B's Big Win; Yotes Rally Past Kings

In the West, the Kings faced Phoenix in a potential 1st-round matchup. In the East, Montreal hoped to clinch a spot while Boston looked to help solidify theirs. The Northeast Division matchup between Buffalo and Boston at TD Garden is Thursday's Game of the Night:

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Boston entered the night in dangerous 8th-place in the East, only 1 point ahead of the Rangers. At the end of the night, they find themselves in 6th with a big win over the Northeast Division Champion Sabres.

Buffalo started the scoring 11 minutes into the game with a goal from Derek Roy.

2:15 into the 2nd period, Miroslav Satan scored for Boston to tie the game at 1, the only goal of the period. Tied heading into the 3rd, the Bruins would come through in the clutch when they needed to most.

Dennis Wideman put the Bruins up 1 just under 2 minutes into the period. Tuukka Rask would hold off tough Buffalo and Mark Recchi would add an insurance goal for Boston with 3:25 left in regulation.

Patrick Lalime got the start for Buffalo in a game that didn't mean much for them. He made 31 saves, while Rask also made 31 stops for Boston.

Buffalo is 3rd-place in the East with 98 points, a point behind New Jersey for 2nd.

The Bruins' crucial 3-1 win gives them 87 points, tied with Montreal for 6th, but they hold 6th themselves because they have played 1 fewer game. They have 2 games left and are now 3 points ahead of the 9th-place Rangers who also have 2 games to go.

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The Kings seemed to have this game under control until the last half of the 3rd period.

After a scoreless 1st period, Drew Doughty made it 1-0 L.A. just under 8 minutes into the 2nd period. Anze Kopitar's assist on the goal was his 80th point of the season.

In the 3rd period, Jack Johnson made it 2-0 Kings with a goal just over 9 minutes in. But then back came the Coyotes with some of their magic once again.

Matthew Lombardi cut the lead in half with 7:17 left in regulation, and then with 5:53 to go, Taylor Pyatt deflected a shot past Jonathan Quick to tie the game at 2.

After a scoreless overtime, the game would head to a shootout--which Phoenix looks to have mastered this season.

Kopitar scored for the Kings and Radim Vrbata for the Coyotes in the first 3 rounds, and in the 4th round, Adrian Aucoin--their "closer"--did it again. After Jarret Stoll missed, Aucoin scored to give him 6 shootout goals in 8 attempts this season--all 6 goals were game-winners.

Jason LaBarbera got the start for Phoenix and he stopped 22 shots, while Quick made 25 saves for the Kings.

Phoenix is locked into the 4-spot, but they now have 106 points--the 4th-most in the NHL--with 1 game to play.

The Kings' point moves them to 98 and they are now in a 3-way tie for 5th-place in the West with Detroit and Nashville, but they hold it themselves because they have 3 more wins than Detroit and have played 1 fewer game than Nashville. L.A. and the Red Wings have 2 games left, while the Predators have 1 to go.

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Canadiens 2 Hurricanes 5

A win for Montreal would have meant a playoff spot, but with only 1 game left to play, they aren't out of the woods yet. They have 87 points and are tied with Boston for 6th in the East, but they sit in 7th because Boston has 2 games left. They're 1 up on 8th-place Philadelphia and 3 up on 9th-place New York. With the Flyers playing the Rangers in a home-and-home to end the season, lots of things have to go wrong for the Canadiens to miss out, but anything is possible. Carolina has 80 points, 11th in the East, and they have 1 game left.

Islanders 3 Penguins 7

It was the last regular season game ever to be held at Mellon Arena, and the Penguins said goodbye to the "Igloo" in style. Pittsburgh is now tied with the Devils for 1st-place in the Atlantic Division with 99 points. They both have the same record and each have 2 games to go. New Jersey swept the season series, though, so they hold the tiebreaker and sit 2nd, while the Penguins are in 4th.

Senators 3 Lightning 4 (SO)

Ottawa is already guaranteed 5th-place in the East, and they now have 94 points with 1 game remaining. Tampa Bay is 14th in the East with 76 points and they have 2 games left.

Devils 2 Panthers 3

Scott Clemmensen beats his former team again, as Florida stops New Jersey from extending their lead in the Atlantic Division. The Devils have 99 points and are tied for 1st in the division and 2nd in the conference with 2 games left with Pittsburgh. The Panthers are 13th in the East with 76 points and have 2 games to play.

