Leafs clinch playoff spot
Connor Brown broke a tie with 2:48 left and the Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3, last night in Toronto, to wrap up their first playoff spot since 2013.
James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Kasperi Kapanen and Auston Matthews also scored for the Leafs, and Curtis McElhinney stepped in for an injured Frederik Andersen with 12 saves.
Toronto will play Ottawa in the first round of the playoffs if the Maple Leafs pick up at least a point in their season finale against Columbus today. If they do, the Bruins will be a wild card and face Washington in the first round.
Phil Kessel, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel scored for Pittsburgh, and Marc-Andre Fleury gave up four goals on 30 shots.
Senators 3, Rangers 1 —
Ottawa clinched second place in the Atlantic Division and home-ice advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs with a win over visiting New York.
The Senators’ postseason opponent remains unknown at this point, but they have the luxury of resting players for today’s final regular-season game against the New York Islanders.
Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for the Senators. Craig Anderson made 18 saves.
Islanders 4, Devils 2 —
In Newark, Jaroslav Halak made 37 saves, Anders Lee scored twice in a win over New Jersey but New York’s playoffs hopes were dashed later in the night when Toronto won its game.
Adam Pelech and Jason Chimera also scored as the Islanders won their fifth straight game — all with Halak in goal.
Beau Bennett scored twice for the Devils, who have three wins in their last 23 games.
Blues 5, Hurricanes 4 —
In Raleigh, N.C., Vladimir Tarasenko scored in the fourth round of the shootout, and St. Louis beat Carolina.
Scottie Upshall scored a shorthanded goal, Alexander Steen, Ryan Reaves and Ivan Barbashev added goals and Alex Pietrangelo and Tarasenko had two assists apiece. The Blues clinched the No. 3 seed in the Central Division.
Hurricanes forward Bryan Bickell says he’s retiring after the season as he fights multiple sclerosis.
Canadiens 3, Red Wings 2 —
Alex Galchenyuk scored 1:42 into overtime, giving visiting Montreal a win over Detroit.
The Atlantic Divisionchampion Canadiens, with nothing at stake, rested many players in their final game of the regular season.
Flyers 4, Blue Jackets 2 —
Steve Mason made 20 saves and host Philadelphia got goals from four players in a victory over Columbus.
Forwards Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Jakub Voracek and defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Ivan Provorov scored goals for the Flyers.
Kings 3, Blackhawks 2 —
Drew Doughty scored 27 seconds into overtime, leading host Los Angeles to a victory over Chicago.
Dustin Brown scored with 55 seconds remaining to send it to overtime.
In Glendale, Ariz., Darcy Kuemper stopped 20 shots, Martin Hanzal scored in his return to the desert and Minnesota set a franchise record with its 49th win by beating Arizona.
The Wild already clinched home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs and the victory over the Coyotes gave them a franchiserecord 105 points.
Wild 3, Coyotes 1 —
In Sunrise, Fla., Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice and James Reimer made 30 saves to help Florida blank Buffalo.
Nick Bjugstad also scored, and Jaromir Jagr had two assists.
Panthers 3, Sabres 0 —
Blake Wheeler scored a shorthanded goal with 45 seconds left in regulation to lift host Winnipeg to its franchise-record seventh straight victory with a win over Nashville.
Jets 2, Predators 1 —
Tyler Seguin scored the only goal in the shootout, and host Dallas handled Colorado.
Stars 4, Avalanche 3 —