Leafs fall, will face top-seed Caps
There will be no Battle of Ontario in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
James van Riemsdyk scored twice, but the Maple Leafs dropped their regular-season finale 3-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets last night in Toronto, and will face the Washington Capitals in the opening round of their first postseason since 2013.
Curtis McElhinney made 29 saves, but Toronto let a 2-0 lead melt away in a bad second period.
Matt Calvert, Josh Anderson and Cam Atkinson scored in the comeback for Columbus. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 30 shots for the Blue Jackets, who are set for an Eastern Conference first-round matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Had they earned even a point, the Maple Leafs would have faced the Ottawa Senators in the first round, but instead they get the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals. Toronto went 1-1-1 against Washington in the regular season.
No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen sat out yesterday after exiting a playoff-clinching win against Pittsburgh on Saturday following a hit to the head. Babcock said Andersen showed no concussion symptoms and would be ready for the start of the postseason.
Panthers 2, Capitals 0 — With several regulars resting, including defensemen John Carlson and Matt Niskanen and forwards T.J. Oshie and Justin Williams, playoff-bound Washington lost its finale to visiting Florida due to goals by Derek MacKenzie and Denis Malgin and 29 saves from James Reimer.
Islanders 4, Senators 2 — Anders Lee and Brock Nelson scored in the second period and host New York closed the season with its sixth straight win by beating Ottawa.
Bobby Ryan and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for the Senators and Mike Condon had 17 saves. Ottawa, which had already clinched second place in the Atlantic Division and will host the Bruins to open the playoffs, left 10 players back home to rest.
Rangers 3, Penguins 2 — Jimmy Vesey scored a tiebreaking goal in the third period and host New York beat Pittsburgh.
Ryan McDonagh had a goal and an assist, Derek Stepan had a goal and Mika Zibanejad added two assists for the Rangers, while Nick Bonino and Carter Rowney scored for the Penguins.
Ducks 4, Kings 3 — Nate Thompson scored his first goal of the season to tie it with 8:26 to play and Shea Theodore won it in overtime, helping host Anaheim beat Los Angeles and clinch its fifth consecutive Pacific Division title.
Theodore’s breakaway goal got the Ducks a first-round playoff date with the Calgary Flames by earning a point in their 14th consecutive game (11-0-3).
Oilers 5, Canucks 2 — Jordan Eberle notched a hat trick, giving him 20 goals on the season, and Connor McDavid had two assists to get him 70 on the season as host Edmonton dispatched Vancouver.
Leon Draisaitil added a goal and an assist, upping his point total to 76, as the Oilers now get set to host San Jose in the first round of the playoffs.
Hurricanes 4, Flyers 3 — Bryan Bickell scored in the shootout of his final game before retiring because of multiple sclerosis, and Carolina beat Philadelphia in the season finale for both teams.
Bickell’s shootout goal was the first of his career in his second attempt and set up Brock McGinn’s winner on the final shot of Carolina’s season. McGinn also scored twice in regulation. Dale Weise scored twice and Wayne Simmonds had his 31st for the Flyers.
Lightning 4, Sabres 2 — In Tampa, Brayden Point scored twice, including the winner with 1:24 left, as Tampa Bay topped Buffalo in the season finale for both teams.
Blues 3, Avalanche 2 — Vladimir Tarasenko netted a go-ahead goal, his 39th of the season, just 19 seconds after Vladimir Sobotka scored in his first NHL game in three years, lifting host St. Louis over Colorado to get set for its playoffs series against Minnesota.
Red Wings 4, Devils 1 — Riley Sheahan had two goals and Henrik Zetterberg scored in his 1,000th NHL game, helping Detroit close Joe Louis Arena in style with a win over New Jersey.
Elsewhere in the NHL — Lindy Ruff will not return as Dallas Stars coach after the team went from the Western Conference’s top seed last year to missing the playoffs this season, ending his four-year reign.