Caps Clinch #1 in East, Fall to Flames

None of the 6 games on Sunday really deserves the Game of the Night, but since I have to pick, I'm going to go with a Western Conference battle between the Avalanche and the Sharks in San Jose:

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Colorado's road to the playoffs got a little bit more slippery tonight with a loss against the Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks.

Devin Setoguchi, Jed Ortmeyer, Dan Boyle, and then Setoguchi again tallied for San Jose, while Kevin Porter scored for the Avalanche and Peter Mueller scored twice.

The Sharks had a 1-0 lead after the 1st period, only to see Colorado score 2 straight in the 2nd. Ortmeyer's goal late in the 2nd period brought the game to a 2-2 tie heading to the 3rd.

It was 3-3 in the 3rd when Setoguchi's 2nd of the night with less than 6 minutes remaining in regulation put the Sharks up 4-3.

Craig Anderson made 28 saves for Colorado, as Thomas Greiss got the start for San Jose and helped the Sharks survive with 42 saves, his 7th win of the season.

Colorado remains at 89 points and sits in the 8th and final playoff spot in the West. They are only 4 points up on the the 9th-place Flames with 7 games left, and have a game-in-hand on Calgary. They are 1 point back of 7th, 2 back of 6th, and 3 back of 5th.

San Jose has already clinched a spot as they sit 1st in the West with 104 points, 5 points behind the Capitals for the best record in the league.

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A terrible start tonight for the Capitals doomed them as they could never come back from a 4-0 1st period deficit at the Verizon Center.

Calgary came into the game knowing full well that they needed this one, and that it wasn't going to be easy against the best home team in the NHL. The Flames were shutout by Boston on Saturday and lost on Long Island Thursday, greatly hurting their playoff chances. They weren't about to lose again Sunday.

Calgary jumped all over the Capitals in the 1st period, putting up 4 on goals by Ales Kotalik, Ian White, Jay Bouwmeester, and Niklas Hagman.

Jose Theodore let up the 1st 3 for the Capitals on 10 shots, before he was pulled for Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov ended up getting the loss, as he stopped 10 of the Flames' final 12 shots.

Alex Ovechkin made it 4-1 early in the 2nd, but Rene Bourque answered late that period to put the Flames up 5-1. David Steckel closed out the period with a goal to cut the lead to 5-2.

Everyone knew the Capitals would make a game out of it, and that's what they did as Mathieu Perrault scored on the power-play less than 5 minutes into the 3rd. The rest of the 3rd was all Washington, but Miikka Kiprusoff held his ground for the Flames.

Kiprusoff ended up making 31 saves, including 19 of the 20 Capitals' 3rd period shots. The Capitals outshot Calgary in the 3rd by a total of 20-2.

The Flames now have 85 points and sit 9th in the West, 4 points back of Colorado for 8th and 5 back of L.A. for 7th. But they only have 6 games left and have played 1 more game than the Avalanche and 2 more than the Kings.

Washington loses for only the 5th time in regulation at home all season, as they remain tops in the Eastern Conference and in the NHL with 109 points.

With the Devils' loss to Philadelphia later in the night, Washington clinched the #1 seed in the East.

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Maple Leafs 4 Penguins 5 (SO)

Pittsburgh's win moves them back atop the Atlantic Division, 2 points ahead of the Devils, but they have played 1 more game than New Jersey, and they sit 2nd in the East with 95 points. Toronto has 69 points on the year, last in the East.

Oilers 1 Blues 2

The Blues have won 2-straight and move up to 81 points and sit 10th in the West. Too little too late, though, for St Louis, as their lousy home record is what will help keep them out of the playoffs. They are 8 points back of 8th with only 7 games remaining. Edmonton has 55 points, last in the NHL, and 20 points behind the next-best team in the West, Columbus.

