Playoff Matchups Set on Last Day of the Regular Season

The Flyers beat the Rangers in a shootout in the win-and-you're-in game in Philadelphia, the Capitals fall to Boston in a shootout, the Kings rally to beat Colorado in overtime, and Stamkos hits 51. Those recaps and the ones from every other game on this last day of the season to come tomorrow. But here's a quick look at the matchups for the upcoming playoffs:

Eastern Conference:

1 Washington Capitals vs 8 Montreal Canadiens

2 New Jersey Devils vs 7 Philadelphia Flyers

3 Buffalo Sabres vs 6 Boston Bruins

4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs 5 Ottawa Senators

Western Conference:

1 San Jose Sharks vs 8 Colorado Avalanche

2 Chicago Blackhawks vs 7 Nashville Predators

3 Vancouver Canucks vs 6 Los Angeles Kings

4 Phoenix Coyotes vs 5 Detroit Red Wings

Playoffs begin Wednesday.

B's, Habs Clinch; Devils Clinch Atlantic

Montreal clinches a spot in the East, New Jersey wins the Atlantic Division, L.A. rallies but falls, Stamkos hits 50, and Mike Modano plays what could be his last game in the NHL. But Saturday's Game of the Night will come from Boston, where the Bruins don't just clinch a playoff spot, but they do something never before seen in the NHL:

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The Bruins had a chance to control their destiny tonight against Carolina, win and they're in. Well, they're in, and they did it in the most unexpected fashion.

The only important thing that happened in the 1st period was a hooking penalty against Bruins' Matt Hunwick with 18 seconds left in the period.

In the first 1:36 of the 2nd period while down a man on the Hunwick penalty, Boston would score 3-straight shorthanded goals. Daniel Paille 32 seconds into the period, Blake Wheeler 49 seconds later, and Steve Begin 15 seconds after that.

It was the 1st time in NHL history that a team scored 3 shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill and it was the fastest 3 shorthanded goals ever.

Erik Cole and Patrick Dwyer would tally later in the in the period for the Hurricanes to cut the lead to 3-2 after 2.

Boston would pack in the defense and hold onto the win, with Milan Lucic adding an empty net goal with 1 minute to play.

Cam Ward made 38 saves for Carolina while Tuukka Rask stopped 33 shots for Boston.

Carolina will end the year with 80 points, 11th in the East.

The win clinches a playoff spot for the Bruins and they will head into the playoffs as the 6 seed, facing either New Jersey or Buffalo in the first round. They will close out their season in Washington tomorrow at noon.

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The Kings haven't faired too well in matinee games this season, and their 3-0 deficit in the 3rd period may have shown that they came out flat again. But that wasn't nearly the case.

L.A. was outshooting Edmonton 39-13 after 2 periods but were down 2-0.

Mike Comrie scored for the Oilers in the 1st period and then again in the 2nd period on the power play.

Tom Gilbert would add a shorthanded goal for the Oilers 5:24 into the 3rd period to give Edmonton a 3-0 lead. The Oilers at that point had scored 3 goals on their first 14 shots of the game against Jonathan Quick. It took the Kings until their 46th shot of the game to put one past Devan Dubnyk.

The goal came from Dustin Brown on the power play 6:39 into the period. About 6 minutes later, Jarret Stoll cut the lead to 1. And then just a couple minutes after the Kings killed off a 5-on-3 advantage, Michal Handzus would tie it at 3 with 2:34 remaining in regulation.

The Kings outshot Edmonton 15-2 in the 3rd period, and the final total was 55-16.

Shawn Horcoff would net the game winner in the shootout after a scoreless overtime to give the last-place Oilers the 4-3 win.

In an unbelievable performance, Devan Dubnyk made 52 saves. Quick stopped 13 shots for the Kings.

The Oilers now have 62 points, last in the league, and will finish their season tomorrow in Anaheim.

The Kings point has them up to 99, and they are 7th in the West with 1 game left--tomorrow in Colorado. A win and a Red Wings loss (regulation or overtime) would give them the 5th-seed. An overtime loss would give them the 6th-seed if Detroit loses in regulation, and keep them the 7th-seed if the Red Wings get at least a point.

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Maple Leafs 4 Canadiens 3 (OT)

Montreal's point in their last game of the season clinches them a playoff spot. They have 88 points and are 7th in the West. If the Flyers beat the Rangers tomorrow, Montreal will finish 8th and play the Capitals in Round 1. If the Rangers beat the Flyers, the Canadiens will remain 7th and play either Buffalo or New Jersey depending on the outcome of their game tomorrow. Toronto ends their season with 74 points, last in the East.

Sabres 5 Senators 2

Buffalo's win--led by a 4-goal night from Thomas Vanek--gives them 100 points on the year, and they are only 1 point behind the Devils for 2nd-place in the East. Those 2 teams play each other tomorrow. A Sabres' win in regulation will give them the 2-spot, while a Devils' win or any kind of overtime game will hand New Jersey the 2-spot. Ottawa will finish the season with 94 points, 5th in the East, and they will play Pittsburgh in the first round.