Ducks 2 Stars 3 (SO)

In what might be his final game in Dallas if he chooses to retire, Mike Modano scored the shootout winner to help Dallas hold off their Pacific Division rivals. They move to 86 points on the year with 1 game left while Anaheim now has 87 points with 2 games left. The Stars and Ducks are 12th and 11th in the West, respectively.

Wild 2 Flames 1 (SO)

Minnesota's win gives them 83 points on the year and they are 13th in the West with 1 game left. Disappointing Calgary has 90 points, 9th in the West with 1 game left as well.

Canucks 2 Sharks 4

San Jose moves back into 1st in the Western Conference with 111 points, 2 up on Chicago, but they have 1 game left while the Blackhawks have 2 to go. Vancouver remains 3rd in the West with 101 points and they have 1 game remaining.

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Friday's Schedule:

Flyers @ Rangers, 7:00, Versus

Thrashers @ Capitals, 7:00, CSN, Versus

Red Wings @ Blue Jackets, 7:00

Ducks @ Blues, 8:00, KDOC

Blackhawks @ Avalanche, 9:00, Versus

Rangers Set up Weekend Race for 8th

The New York Rangers stay alive in the East and make the race even more interesting. The actual game though wasn't worthy of Wednesday's GON, so we're going to go to the desert, where the Predators were facing the Coyotes in a potential first-round matchup:

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Phoenix clinches the number 4 spot in the Western Conference with their win over Nashville in front of over 17,000 at Jobing.com Arena tonight.

Shea Weber ripped a slapshot past Ilya Bryzgalov 12 seconds into the game to give the Predators a 1-0 lead. Just under 2 minutes later, Lauri Korpikoski would tie it at 1 for Phoenix.

The only goal of the 2nd period came off the stick of Wojtek Wolski to give the Coyotes a 2-1 lead heading into the 3rd.

The Predators would tie it in this back-and-forth game 5:53 into the 3rd on a power-play goal from Steve Sullivan. But almost 5 minutes later, Taylor Pyatt gave the Coyotes a 3-2 lead and they wouldn't look back.

Shane Doan made it 4-2 and Petteri Nokelainen added an empty-net goal with 19 seconds to go to end it 5-2.

Pekka Rinne stopped for 25 shots for Nashville and Bryzgalov made 23 saves for Phoenix.

The Coyotes will go into the playoffs 4th in the Western Conference with home-ice advantage in Round 1. They have 104 points and 2 games remaining.

The Predators were 5th in the West before this loss, as they move down to 6th tied with Detroit for 5th with 98 points but they have played 1 more game than the Red Wings. Nashville has 1 game left and the Red Wings have 2 to go.

Los Angeles is a point behind both Detroit and Nashville with 3 games still remaining.

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Maple Leafs 1 Rangers 5

New York stays in the playoff hunt in the East with this huge bounce-back game. They now have 84 points, a point back of Boston for 8th and 2 behind Philadelphia for 7th, with 2 games to go. The Flyers also have 2 games left, and wouldn't you know it's a home-and-home versus the Rangers starting Friday. Fasten your seat belts.

Blue Jackets 3 Red Wings 4

Detroit has moved up to 5th in the West with 98 points, tied with the Predators but they hold a game-in-hand on Nashville. Detroit has 2 games left. Columbus is 14th in the West with 78 points.

Blues 5 Blackhawks 6

A pretty unbelievable game at the United Center tonight. St Louis jumped out to a 1-0 lead before allowing 6-straight goals to Chicago. Starting late in the 2nd, the Blues began attempting the comeback. It almost was complete, but the Blackhawks would barely hold off the Blues, 6-5. Chicago takes over top spot in the West with 109 points, tied with with San Jose, but they have 2 more wins than the Sharks. Both Chicago and San Jose have 2 games left. St Louis is 10th in the West with 87 points.

Avalanche 4 Oilers 5 (OT)

Edmonton is on its way to a last-place season, but they have been playing a little better as of late. They are now 8-3 in their last 11 home games, but remain last in the league with 60 points. Colorado, the newest and last member of the playoffs in the West, move to 94 points, 3 back of L.A. for 7th but they have 2 games left while the Kings have 3 to go.

