,” Senators GM Pierre Dorion said. NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Mackenzie Blackwood has provided an expected lift for the New Jersey Devils.Blackwood posted his second straight shutout, stopping 25 shots in the Devils’ 4-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday.He became the first rookie goalie in franchise history to post back-to-back shutouts.Blackwood is 3-1 since joining the Devils on Dec. 18th. He blanked the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 on Saturday.The Devils have won three straight (all Blackwood wins) for the first time since their first three games of the season and Blackwood is a major reason.“The guys are not so tense around here anymore,” Blackwood said. “It doesn’t mean they are complacent. You can see their mood rise.“It seems like the chances that weren’t going in because their sticks were too tight Ondrej Kase Jersey , or mojo or the hockey gods were on the other side. But it’s not going to be perfect forever. “It’s just the way you handle them.”Brian Boyle, Miles Wood, Sami Vatanen and Pavel Zacha scored for the Devils. It was Zacha’s second goal in as many games.Anders Nilsson stopped 19 shots for Vancouver.New Jersey coach John Hynes believes Blackwood has the perfect personality for a young goaltender.“To his credit since he (Blackwood) has been recalled he has the right demeanor,” Hynes said. “He’s said the right things and done the right things and has a strong work ethic. Now the challenge for him is it has to become every day.“You can see he has the talent. Now it’s about living the right way to give himself the best opportunity to perform.”The Canucks had four power-play chances, but managed only three shots on goal.“They (Devils) won the special teams battle,” said Vancouver defenseman Alexander Edler. “If you want to win hockey games, you have to put pucks on the net. They did a great job keeping us out of the lanes and blocking shots.”The game featured two of the top five players taken in the 2017 draft.New Jersey’s Nico Hischier went first overall and has 26 points in his second season in the league. Hischier, who turns 20 on Friday, had 52 points a year ago.Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson was the fifth selection of the draft and has 39 points in his first NHL season. Pettersson outshot Hischier, 3-2 on Monday.Vatanen’s power-play goal early in the third period made it 3-0 Devils.Boyle gave the Devils a 1-0 lead when he scored off a rebound at 12:03 of the first period. That score was followed by Wood’s power-play goal later in the period for a 2-0 cushion.The Canucks are 0-5-1 in their past six games against New Jersey and 3-6-2 in their past 11. The two teams meet again March 15th in Vancouver.NOTES: Devils F Taylor Hall missed his third game with a lower-body injury. He leads the team with 37 points. Hall was replaced at LW by Jesper Bratt on New Jersey’s top line. … Vancouver is on its second six-game road trip of the season after getting wins in Edmonton and Calgary. … Vancouver F Brock Boeser skated in his 100th NHL game. … New Jersey was without G Cory Schneider (lower body) and F Marcus Johansson (upper body). Devils G Mackenzie Blackwood was the NHL’s third star of the week on Monday after going 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .975 save percentage in two games.