Hurricanes clinch crown with 3-2 win

The T-shirts for the Southeast Division champs were hanging in each player’s locker when the Carolina Hurricanes skated off the ice. What has been a near certainty for weeks finally was official, yet they weren’t celebrating.

The Hurricanes aren’t finished yet.

“It’s an accomplishment and our guys should be proud of that,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “They’ve worked hard to get to this point, but trust me. It’s not the ultimate goal.”

Craig Adams scored short-handed early in the third period to give Carolina a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C., that clinched the title.

With 102 points through 73 games, the Hurricanes moved within three points of Ottawa for the best record in the Eastern Conference by stopping Florida’s seven-game winning streak. Carolina, headed to the postseason for the first time since reaching the Stanley Cup finals in 2002, leads Tampa Bay by 19 points in the division.

“It’s nice that’s it over with, I think it’s kind of been a foregone conclusion for it seems like forever,” Hurricanes captain Rod Brind’Amour said.

Ex-Spokane Chief Ray Whitney and Mark Recchi also had goals for the Hurricanes, and Martin Gerber had 21 saves.

Flames 6, Avalanche 3: At Calgary, Alberta, Chris Simon, Craig MacDonald and Damon Langkow scored second-period goals to rally Calgary past Colorado to move two points ahead of the Avs for first in the Northwest Division.

Blackhawks 3, Red Wings 2 (OT): At Detroit, Patrick Sharp scored 1:29 into overtime, lifting Chicago over Detroit.

Penguins 4, Islanders 0: At Uniondale, N.Y., Sergei Gonchar scored twice to help Pittsburgh beat New York and snap a two-game skid.

Blue Jackets 4, Blues 2: At St. Louis, Rick Nash scored twice and backup goalie Pascal Leclaire had a strong game, helping Columbus hand slumping St. Louis its ninth straight loss.

•Blues captain Dallas Drake will miss the remainder of the season after breaking two ribs and tearing some cartilage during Wednesday’s game.

Wild 2, Canucks 1: At Vancouver, British Columbia, Mikko Koivu scored the only shootout goal, leading Minnesota past Vancouver, which still gained ground on idle Edmonton and San Jose in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Ducks 5, Stars 4 (SO): At Anaheim, Calif., Rob Niedermayer’s goal in the shootout was the difference for Anaheim as it downed Dallas.