Kings End Slump; BOS, ATL Both Win

The battle for 8th in the East rages on and the fight at the top of the West continues as well. But the Kings came into Tuesday on a 4-game losing streak and headed to Nashville to play the Predators, a team they are chasing in the West standings. That is our Game of the Night:

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The Kings had lost all 3 games against Nashville so far this year, and were 0-6-1 against them going back to last year.

Jonathan Bernier, former 1st-round pick, made his 2nd start of the season. In his 1st start on March 12th in Dallas he let up 1 goal. He let up fewer tonight.

The game was scoreless after 2 periods. The Kings outshot the Predators 18-8 in the 1st period, and the Predators outshot the Kings 15-4 in the 2nd. The only scoring came in the 3rd.

Scott Parse scored 7:50 into the 3rd period to record his 3rd goal in the last 2 games to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. Sean O'Donnell would tally his 3rd goal of the season to seal it for the Kings with 2:01 left in regulation.

Jonathan Bernier gets his 1st career shutout and is now 2-0-0 this season. He ended the game with 34 saves. Pekka Rinne also played great for Nashville, as he ended with 29 saves.

The Kings now have 92 points, sit in 7th in the West, and are 7 points up on 9th-place Calgary with only 6 games remaining. L.A. is 3 up on 8th-place Colorado, 1 point behind the Red Wings for 6th, and now only 2 points behind Nashville for 5th with 2 games-in-hand on the Predators.

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5 4 (OT)

Another awful 1st period for Washington, but another offensive and explosive comeback, only to see it fall short in overtime.

The Capitals looked like they were sleeping in the 1st period for the 2nd-straight game. In fact, they have allowed 13 or more shots in each of the last 5 first periods. They hadn't done that all year.

Ottawa outshot the Capitals 13-4 in the 1st period, and had a 3-1 lead going into the 2nd. Peter Regin started the scoring for the Senators 1:24 into the game. Alex Semin would tied it for Washington 3 minutes in.

A minute-and-a-half later, Jason Spezza made it 2-1 Ottawa, and Chris Campoli made it 3-1 with 4 minutes left in the period.

Semin would get his 2nd of the night to start the comeback 12:04 into the 2nd period. Mike Green on a one-time slapshot tied it at 3 only 54 seconds later.

Only 24 seconds into the 3rd period, Mathieu Perreault showed again why he provides so much energy for the Capitals. He made a great move on Brian Elliott to give Washington a 4-3 lead. But about 5 minutes later, Jason Spezza tied it on the power-play for the Senators.

In overtime, Nicklas Backstrom would be called for a tripping penalty with 32 seconds left. While the place was getting to their feet to cheer on the penalty-kill, Alex Kovalev deflected a shot past Jose Theodore and ended the game with 19 seconds left before the shootout.

Ottawa finished 3-for-4 on the power-play.

Theodore made 26 saves for the Capitals, once again looking a bit shaky, especially in the 1st period. Brian Elliott made 17 saves for Ottawa, only facing 21 shots.

The Senators are up to 89 points in the East and they sit in 5th-place. The Capitals remain tops in the league with 110 points, a 15-point lead in the East, and a 6-point lead over the Sharks for the best record in the league.

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Thrashers 3 Maple Leafs 2

Atlanta needs every win they can get in their final 6 games of the year, and this was a good start as they hang on against Toronto. The win gives them 80 points, but they remain 2 back of 8th-place Boston because of the Bruins' win over New Jersey. Boston has a game-in-hand on Atlanta. The Thrashers last 5 games of the season include 2 against Washington, 2 against Pittsburgh, and 1 against New Jersey--not exactly a walk in the park. Boston will play Washington twice, Florida, Toronto, Buffalo, and Carolina. Toronto has 69 points, last in the East, and are now officially eliminated.

Bruins 1 Devils 0 (OT)

Big win for Boston in New Jersey, staying 2 points up on Atlanta for the 8th and final playoff spot. Patrice Bergeron put in the only goal of the game in overtime. Boston now has 82 points, and are tied with Philadelphia and Montreal for 6th, but sit in 8th because of fewer wins. The Flyers in 6th and the Rangers in 10th are all separated by only 4 points.

Rangers 4 Islanders 3

The Rangers hang on to beat their New York rivals on Long Island. They have 78 points and remain 10th in the East and 4 back of Boston for 8th, 2 back of Atlanta for 9th. They have 6 games remaining. The Islanders are 13th in the East with 72 points.

Lightning 2 Blue Jackets 3

Columbus' win gives the 77 points and they are 14th in the West, while the falling Lightning are down to 14th in the East with only 72 points.

Oilers 4 Red Wings 5

Detroit had a 4-0 lead over Edmonton with less than 3 minutes left in the 2nd period. By the time the halfway mark rolled around in the 3rd, it was 4-4. The Red Wings wouldn't panic though, and Brad Stuart would tip one in past Jeff Deslauriers with only 1:07 left in regulation. The win gives Detroit their 6th-straight, and they are 9-0-1 in their last 10. They move up to 93 points and sit 6th in the West, 1 point behind Nashville for 5th and 1 point up on L.A. in 7th. After thinking they might struggle to make the playoffs, the Red Wings are now 8 points into a spot with only 6 games left. Edmonton has 55 points, worst in the league.

Blackhawks 2 Blues 4

Chicago loses their 3rd-straight, falling to a Blues team who moves to within 6 points of Colorado for the 8th-spot in the West. St Louis has 83 points, 10th in the West, and even a run of the table in their last 6 games might not be enough to snag the 8th-spot, but you never know. The Blackhawks remain at 99 points, 2nd-place in the West.