Devils 1 Flyers 5

Philadelphia gets a huge win over their Atlantic Division rivals and they jump back up to 6th in the East with 82 points. They are tied in points with Montreal, but the Canadiens are 7th because of 1 fewer win. The Flyers are 2 points up on the the 8th-place Bruins, and 4 points ahead of the 9th-place Thrashers. New Jersey drops to 4th in the East because of their drop to 2nd in the Atlantic, but they have already clinched a spot and have 93 points.

Blue Jackets 4 Blackhawks 2

When it gets later in the season, teams that are out of it and have nothing to lose are usually the toughest teams to play against for teams that have already clinched, as was the case tonight in Chicago. Columbus' win gives them 75 points on the year, and they sit 14th in the West. Chicago has 99 points, and they are 2nd in the West with a playoff spot in their back pockets.

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Monday's Schedule:

Sabres @ Bruins, 7:00, Versus

Hurricanes @ Thrashers, 7:00

Predators @ Panthers, 7:30

Kings @ Wild, 9:00, FS West

Stars @ Ducks, 10:00, Prime Ticket

DET Climbing; NJ, BUF, PIT, PHX Clinch

4 teams clinched playoff berths on Saturday--3 in the East and 1 in the West--to bring the total up to 7, joining Washington, Chicago, and San Jose. Detroit was recently on the bubble in the West, but as they keep winning, they keep climbing. Saturday's Game of the Night goes to their Central Division matchup in Nashville:

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5 rounds of the shootout passed before any rubber was put behind a goaltender the entire night in Nashville, and it took 11 rounds before the game was settled.

Nobody could beat Jimmy Howard or Pekka Rinne through 65 minutes, as both goaltenders get credit for a shutout. Howard made 33 saves for the Red Wings to get his 2nd shutout of the year, while Rinne made 38 saves for the Predators to get his 7th shutout of the year and his 4th this month.

Todd Bertuzzi scored the 1st goal of any kind in the 5th round of the shootout for Detroit, but Nashville's Steve Sullivan kept it alive.

It wasn't until Niklas Kronwall scored in the 11th round for Detroit on his 1st career shootout attempt to give the Red Wings the 2-1 shootout win, and the 1-0 game win. It was their 5th win overall, and helps solidify their playoff positioning.

Detroit now has 91 points and they jump to 6th in the West, a point ahead of both Los Angeles and Colorado, but they have played 1 more game than each of those teams. They are now only 1 point behind the Predators for 5th with a game-in-hand.

These two Central Division rivals meet for the 6th and final time of the season next Saturday in Detroit.

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The Kings lose their 3rd-straight game in front of the 20th sellout of the season at Staples Center. Their black alternate jersey, the one they will be wearing throughout the playoffs when they go "Back in Black," couldn't help them this time.

Michal Handzus did give L.A. a 1-0 lead, scoring on the power-play 15:52 into the 1st period. Dallas would come up with 3 goals in the 2nd period, all on the power-play. Brendan Morrow made it 1-1 only 17 seconds into the period, and 2 from Brad Richards put the Stars up 3-1 going into the 3rd.

Dallas would get their 4th power-play goal of the game from Steve Ott 48 seconds into the 3rd period to put them up 4-1 and all but end it. The Stars went 4-for-7 on the power-play.

The Kings had won all 5 of the previous meetings with Dallas this season, and were trying to sweep a 6-game season series versus any opponent for the first time in their history.

Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves for Dallas, and Jonathan Quick stopped 21 for L.A.

The Stars are 10th in the West with 80 points, but are 9 behind the Avalanche for the 8th and final playoff spot.

The Kings are still comfortably in the Western Conference playoffs, but mostly due to Calgary's recent losses. They remain 7th in the West with 90 points, 7 points ahead of the 9th-place Flames. They are only a point in front of 8th-place Colorado, but are still only 1 point back of Detroit for 6th and 2 points behind Nashville for 5th. They have a game-in-hand on the Red Wings and 2 on the Predators and they have a total of 8 games remaining.

