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

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