Sabres earn berth in postseason
Buffalo clinched its first playoff spot in five years when Maxim Afinogenov scored the only goal of the shootout in a 3-2 victory at Toronto on Monday night.
The Sabres rebounded from an embarrassing loss, and when Atlanta lost to Ottawa, the Sabres had their playoff berth.
Afinogenov made sure they celebrated by scoring on Buffalo’s first attempt of the shootout. He deked goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin before putting the puck past him.
Afinogenov also scored in regulation and had an assist for the Sabres, who had won just one of their previous nine games.
Derek Roy also scored for the Sabres, who lost 7-0 to Toronto on Saturday night.
Senators 6, Thrashers 4: At Ottawa, Dany Heatley scored twice to give him 45 and tie the Senators’ record for goals in a season as Ottawa beat Atlanta. Heatley, the second-leading goal scorer in Thrashers history, put his name into the Senators record book in his first season in Ottawa.
Hurricanes 6, Capitals 5 (OT): At Raleigh, N.C., former Spokane Chief Ray Whitney scored on a power play in overtime, and Josef Vasicek had two goals and two assists in his return from injury as Carolina beat Washington in the first of three straight games between the teams.
Lightning 4, Panthers 1: At Tampa, Fla., Vincent Lecavalier had two goals and an assist, and Sean Burke stopped 29 shots in his first start since returning from a broken finger as Tampa Bay beat Florida.
Blue Jackets 3, Predators 1: At Nashville, Tenn., Manny Malhotra, Jason Chimera and Mark Hartigan each scored as Columbus beat Nashville. Pascal LeClaire made 36 saves for Columbus, which lost three previous times this season in Nashville.
Sharks 3, Stars 2 (OT): At Dallas, Joe Thornton scored a power-play goal with 20.2 seconds showing on the overtime clock as San Jose snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over Dallas.
Oilers 7, Coyotes 1: At Edmonton, Alberta, Ethan Moreau, Sergei Samsonov and Michael Peca each had a goal and assist in a four-goal second period, as Edmonton beat Phoenix.
Avalanche 4, Blackhawks 3: At Denver, Dan Hinote and Rob Blake scored in the final 58 seconds as Colorado moved within three points of the Northwest Division lead with a win over Chicago.
Red Wings 2, Flames 1 (SO): At Calgary, Alberta, Pavel Datsyuk and Jason Williams scored on similar moves in the shootout as Detroit survived 41 saves from Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff in a win over Calgary.
Kings 1, Canucks 0: At Los Angeles, Mathieu Garon made 23 saves for his second straight shutout and eighth of his career, and Pavol Demitra scored a power-play goal in the second period as Los Angeles beat Vancouver.