Devils back in playoffs with win over Leafs

NEWARK, N.J. — As five years of hockey frustration ended for the New Jersey Devils, players embraced, raised their sticks to salute their long-suffering fans and just imagined what the future held.

The New Jersey Devils are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2012, knowing they have a shot at the Stanley Cup, like 15 other teams after clinching a postseason berth with a 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

No tee times this year. No vacation. The real hockey starts next week.

“There’s certain moments in your life and certain moments in a season that you want to be able to celebrate,” Devils coach John Hynes said. “This is one of them. It’s a significant accomplishment for us to be able to get ourselves back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”

What the Devils did this season was remarkable. They finished last in the Eastern Conference with 28 wins and 70 points.

FLYERS 4, HURRICANES 3: Jakub Voracek scored with 5:45 left in the third period to lift Philadelphia over Carolina. Claude Giroux, Ivan Provorov and Michael Raffl also scored for the Flyers, who hold the second and final wild card, four points ahead of Florida. Philadelphia will clinch a playoff spot with a win or tie against the New York Rangers on Saturday. PANTHERS 3, BRUINS 2: Jared McCann scored with 5:37 left and Roberto Luongo got the win in his 1,000th career game, helping Florida stay in contention for the playoffs with a home victory over Boston. PREDATORS 4, CAPITALS 3: Craig Smith scored twice and Ryan Johansen had the go-ahead goal late in the third period to help Nashville beat Washington on the road to clinch first place in the Central Division and the top seed in the Western Conference. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored twice and Alex Ovechkin added his league-leading 47th goal of the season for the Capitals.