NHL: Defending champs miss chance to defend

A rare third-period collapse sealed the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes’ fate.

There will be no postseason title defense.

Vincent Lecavalier and Dan Boyle scored less than 2 minutes apart early in the third to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning past Carolina 3-2 on Tuesday night at Tampa, Fla.

The Hurricanes became the first defending Stanley Cup winner to miss the playoffs the next season since New Jersey in 1996.

“We’re completely frustrated as a team. Embarrassed,” Carolina center Eric Staal said. “We wanted to be in the playoffs. We wanted to defend the Cup we won last year, and we didn’t get it done tonight. It’s unacceptable for the guys we have in this room and the amount of talent we have. Everyone feels just terrible.”

Sabres 4, Penguins 1: At Pittsburgh, Buffalo clinched the Northeast Division and wrapped up a No. 1 conference seeding for the first time in 27 years with a victory over Pittsburgh.

Red Wings 3, Blue Jackets 0: At Detroit, Dominik Hasek made 35 saves in his 76th career shutout and eighth of the season to lift Detroit to a win over Columbus.

Kyle Calder, Todd Bertuzzi, and Kris Draper scored for Detroit.

Capitals 1, Panthers 0: At Washington, Olie Kolzig made 27 saves and posted his first shutout in more than three years during Washington’s victory over Florida.

Canadiens 2, Bruins 0: At Montreal, Saku Koivu scored twice, including his career-high 22nd goal in the third period, and Jaroslav Halak got his second shutout in Montreal’s win over Boston before the Bell Centre’s 100th straight sellout crowd.

Devils 2, Senators 1 (SO): At East Rutherford, N.J., Martin Brodeur tied Bernie Parent’s single-season record for wins and Lou Lamoriello got a win in his return to coaching in New Jersey’s shootout victory over Ottawa.

Brodeur got his 47th win, making 22 saves in regulation and stopping six in the shootout.

Maple Leafs 3, Flyers 2 (OT): At Toronto, Bryan McCabe’s power-play goal 2:18 into overtime gave Toronto a victory over Philadelphia.

Ian White and Hal Gill also scored for the Leafs, who won their eighth straight home game.

Wild 3, Oilers 0: At St. Paul, Minn., Niklas Backstrom stopped 25 shots for his fourth shutout this season, helping Minnesota defeat Edmonton.

Minnesota reached 100 points for the first time in franchise history.

Islanders 3, Rangers 2 (SO): At Uniondale, N.Y., Wade Dubielewicz, playing because of Rick DiPietro’s concussion, helped New York stave off playoff elimination by stopping 36 shots, plus three more in the shootout to lead the Islanders to a win over the New York Rangers.

Blackhawks 3, Predators 2 (SO): At Nashville, Tenn., Jeffrey Hamilton flipped the puck over a sprawling Chris Mason as Chicago beat Nashville.

Jason Williams and Radim Vrbata scored to start the shootout for Chicago with similar shots that easily beat Mason, who had skated out to the edge of the crease.

Avalanche 4, Flames 3: At Calgary, Alberta, Joe Sakic scored once and assisted on Colorado’s other three goals as the Avalanche kept their remote playoff chances alive with a victory over Calgary, snapping the Flames’ six-game winning streak.

Canucks 4, Kings 2: At Vancouver, British Columbia, Bryan Smolinski, Taylor Pyatt and Matt Cooke all scored in the second period to help Vancouver rally from a two-goal deficit to beat Los Angeles.

Blues 5, Coyotes 2: At Glendale, Ariz., Doug Weight and Petr Cajanek had a goal and an assist and St. Louis beat Phoenix.

D.J. King scored his first career goal, and Radek Dvorak and Barret Jackman also scored for the Blues.