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Thursday's Schedule:

Sabres @ Bruins, 7:00, Versus

Canadiens @ Hurricanes, 7:30 (Versus in BUF and BOS)

Islanders @ Penguins, 7:30, NHL Network

Senators @ Lightning, 7:30

Devils @ Panthers, 7:30

Ducks @ Stars, 8:30, KDOC

Wild @ Flames, 9:30

Coyotes @ Kings, 10:30, FS West

Canucks @ Sharks, 10:30

Caps/Pens Rd 4; Fwy F-off Rd 6; Avs Clinch

The final meeting of the year between the Capitals and Penguins came into the night almost assured of Tuesday's GON until the Battle of Southern California gave it a huge run for its money. But it will remain on top, as Washington/Pittsburgh Round 4 is tonight's Game of the Night:

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Washington has nothing to play for in terms of standings--they haven't for a couple weeks now. They have the best record record in the league wrapped up. But none of that kind of motivation is needed when they're playing the Penguins, especially when they know Pittsburgh is fighting for the title in their Atlantic Division.

Alexander Semin scored his 39th goal of the year with 7 minutes left in the 1st and the Capitals had a 1-0 lead after 1.

Mike Knuble would tally for Washington 42 seconds into the 2nd period to make it 2-0. Pittsburgh kept battling back, but every time they would cut the lead to 1, the Capitals would give a quick answer back.

Sidney Crosby made it 2-1 on the power-play 6:21 into the 2nd, his 48th goal of the year, only to be followed by Washington's Tomas Fleischmann 21 seconds later, and the Capitals were back up by 2.

Jordan Leopold made it 3-2 9:55 into the period, and 8 minutes later, Matt Bradley put the Capitals back up by 2 at 4-2.

Leopold would get his 2nd of the night 49 seconds into the 3rd period. Less than 2 minutes later, Alex Ovechkin would net his 47th goal of the season on the power-play to make it 5-3 Washington, and they would never look back.

Ovechkin would add an empty-net goal with less than a second remaining to tie Crosby for the league-lead in goals with 48 and give the Capitals a 6-3 win.

Semyon Varlamov got the win for Washington, making 26 saves. Marc-Andre Fleury would stop only 9 of the Capitals first 12 shots, and Brent Johnson would finish the game and eventually be handed the loss. Johnson made 13 saves on 15 shots.

The Capitals sweep the season series from arguably their biggest rivals, going 4-0-0. The team knows that this means nothing, though, and that a meeting in the postseason would start a clean slate. After all, the Capitals went 3-0-1 against Pittsburgh last season before falling to them in the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Washington was questioned recently on their play because of the fact that they don't exactly have anything to play for. 4 games ago, they were on a 3-game losing streak and looked somewhat lackadaisical. But whether it's team records, individual records, momentum, or just flat out pride as an athlete, the Capitals keep winning.

They have now won 4-straight games, and have 118 points on the year--9 better than the 2nd-best Sharks. They have 2 games remaining, both at home, where they own the best home record in the NHL. Friday night against Atlanta and Sunday afternoon versus the Bruins.

The Penguins remain at 97 points, 2 back of New Jersey for the lead in the Atlantic Division. Both teams have 3 games left.

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It was the back end of a home-and-home between these two Pacific Division rivals to close out this year's version of the Freeway Faceoff. And what a game it was for the playoff-headed Kings.

It didn't look at first for L.A., as Anaheim looked as if they were quickly going to send the Kings back up Interstate-5.

5:28 into the game, Jason Blake would tally for Anaheim, and Teemu Selanne would net a goal for the Ducks with jut over 3 minutes left in the 1st period, giving them a 2-0 lead after 1.

Bobby Ryan made it 3-0 Anaheim 2 minutes into the 2nd period on a gift turnover, at which point Jonathan Quick was pulled from the net for Erik Ersberg after allowing 3 goals on only 8 shots.

Almost 10 minutes into the 2nd period, Dustin Brown whacked one in past Curtis McElhinney to put the Kings on the board.

Selanne would get his 2nd goal of the night 2 and a half minutes later on the power-play to put the Ducks back up by 3. But the Kings kept pounding away, and Alexander Frolov bounced the puck in with just over 3 minutes left in the period to make it 4-2 Ducks after 2. The Kings were outshooting Anaheim 22-11 after 2 periods.

