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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5 4 (SO)

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

Laich it or not, Caps Win 3rd Straight

In their first game after clinching the President's Trophy for the best record in the NHL, the Washington Capitals were at home against a Boston Bruins team desperate for points and trying to solidify a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Verizon Center is our sight for Monday's Game of the Night:

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Boston's 1st visit of the year to the toughest building in the NHL happened to be when they needed the points most. They got 1, but the lowest-scoring team in the league couldn't convert for the big goal they needed to help their playoff run.

Nicklas Backstrom started the scoring for Washington with his 31st goal of the year 7:36 into the game when he wristed a shot that barely rolled its way over the line.

Jose Theodore would hang tough for the rest of the 1st period before Dennis Wideman blasted one past him with less than 2 seconds to go in the period.

Patrice Bergeron gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead less than 8 minutes into the 2nd period, but then it was the Capitals' turn to score a late goal, as Mike Knuble put one past Tuukka Rask with 29 seconds left in the period to tie it at 2.

A scoreless 3rd period was dangerously close to not being scoreless when Brooks Laich took a penalty with 5:01 remaining in regulation. The Capitals would have his back and kill the penalty and send the game to overtime, and Laich would make up for it later.

In the overtime, Dennis Wideman took a high-sticking penalty only 24 seconds in. It was only 20 seconds later when the game would end.

Brooks Laich found the puck lying in front of the crease after an Alexander Semin one-time shot off a pass from Nicklas Backstrom and deposited it into the back of the net to give the Capitals the 3-2 win, their 3rd-straight win.

Washington is the highest scoring team in the league with 304 goals. Boston is the lowest with 195.

Tuukka Rask stopped 27 shots for the Bruins.

Jose Theodore made 28 saves, including 2 huge stacked-pad saves in the 1st period. There are still questions circulating around the Capitals as to how their goaltending will hold up come playoff time. But when you look at the numbers, it's hard to see why they're still out there.

Theodore hasn't lost in regulation since January 12th, going 19-0-3 since then. He is 29-7-7 on the season, and is looking for only his 3rd 30-win season of his career.

The lone point for the Bruins does move them up to 7th-place in the East all by themselves. They have 85 points, now 1 up on 8th-place Philadelphia, 3 up on 9th-place New York, and 1 behind Montreal for 6th. They have 3 games left this season.

Washington has already secured home-ice throughout the playoffs, so it's nothing but pride to play for in their final 3 games, as they now have 116 points. The Capitals face the Penguins in Pittsburgh tomorrow before ending the year with 2 home games; Friday against the Thrashers and Sunday afternoon against these same Bruins.

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Blue Jackets 1 Blues 2 (OT)

Don't count out the Blues just yet. Erik Johnson scored on the power-play with 1:01 left in overtime to keep St Louis' slim playoff hopes alive. Their win has them at 87 points, 10th in the West, 4 points back of Colorado for the 8th and final playoff spot. They are 2 back of Calgary for 9th. The Blues only have 3 games left though, while the Flames also have 3 and the Avalanche have 4 to go. Columbus has 78 points and are 14th in the West.

Wild 1 Oilers 4

Edmonton now has 58 points on the year with their win over the Wild. The Oilers are last in the league, 14 points behind the 29th-place team, Toronto, and 20 points behind the 14th-place team in the West, Columbus. Minnesota is 13th in the West with 81 points.

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Tuesday's Schedule:

Rangers @ Sabres, 7:00

Flyers @ Maple Leafs, 7:00

Canadiens @ Islanders, 7:00

Devils @ Thrashers, 7:00

Senators @ Panthers, 7:00

Capitals @ Penguins, 7:30, Versus

Hurricanes @ Lightning, 7:30

Blackhawks @ Stars, 8:30

Sharks @ Flames, 9:30

Avalanche @ Canucks, 10:00, Versus

Kings @ Ducks, 10:00, Prime Ticket

Avs Bounce Back; DET, LA Clinch

On Sunday, the Flyers got a big win, the Blackhawks clinched the Central Division title, and the Canucks clinched the Northwest Division title. But our Game of the Night comes from Denver, where the Avalanche got what head coach Joe Sacco called their "biggest win of the year."

