Apparently nobody actually wants the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. Of the 5 teams sitting 6 through 10--separated by only 4 points--and battling for the final 3 spots, 3 of them played tonight, and all of them lost. In the West, the Kings looked to stay on track as they were at home against the Northwest Division-leading Canucks. An offensive outburst in L.A. gives us Thursday's Game of the Night:
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8At least for tonight, you can say that the Kings broke out of their recent offensive slump, and after some questioning, they show once again why they should be a true contender in the playoffs.
Jonathan Bernier was making his 3rd start of the year, his 2nd-straight, and the Kings gave him plenty of cushion early. They had a 3-0 lead after the 1st period, and were up 5-0 at the 10-minute mark of the 2nd in front of a sold-out Staples Center.
For the Kings: Dustin Brown had a hat trick, and 1 goal each came from Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Alexander Frolov, Michal Handzus, and Jarret Stoll.
Vancouver scored 2 quick goals later in the 2nd period, to put a little hesitation in the Kings, cutting the lead to 5-2.
Brown would score his 3rd of the night 3:30 into the 3rd to make it 6-2, but Kyle Wellwood would answer for the Canucks over a minute later to make it a 3-goal game again. 6:38 into the period, Justin Williams would all but put it away, making it 7-3 L.A.
Wellwood would get 2 goals for Vancouver, and Ryan Kesler also tallied for the Canucks.
Roberto Luongo played the whole game for the Canucks, allowing 8 goals on 29 shots. Jonathan Bernier made 27 saves to move to 3-0-0 on the year, allowing a total of 4 goals in those 3 starts.
The Canucks remain 3rd in the West with 96 points and their magic number to clinch remains at 1.
The Kings stay 7th, but with 94 points, they are now a much more comfortable 7 points ahead of the 9th-place Flames and are only a point behind Detroit for 6th and 2 behind Nashville for 5th with 5 games remaining.
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2I'm going to be nice here and not use the word 'boring,' but let's just say that a game featuring a team fighting for their playoff lives going against the top offensive team in the NHL should be a bit more up-beat.
But the Capitals did what they had to do to finish off a potential first-round opponent in the Thrashers.
The 1st and 2nd periods saw a total of 13 shots each, with both teams trading 7-6 advantages. The 1st goal of the game was scored by Nicklas Backstrom on a deflection of a Mike Green shot with 58 seconds left in the 1st period.
Tim Stapleton would tie it for Atlanta with 2:09 remaining in the 2nd period, giving the Thrashers life as they had done a pretty good job holding the Capitals in check for the first couple of periods.
But Atlanta couldn't slip the big goal they needed past Semyon Varlamov.
Matt Bradley did squeak a big goal past Ondrej Pavelec 9:46 into the 3rd period, and that was all she wrote.
Pavelec finished with 22 saves for Atlanta, while Varlamov stopped 19 for Washington.
The Capitals have already wrapped up top spot in the East, and they now have 112 points with 5 games remaining and 3 of those at the Verizon Center, including one more against Atlanta. It was the 50th win for the Capitals, and they have an 8 point lead over the Sharks for the best record in the NHL.
The Thrashers loss keeps them in 9th with 80 points but still only 2 points back of Philadelphia, Montreal, and Boston, thanks to the Flyers and the Bruins falling on this night. They have 4 games remaining while those 3 other teams each have 5. The Rangers, who sit 2 points behind Atlanta in 10th, have 6 games left.
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Panthers 1 Bruins 0
Florida's Scott Clemmesen shuts down Boston with a 36-save performance, and Keith Ballard scored in the 1st period to give the Panthers all they would need. Boston has 82 points and they remain tied for 6th with Philadelphia and Montreal, but sit in the 8th spot because of fewer wins. Florida is 13th in the East with 74 points.
Sabres 2 Maple Leafs 4
Toronto holds off the Northeast Division-leading Sabres at Air Canada Center. Buffalo remains at 96 points, 2nd in the East, a point ahead of Pittsburgh. They hold a 5 point lead over Ottawa for tops in the division. Toronto is last in the East with 71 points.
Flyers 4 Islanders 6
New York puts up 6 on the Flyers and they beat them for the 1st time in their last 16 tries, going 0-12-3 in their last 15 against Philadelphia. The Flyers sit 6th in the East with 82 points but are only 2 points ahead of 9th-place Atlanta. The Islanders are 12th in the East with 74 points.
Hurricanes 3 Senators 4 (SO)
Ottawa holds off Carolina in a shootout to win their 6th-straight, clinch and playoff spot, and pull within 5 points of Buffalo for the lead in the Northeast Division. They have 91 points and sit 5th in the East, 3 back of New Jersey for 3rd, but Ottawa only has 4 games remaining while the Devils have 6 and the Sabres have 5. Carolina is 11th in the East with 76 points, 6 points behind 8th, but they only have 4 games left as well.
Blue Jackets 2 Red Wings 3
Detroit keeps rolling as their win gives them their 7th-straight and they now have 95 points on the season. They are 6th in the West, a point behind Nashville for 5th and 5 points behind Phoenix for 4th, with a game-in-hand on each. They are a point ahead of the Kings who sit in 7th. Columbus is 14th in the West with 77 points.
Blues 2 Predators 3
Nashville holds their lead over Detroit in the West, collecting 96 points on the year. They are 5th in the West but are only a point up on Detroit on 2 up on L.A., each of whom have 2 games-in-hand on the Predators. They are, however, still next in line to clinch a spot. St Louis is 10th in the West with 83 points, 7 points back with only 5 games left.
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Friday's Schedule:
Blackhawks @ Devils, 7:00, NHL Network
Canadiens @ Flyers, 7:00
Rangers @ Lightning, 7:30
Sharks @ Wild, 8:00
Oilers @ Stars, 8:30
Flames @ Avalanche, 9:30
Canucks @ Ducks, 10:00, Prime Ticket