In the 3rd, L.A. had 16 shots to the Ducks 3. Justin Williams made it 4-3 7:56 into the 3rd on a beautiful move. And with Ersberg headed to the bench for the extra attacker, Michal Handzus backhanded the puck into the net after a great pass from Justin Williams to tie the game at 4 with 1:09 left in regulation.

The overtime would be an unbelievable back-and-forth extra session, but it would solve nothing.

Corey Perry put the Ducks up in the shootout on the first shot, but Jack Johnson and Anze Kopitar would score for Los Angeles, giving them the rally-back 5-4 win.

McElhinney would end with 36 saves for Anaheim, while Ersberg stopped 12 of 13 for the Kings and he picks up the win.

The Ducks were eliminated from the playoffs during their own shootout when Colorado won their shootout over Vancouver, but this just sealed the deal. They are 11th in the West with 86 points.

The Kings move to 6th in the West with 97 points, 1 back up Nashville for 5th with a game-in-hand and 1 up on Detroit who's in 7th. L.A. has 3 games left, 2 at home, then 1 in Colorado to close it out.

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Rangers 2 Sabres 5

New York suffers a huge blow to their playoff chances, and they remain 9th in the East with 82 points, now 3 back of 8th-place Boston with only 3 games to play. Buffalo clinches the Northeast Division title with the win, sitting 3rd in the East with 98 points.

Flyers 2 Maple Leafs 0

They Flyers' big win moves them to 7th in the East with 86 points, 1 up on 8th-place Boston and now 4 points into a spot. They have 2 games to play. Toronto is last in the East with 72 points.

Canadiens 3 Islanders 4 (SO)

New York's 3rd-straight win keeps Montreal from clinching a playoff spot just yet, as the Canadiens are now up to 87 points, 6th in the East, and their magic number is just 1 with 2 game left to play. The Islanders are 11th in the East with 78 points.

Devils 3 Thrashers 0

Martin Brodeur's 600th career win is none other than a shutout. It's his 110th shutout. And in Ilya Kovalchuk's return to Atlanta, the Devils officially eliminate the Thrashers from the playoff chase. Atlanta is 4 points behind Boston for 8th, but they only have 2 games to play and the Bruins hold the tiebreak. New Jersey is 1st in the Atlantic Division--2 points up on Pittsburgh--and 2nd in the East with 99 points.

Senators 5 Panthers 2

Ottawa remains clinched in 5th in the East with 93 points and 2 games left, while Florida is 13th in the East with 74 points.

Hurricanes 8 Lightning 5

Carolina had a 5-1 lead over Tampa Bay after the 1st period, and they wouldn't let themselves lose that. Steven Stamkos did score his 47th goal of the season for the Lightning, keeping his 1 behind Ovechkin and Crosby for the most in the league. Carolina has 78 points, 12th in the East, while Tampa Bay has 74 for 14th-place.

Blackhawks 5 Stars 2

Chicago remains within 2 points of San Jose for 1st-place in the Western Conference as they now have 107 points on the year and they have a game-in-hand on the Sharks. Dallas is 12th in the West with 84 points.

Sharks 2 Flames 1

San Jose remains 1st in the West and move to 109 points while eliminating the Flames from the playoffs and clinching the Pacific Division title in the process. Calgary has 89 points and are now 4 back of Colorado for 8th, but they only have 2 games left and the Avalanche hold the tiebreak.

Avalanche 4 Canucks 3 (SO)

Colorado has been one of the best surprise stories of the year. They were projected by many to finish near the bottom, if not the bottom, of the Western Conference, just like they were last year. How wrong they are, as on this night, the Avalanche clinched a playoff spot. They are 8th in the West with 93 points, 3 back of Detroit for 7th with 3 games remaining. Their clinch means that the West has all 8 teams ready for the playoffs. Vancouver is one of them, as they stay 3rd in the West with 101 points.

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Wednesday's Schedule:

Maple Leafs @ Rangers, 7:00, Versus

Blue Jackets @ Red Wings, 7:30

Blues @ Blackhawks, 8:30

Avalanche @ Oilers, 9:30

Predators @ Coyotes, 10:00, NHL Network