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Flames 0 Bruins 5

Tim Thomas recorded his 5th shutout of the season for Boston as the Bruins took down the desperate Calgary Flames. Boston is now 7th in the East with 80 points, tied in points with the Flyers, but they have a game-in-hand on now-8th-place Philadelphia. They are 2 points behind Montreal for 6th, but are still only 4 points ahead of the 9th-place Thrashers. Calgary is now in deep trouble. They are 6 points behind the Avalanche for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West, and they only have 7 games remaining.

Flyers 1 Penguins 4

Pittsburgh clinches a playoff spot with their win over their Atlantic Division rivals who are suddenly one of the most desperate teams in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers have dropped to 8th-place in the East, only 2 points up on 9th-place Atlanta and 4 up on the 10th-place Rangers. They are tied with Boston in points for 7th, and 2 behind Montreal for 6th. The Penguins remain tied in points with the Devils for 1st in the Atlantic Division, but they have played 1 more game than New Jersey. They are 4th in the East with 93 points.

Lightning 1 Sabres 7

Buffalo's win, led by Derek Roy's 4th career hat trick, clinches them a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, as they sit atop the Northeast Division with 92 points. They have a 5-point lead over Ottawa in the division with 2 games-in-hand, and are only 1 point behind New Jersey for 2nd in the East. Patrick Lalime got the win for Buffalo, his 200th of his career. Tampa Bay has 72 points and they are 12th in the East.

Rangers 2 Maple Leafs 3 (OT)

A huge loss for the Rangers greatly impacts their playoff hopes. They are by no means out of the race, but no one will be happy with a loss to the last-place Leafs when your team is desperate for points. New York had a 2-0 lead after the 1st period, but Toronto tied it up, and Nikolai Kulemin ended it 39 seconds into the overtime. The Rangers' point gives them 76 and keeps them 10th in the East, 4 points behind Philadelphia for the 8th and final spot, and 2 points behind Atlanta for 9th, with 7 games left. Toronto has 68 points, last in the East.

Devils 4 Canadiens 2

New Jersey clinches a playoff berth for the 13th-straight year with their win over Montreal, who are by no means guaranteed a spot in the East yet. The Devils have 93 points and remain 1st in the Atlantic Division and 2nd in the East. Montreal all of a sudden finds themselves only 4 points in a playoff spot. They have 82 points and sit 6th in the East. They are 2 points ahead of 7th and 8th-place Boston and Philadelphia, and are 4 points up on the 9th-place Thrashers.

Panthers 2 Senators 3

Ottawa moves themselves further into a playoff position, as they now have 87 points, 5th in the East. They're only 5 points behind Buffalo for 1st in the Northeast Division, but have played 2 more games than the Sabres and have only 6 games left. Florida is 13th in the East with 71 points.

Thrashers 4 Hurricanes 0

Atlanta gets a big win over their Southeast Division rivals in the front end of a home-and-home with Carolina, helped in big part by Johan Hedberg's 2nd shutout of the season for the Thrashers. Atlanta remains 9th in the East with 78 points, 2 back of both Boston and Philadelphia for the 8th and final playoff spot. Carolina is 14th in the East with 71 points.

Islanders 4 Blue Jackets 3 (OT)

Josh Bailey put in the winner for New York in overtime, as they beat Columbus for only their 11th road win of the season. The Islanders are 11th in the East with 72 points and the Blue Jackets are 14th in the West with 73 points.

Avalanche 2 Coyotes 6

Phoenix was handed their playoff spot earlier in the day when Calgary lost in Boston, and clinching their 1st berth since 2002 was made to feel even better with their rout over Colorado in front of a packed house in Glendale to give them 100 points on the year. The 100 points have them 2nd in the Pacific Division, 2 points behind the Sharks for 1st, and 4th in the West. For Colorado, the bad news is that they fall to 8th in the Western Conference with 89 points, but the good news is that they are 6 points ahead of the Flames. Colorado has a game-in-hand on Calgary as well, and are a point behind 7th-place L.A. and 2 behind 6th-place Detroit.

