Capitals clinch berth
Make room in the playoffs for MVP front-runner Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
Tomas Fleischmann, Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Semin scored for the Capitals, who clinched the Southeast Division title with a 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night in Washington. The win was also the Capitals’ seventh straight, the franchise’s longest in 15 years.
The Capitals finished last in the Southeast each of the last three seasons and were still there as late as Dec. 30, but their steady climb had already begun. With nearly every game in March and April a must-win, they ended the regular season by winning 11 of 12 and 14 of 18 and became the first NHL team to make the playoffs after sitting at 14th or 15th in the conference at the halfway mark.
When the clock hit 0:00, Ovechkin hopped into the arms of goaltender Cristobel Huet, and the Capitals were on the way to the playoffs.
The Capitals needed only 4 1/2 months to go from worst in the NHL to Southeast Division champions. Washington snagged its first postseason berth since 2003 – and put their Russian superstar in hockey’s showcase tournament for the first time.
Canadiens 3, Maple Leafs 1: At Montreal, Chris Higgins scored twice and Mark Streit had a goal and an assist as the Canadiens beat Toronto to finish their schedule atop the Eastern Conference.
Sabres 3, Bruins 0: At Boston, Thomas Vanek scored three goals and Jocelyn Thibault shut out the Bruins in his first start since Jan. 21 as Buffalo ended its season with a win.
Boston, which clinched a playoff berth with a 2-1 win at Ottawa on Friday night, will finish seventh or eighth in the Eastern Conference and play Montreal in the first round.
Thrashers 4, Lightning 1: At Atlanta, Colby Armstrong scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period and the Thrashers added two empty-netters in the final minute of a victory over Tampa Bay.
Blues 3, Blue Jackets 0: At St. Louis, Keith Tkachuk scored the 498th and 499th goals of his career, and Manny Legace earned his 27th career shutout as the Blues beat Columbus.
Brad Boyes also scored his team-leading 42nd goal.
Ducks 4, Kings 3: At Los Angeles, Teemu Selanne scored two goals, including the winner with 13:32 to play, and Anaheim beat the Kings.
Joe DiPenta and Ryan Getzlaf also scored and Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 28 shots for the Ducks, who won six of eight against their Southern California rivals this season.
Flames 7, Canucks 1: At Vancouver, British Columbia, Jarome Iginla scored his 50th goal of the season and added two assists as Calgary finished the regular season with a victory over the Canucks.
Eric Nystrom scored his second goal with 1:42 left, and also added two assists.