Coyotes 1 Canucks 4

Phoenix fails to move closer to the top-spot in the West, as they remain at 100 points, the 3rd-best record in the NHL. But they sit 4th in the West, 4 points behind San Jose for 1st-place in the Pacific Division. Vancouver is 3rd-place in the West with 96 points, trying to move in on Chicago for 2nd.

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Wednesday's Schedule:

Panthers @ Sabres, 7:00

Hurricanes @ Canadiens, 7:00

Lightning @ Penguins, 7:30, Versus

Blackhawks @ Wild, 8:00, Versus

Sharks @ Stars, 8:30

Ducks @ Avalanche, 9:00, FS West

Coyotes @ Flames, 9:30

Kings Lose 4th Straight; BOS, ATL Both Fall

On a night where the battle for the 8th-spot in the East was in full swing, neither of the teams included in that fight could get a point. In the West, L.A. was trying to rest a bit more easy in the top 8. Their 4th-straight loss won't help. It wasn't pretty, but it is Monday's Game of the Night:

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A few weeks ago, the Kings were comfortably sitting in a playoff spot in the West, knowing full well that this could and should be their first season of playoffs since 2001-2002. In fact, L.A. was even 1st place in the Western Conference a couple of months back.

I'm not saying they're in any danger, but they might just want to watch their backs and pick it up a bit--or, a lot. Not making the playoffs would be an unimaginable disaster after years of this team falling short of expectations.

But anyway, back to the game. The Kings came into Monday losers of 3-straight, and hoping to break that against the Wild, a team they have beaten 2 of 3 times this year.

After a scoreless 1st period, Owen Nolan tallied on the power-play for Minnesota just over 1 minute into the 2nd. Brent Burns would make it 2-0 7:26 into the period.

The Kings would cut the lead in half on a goal by Scott Parse later in the 2nd. Parse would score his 2nd of the night, providing the only offense for the Kings, 1:25 into the 3rd period to tie the game at 2.

But after a failed opportunity on a 2-minute 2-man-advantage, the Kings would allow a power-play goal to the Wild off the stick of Martin Havlat 7:38 into the 3rd. And that was all she wrote.

The Kings would finish 0-for-5 on the power-play, including a couple of 2-man-advantages, while the Wild went 2-for-3.

Jonathan Quick faced only 20 Minnesota shots, and ended the game with 17 saves. Niklas Backstrom stopped 29 shots for the Wild.

Minnesota has 80 points on the year and they sit 12th in the West.

The Kings are now 0-3-1 in their last 4, and are only 5-7-2 since the Olympic Break. They sit in the 7 spot in the West with 90 points. They are 1 point up on the the 8th-place Avalanche and only 5 points ahead of the 9th-place Flames, with a game-in-hand on Calgary and 7 games to play. But they are still only 1 point behind Detroit for 6th, and 4 points behind Nashville for 5th.

They play in Nashville on Tuesday night, a team on which they hold 2 games-in-hand, and it looks like Jonathan Bernier will get the start and try to erase the Kings' losing streak. He won his only start of the year so far in Dallas, 2-1 in a shootout.

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Sabres 3 Bruins 2

Boston loses out on a chance to move further into a playoff spot in the East with their loss over the Northeast Division-leading Sabres. The Bruins remain in the 8th and final playoff spot 2 points ahead of the 9th-place Thrashers and 4 up on the 10th-place Rangers. But they are still just 2 points back of Montreal for 7th and Philadelphia for 6th. Buffalo has already clinched a spot, as they lead the Northeast Division by 7 points and sit 3rd in the East, a point behind Pittsburgh for 2nd.

Hurricanes 4 Thrashers 1

Atlanta can't capitalize on the Boston loss, as they fall to Carolina and split the home-and-home with the Hurricanes. The Thrashers remain in 9th in the East, 2 points behind Boston, and they have 6 games left and have played 1 more game than the Bruins. Carolina is up to 73 points, 11th in the East, and actually only 7 points back of 8th. But with 2 other teams ahead of them, even a run of the table might not be enough for Carolina, who is doomed by there horrendous 1st half.

Predators 3 Panthers 2 (OT)

Patric Hornqvist scored the game-tying goal for Nashville with just over 3 minutes remaining in regulation, and Francis Bouillon netted the game-winner a minute into overtime to give the Predators a 3-2 rally win in Sunrise. Nashville sits 5th in the West with 94 points, 3 ahead of 6th-place Detroit and 4 up on 7th-place L.A. They have played at least 1 more game than every other team in the West and have only 5 games left, but sit a comfortable 9 points up on the 9th-place Flames and are next in line to clinch a spot. Florida is 13th in the East with 72 points.

Stars 1 Ducks 3

Anaheim gets a win over Pacific Division-rival Dallas on a night where they paid tribute to one of their best players of all time, Teemu Selanne, and his entrance into the 600-goal club. Selanne did get an assist on Nick Bonino's first career NHL goal in the 2nd period. The Ducks are 11th in the West with 80 points, while the Stars also have 80 points but sit in the 13 spot.

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Tuesday's Schedule:

Thrashers @ Maple Leafs, 7:00

Bruins @ Devils, 7:00

Rangers @ Islanders, 7:00

Senators @ Capitals, 7:00, CSN

Lightning @ Blue Jackets, 7:00

Oilers @ Red Wings, 7:30

Blackhawks @ Blues, 8:00, Versus

Kings @ Predators, 8:00, FS West

Coyotes @ Canucks, 10:00

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