Canucks 2 Sharks 4

A 3-goal 2nd period is all San Jose would need to down Northwest Division-leading Vancouver. The Sharks remain 1st in the Pacific Division and 1st in the Western Conference with 102 points, 2 points ahead of Phoenix in the division and 3 points up on Chicago in the conference. They are 7 points behind the Capitals in the President's Trophy race for best record in the league. Vancouver stays 3rd in the West, as they hold on to their 5-point lead over Colorado for tops in the Northwest Division.

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Sunday's Schedule:

Flames @ Capitals, 3:00, CSN

Maple Leafs @ Penguins, 5:00

Oilers @ Blues, 6:00

Devils @ Flyers, 7:00

Blue Jackets @ Blackhawks, 7:00

Avalanche @ Sharks, 8:00

Wings Win Again, Sens too

Detroit extends their winning streak and their playoff cushion at the same time, while Buffalo has a chance to clinch a berth with a win over Ottawa. The Northeast Division battle is Friday's Game of the Night:

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The domination continues. Buffalo had a chance to become the 4th team in the NHL to clinch a playoff spot tonight at home at HSBC Arena. That will have to wait another night. Buffalo trying to find a different way to beat the Senators will have to wait as well.

The Senators are 5-0-0 against the Sabres this year, and have won the last 9 versus Buffalo going back to last season. The 6th and final meeting of the year will be April 10th in Ottawa, which is the Senators' final game of the season and the Sabres' 2nd-to-last.

Chris Kelly started the scoring 6:42 into the 1st period to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead. Peter Regin made it 2-0 Senators 5:36 into the 2nd period.

Tim Kennedy bounced one in past Brian Elliott to cut the lead in half for Buffalo, but Jason Spezza was quick to answer on the power-play to put the Senators up by 2 once again, 3-1. They would take that lead into the 3rd.

Jason Pominville scored 1:34 into the 3rd period for Buffalo just after an astounding save from Ryan Miller to cut the lead to 1. But they couldn't solve Elliott again, and Daniel Alfredsson sealed it with an empty-net goal with 1 second remaining to give the Senators the 4-2 win.

Brian Elliot made 41 saves for the Senators to record his 3rd-straight win after 2 consecutive shutouts. Ryan Miller made 27 saves for Buffalo.

Not only did Ottawa spoil the chance for the Sabres to clinch a playoff spot, but their win keeps their chance to overcome Buffalo for the Northeast Division title alive. The Senators now have 85 points, sitting 5th in the East, and are 5 points back from Buffalo for 1st in the Northeast. The Sabres, though, do have 2 games-in-hand, as they sit 3rd in the East with 90 points.

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Wild 2 Red Wings 6

Detroit wins their 4th-straight game and they are 8-1-1 in their last 10. They remain 8th in the West, tied with Colorado in points for 7th with 89, but they extend their lead over the 9th-place Flames to 6 points. Both the Flames and Red Wings have 8 games left, while the 7th-place Avalanche have 9 left, as well as the 6th-place Kings who have 90 points. 5th-place Nashville is within Detroit's grasp as well, as the Predators have 91 points, only 2 ahead of the Red Wings, and Detroit has a game-in-hand on. Minnesota has 78 points and they are 13th in the West.

Ducks 3 Oilers 2

Edmonton's winning streak is halted at 3 as they're downed by the Ducks at home. After beating Detroit, San Jose, and Vancouver, they will finish their 4-game homestand 3-1-0. Anaheim breaks a 2-game losing streak of their own, as they move to 78 points and sit 11th in the West. Edmonton remains at 55 points, last in the West and last in the NHL.

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Saturday's Schedule (ET):

Flames @ Bruins, 1:00

Flyers @ Penguins, 1:00

Lightning @ Sabres, 7:00

Rangers @ Maple Leafs, 7:00

Devils @ Canadiens, 7:00, NHL Network

Panthers @ Senators, 7:00

Thrashers @ Hurricanes, 7:00

Islanders @ Blue Jackets, 7:00

Red Wings @ Predators, 8:00

Avalanche @ Coyotes, 9:00

Canucks @ Sharks, 10:00

Stars @ Kings, 10:30, FS West