Islanders 1 Devils 7

New Jersey wins the Atlantic Division with their win combined with the Penguins' loss. The Devils have 101 points, 1 up on the Sabres for 2nd in the East. The 2-spot will be determined tomorrow depending on the outcome of their game versus Buffalo. New York has 78 points and are 12th in the East. They finish their season tomorrow at home against Pittsburgh.

Penguins 0 Thrashers 1

Atlanta plays spoiler, shutting out the Penguins, and ending their season with 83 points, 10th in the East. Pittsburgh has 99 points, and they are now locked into the 4-spot and will face the 5th-place Senators in the first round.

Panthers 3 Lightning 4 (SO)

Tampa Bay's 20-year-old Steven Stamkos scores his 49th and 50th goals of the season, tying Alex Ovechkin for the race for the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals. Sidney Crosby has 49 goals. All 3 will be in action on the final day of the season tomorrow. Tampa Bay and Florida face each other again tomorrow in Sunrise to end the season, while the Lightning have 78 points, 13th-place, and the Panthers have 77 points, 14th-place.

Blues 1 Predators 2 (SO)

Nasvhille gives themselves 100 points on the year in their final game of the season. They sit 6th in the West, and can still finish 5th, 6th, or 7th even though they don't have any games left. It all depends on what the 5th-place Red Wings and the 7th-place Kings do tomorrow. St Louis finishes their year with 90 points, 9th in the West.

Stars 4 Wild 3 (SO)

Dallas beats Minnesota in what could be Mike Modano's final game of his career if he decides to retire. The Wild fans gave him a great ovation after the game, as he skated around wearing a Minnesota North Stars jersey, the team with which he began his career. The Stars will end the season with 88 points, and they sit 11th in the West. Minnesota ends with 84 points, 13th in the West.

Flames 3 Canucks 7

Vancouver dismantles their Northwest Division rivals to end their season with 103 points. They are locked in the 3-spot in the West, and will play either Detroit, Nashville, or L.A. in the first round. Calgary finishes with 90 points, 10th in the West.

Coyotes 2 Sharks 3 (SO)

San Jose finishes their season with 113 points, and they sit 1st in the Western Conference, 2 points up on Chicago. If the Blackhawks win tomorrow though, they will win the West and the Sharks will be the 2-seed. With that in mind, the Sharks and Blackhawks have a chance to play Detroit, Nashville, L.A., or Colorado, all depending on what happens tomorrow. Phoenix is locked in the 4-spot, as they end their year with 107 points. They also will play either Detroit, Nashville, or L.A. in the first round.

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Sunday's Schedule (Last Day of the Regular Season):

Bruins @ Capitals, 12:00, NBC

Rangers @ Flyers, 3:00, NHL Network (winner gets final East playoff spot)

Red Wings @ Blackhawks, 3:00

Kings @ Avalanche, 3:00, FS West

Sabres @ Devils, 5:00

Penguins @ Islanders, 5:00, NHL Network

Lightning @ Panthers, 5:00

Oilers @ Ducks, 8:00, Prime Ticket

Sunday Showdown Set for Flyers, Rangers

Ovechkin gets goal number 50 and Backstrom gets point number 100 on the same play in Washington and Keith Tkachuk plays his final game in St Louis. But Friday's Game of the Night has to be the do-or-die matchup for a playoff spot in the East at MSG between the Flyers and the Rangers:

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A win for Philadelphia and they would knock out the Rangers from contention and clinch a spot for themselves, the Bruins, and the Canadiens. But no one clinched tonight, and the final playoff spot in the East won't be decided until Sunday afternoon.

The Rangers knew they had to play their hearts out facing elimination, and they did just that, outshooting the Flyers 12-4 in the 1st period and taking a 2-1 lead into the 2nd.

It may not have looked great at the beginning for New York when Mike Richards scored for Philadelphia off of a clear cut turnover from Marc Staal to put the Flyers up 1-0 only 40 seconds into the game.

But Chris Drury would put the Rangers on the board 7:22 into the 1st on the power-play and Jody Shelley would score his 1st goal of the season almost 3 minutes later to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.

Brandon Dubinsky made it 3-1 Rangers just under 7 minutes into the 2nd period, before the Flyers would make a little comeback of their own.

Danny Briere and Richards again would net goals for Philadelphia within the next 8 minutes and the game was tied at 3.

Just over 2 minutes after that, with 3:06 left in the 2nd period, Marian Gaborik would give the Rangers the lead back, and they would hold on by a thread.

Henrik Lunqvist made 10 saves in the scoreless 3rd period for New York, and at least 2 or 3 of those on great chances for the Flyers. He would end the game with 24 saves. Brian Boucher stopped 21 for the Flyers.