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It wasn't technically a "must win" for 8th-place Colorado, but it was as close as it could get after seeing their lead over 9th-place Calgary evaporate the other night. They had to face the Western Conference leaders in their battle to bounce back.

San Jose would open up a 2-0 lead on goals by Douglas Murray and Jamie McGinn less than 9 minutes into the game, only to see the Avalanche score 4-straight goals after that.

Kyle Quincey closed out the 1st period with a goal to cut the lead to 2-1. Peter Mueller would then tally twice for Colorado in the 2nd period, giving the Avalanche a 3-2 lead after 2.

20 seconds into the 3rd, Paul Stastny made it 4-2 Avalanche on the power-play. But the 3rd-highest offensive team in the NHL wouldn't go down easy.

Patrick Marleau made it a 4-3 Avalanche lead with under 12 minutes left in regulation. The tying goal would come off the stick of Joe Pavelski with 5:19 to go.

But the Avalanche would get the big goal they badly needed 2:59 into the overtime from John-Michael Liles to give Colorado the 5-4 win.

The Avalanche hadn't scored more than 3 goals in regulation in their last 8, going 1-6-1. But they finally found their offense, outshooting the Sharks 40-22.

Evgeni Nabokov stopped 35 shots for the Sharks while Craig Anderson made 18 saves for the Avalanche.

The Sharks' point gives them 107, remaining 1st in the Western Conference. They are 2 points up on Chicago with 3 games left and have played 1 more game than the Blackhawks.

Colorado's win combined with tonight's Flames' loss gives the Avalanche 8th-place back all to themselves. They have 91 points, 2 up on Calgary, and have 4 games remaining while the Flames only have 3 games left.

The 8-spot in the Western Conference is now the only one left to fight for, as teams 1 through 7 have all clinched.

*Note- the Sharks' loss also makes the Washington Capitals the winners of the President's Trophy for the best record in the NHL's regular season. The Capitals will have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

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Red Wings 3 Flyers 4

NBC's Game of the Week proved to be another dandy, as Philadelphia got a huge win for their playoff hopes and handed Detroit their 1st regulation loss in their last 13 games in the process. The Flyers are still in 8th-place in the East, tied in points with Boston for 7th with 84, but are now 2 points up on the Rangers, who sit in 9th, and 3 points up on the 10th-place Thrashers. The Flyers and Thrashers have 3 games left, while the Rangers have 4 to go. The Flyers and the Rangers will end the year with a home-and-home, and it will likely be a deciding factor in which team makes the postseason. Detroit's loss keeps them 6th in the West with 96 points, 2 back of Nashville for 5th and 1 up on L.A. who are in 7th. But Calgary's loss to Chicago later in the night clinches a playoff spot for the Red Wings for the 19th-straight season.

Flames 1 Blackhawks 4

A big loss for Calgary to the hands of Chicago moves the Blackhawks a point closer to top spot in the Western Conference. Chicago has 105 points on the year, now 2 back of San Jose for 1st in the West with a game-in-hand on the Sharks. The Flames, however, can't keep pace with Colorado. They stay at 89 points, 2 back of the Avalanche for the 8th and final playoff spot. They have 3 games left and have played 1 more game than the Avalanche.

*Note- Calgary's loss also clinches a playoff spot for the Los Angeles Kings--their 1st since 2001-2002.

Wild 3 Canucks 4 (OT)

Vancouver salvages their Northwest Division-clinching win after what was an unbelievable ending. Alexander Edler scored an empty-net goal with 55 seconds left in regulation to give the Canucks a 3-1 lead. But hold your horses. Cody Almond scored his 1st NHL goal for the Wild with 42 seconds to go, cutting the lead back to 1. And with 19 seconds left, Antti Miettinen would tie the game at 3, absolutely stunning the GM Place crowd--or at least the people that hadn't headed for the exits thinking the game was wrapped up. But Sami Salo would get the goal in overtime on the power-play to give the Canucks the 4-3 win, clinching the Northwest Division title. They are up to 100 points and remain 3rd in the West with 3 games to play. Minnesota is 13th in the West with 81 points.

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Monday's Schedule:

Bruins @ Capitals, 7:00, Versus

Blue Jackets @ Blues, 8:00

Wild @ Oilers, 9:30