Here's the picture in the East heading into the final 2 days of the season with 4 teams battling for the last 3 spots: Boston sits in 6th with 87 points and they have 2 games left, tomorrow at home versus Carolina and Sunday afternoon in Washington. Montreal is 7th with 87 points as well and their last game will be tomorrow night at home against Toronto.

Philadelphia is 8th with 86 points while the Rangers are in 9th with 86 points too but 2 fewer wins than the Flyers. The Flyers and Rangers each have 1 game left and it's against each other. The game will be Sunday at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

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The Washington Capitals keep their feet on the pedal as they try to head into the playoffs with as much momentum as possible. They were looking for their 5th-straight win on a night where the President's Trophy was awarded to the team in a short ceremony before the game against Atlanta.

Not that they needed any more positive things to play for, but a couple of milestones were reached on this night as well.

Nicklas Backstrom would net his 32nd goal of the year and 99th point at 14:44 of the 1st period to give Washington the 1-0 lead.

The Capitals hadn't decided to fully turn up the on-switch yet in the 2nd period, and the Thrashers would take advantage. Evgeny Artyukhin tied the game at 1 with 8:45 left in the 2nd period.

Almost 2 minutes later, Clarke MacArthur would strip Ovechkin of the puck and head down the ice on a short-handed breakaway, depositing the wrist shot past Jose Theodore.

3 minutes after that, Alex Ovechkin would rip a one-timer off a pass from Alexander Semin past Ondrej Pavelec to tie the game at 2 on his 49th goal of the year.

It was all Washington in the 3rd, and the 1st of 3 goals in the period wasn't just the most important because it was the game-winner...

Nicklas Backstrom fed a pass to Alexander Semin, who found Ovechkin rolling through the middle of the ice. As Backstrom headed toward the yet, providing a screen, Ovechkin threw his wicked wrist shot to the back of the net for his 50th goal of the season, now taking the lead in the race for the Rocket, a goal ahead of Sidney Crosby.

Ovechkin becomes only the 3rd player ever--joining only Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy--to score 50 or more goals in 4 of his first 5 years in the league.

Backstrom's assist on the goal was his 100th point of the season. After the game, they were asked how they would decide who gets the puck. The answer is easy: split it in half. They don't quite know how they will go about that yet, but it sounds like a good idea.

Jason Chimera and Backstrom would add goals for the Capitals in the next 4 minutes, completely taking over the game for Washington and giving them a 5-2 lead.

Ondrej Pavelec would stop 42 of the Capitals' 47 shots--of which Tyler Sloan was the only Capital not to register one--and Jose Theodore would stop 29 for the Capitals.

Atlanta has 81 points and are 10th in the East and they have 1 game left to play.

The Capitals are up to 120 points, and they will try to end the season on a 6-game winning streak as they face the Bruins at Verizon Center on Sunday.

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Red Wings 1 Blue Jackets 0 (SO)

Columbus was the only team in the league to finish off their season on this night, and their goalie Steve Mason would go out in style, but their disappointing season would end on another bad note, as the Jackets' offense could get nothing going. Mason would make 45 saves--including 19 in the 3rd--to get credit for his 5th shutout of the year, while Jimmy Howard gets his 3rd shutout of the season for Detroit. Columbus will end the year with 79 points, 14th in the West. Detroit is now up to 5th in the West with 100 points, 2 up on the Kings and Predators with 1 game to play, while Nashville also has 1 left but the Kings have 2. It's the 10th-straight season that the Red Wings have put up 100 points or more.

Ducks 3 Blues 6

Keith Tkachuk goes out in style in front of his home fans in St Louis. He gets 2 3rd-period assists in their win over Anaheim. The Blues have 89 points and are 10th in the West with 1 game left, while the Ducks are in 11th with 87 points with 1 game remaining as well. The fans would send off Tkachuk with a great ovation after his post-game interview telling the fans he will never leave that great city.

Blackhawks 5 Avalanche 2

Chicago takes 1st-place back in the Western Conference with their win over the 8th-place Avalanche. The Blackhawks have 111 points, tied with San Jose in points for 1st but they have 2 more wins than the Sharks. Each team has 1 game remaining. The Avalanche have 94 points and 1 game left, but they are set to head into the playoffs as the 8th-seed, knowing they will have to face either these Blackhawks or the Sharks in the 1st round.

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Saturday's Schedule:

Hurricanes @ Bruins, 1:00

Oilers @ Kings, 4:00, FS West

Maple Leafs @ Canadiens, 7:00

Sabres @ Senators, 7:00, NHL Network

Islanders @ Devils, 7:00

Penguins @ Thrashers, 7:00

Panthers @ Lightning, 7:30

Blues @ Predators, 8:00

Stars @ Wild, 8:00

Flames @ Canucks, 10:00

Coyotes @ Sharks, 10:30, NHL Network