Pavel Datsyuk's tying goal with 46.4 seconds to play in regulation kept alive Detroit's chances at home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but only for a few minutes. Patrick Kane scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 win over the Red Wings in the regular-season finale for both playoff-bound teams at Joe Louis Arena. Chicago (45-26-11) needed a regulation win to claim the fifth seed in the playoffs and nearly pulled it off, but will instead be the sixth seed with 100 points. The Blackhawks' opponent in the Western Conference quarterfinals will be determined later Saturday, as they will face the winner of the Pacific Division -- either Phoenix, Los Angeles or San Jose. The Red Wings (48-28-6), meanwhile, will be the fifth seed with 102 points and will face Nashville in the first round.
Final Score: New Jersey 4, Ottawa 2Newark, NJ (Sports Network) - The New Jersey Devils are streaking into the playoffs. Ilya Kovalchuk scored two goals, Martin Brodeur made 31 saves and the Devils posted a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. New Jersey (48-28-6) concluded the regular season on a six-game winning streak, the longest active run in the league, and, as the Eastern Conference's sixth seed, will meet the Southeast Division champion in the first round of the playoffs. The Devils' opponent will be either Florida or Washington. Matt Gilroy and Jim O'Brien lit the lamp for Ottawa (41-31-10), which will finish seventh or eighth in the conference standings. Craig Anderson stopped 31 shots in defeat.Final Score: Boston 4, Buffalo 3 (SO)Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Patrice Bergeron collected three assists and supplied the lone shootout goal, as the Boston Bruins closed out the regular season by rallying for a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Boston erased a 3-1 deficit in the third period with goals from Tyler Seguin -- his second of the game -- and Brad Marchand 2:25 apart. In the shootout, Bergeron, whose second helper gave him 400 career points, stickhandled and slipped the puck through the legs of Buffalo's Jhonas Enroth. Tim Thomas made 25 saves for Boston (49-29-4), which will host either Northeast Division rival Ottawa or Washington in the first round of the playoffs. Brad Boyes matched Seguin with two goals and Jason Pominville added the other Buffalo (39-32-11) tally. Enroth turned aside 37 shots in just his third appearance since mid-January.Final Score: Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 2Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Evgeni Malkin scored his 50th of the season and added one assist, as Pittsburgh took a 4-2 decision over Philadelphia in the season finale for both clubs at CONSOL Energy Center. Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz also recorded a goal and a helper each for the Penguins (51-25-6), who ended the regular season with four wins in five games. Marc- Andre Fleury started, but played 32 minutes and allowed one goal on 15 shots. Brent Johnson subbed from there and stopped five shots. Brayden Schenn and Jaromir Jagr tallied for the Flyers (47-26-9), whose five- game win streak in their rivals' new home rink came to an end. Sergei Bobrovsky allowed four goals on 23 shots in the loss. These clubs will face each other in the first round, starting later next week in the Steel City.Final Score: St. Louis 3, Dallas 2Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - David Perron scored the game winner on a power play late in the third period, and St. Louis hung on late to beat Dallas, 3-2, at American Airlines Center. Alex Steen and Kris Russell also tickled the twine for the Blues (49-22-11), who finished the year by halting a four-game losing skid. St. Louis, which finished the year with 109 points, has to await the results of the Edmonton-Vancouver and Los Angeles-San Jose games to see if it takes the top seed in the West. Jaroslav Halak made 33 stops, assuring he and Brian Elliott the Jennings Trophy for fewest total goals allowed at 165. Ryan Garbutt and Philip Larsen hit the net for the Stars (42-35-5), who dropped five straight and finished out of the postseason for the fourth straight season. Richard Bachman stopped 32 shots in the loss.Final Score: Phoenix 4, Minnesota 1St. Paul, MN (Sports Network) - Taylor Pyatt tallied twice and Mike Smith stopped 23 shots as the Phoenix Coyotes clinched their first-ever division title and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. Smith is the major reason why the Coyotes closed the season with five consecutive wins to capture the Pacific Division crown. He's registered three shutouts during that span and stopped 190-of-192 shots. Radim Vrbata and Mikkel Boedker also lit the lamp for the Coyotes (42-27-13), who will play the sixth-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference quarterfinals. Dany Heatley scored the lone goal for Minnesota (35-36-11), which held the NHL's best record at 20-7-3 on Dec. 10, but went 15-29-8 to close the season. Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves in defeat.Final Score: Washington 4, NY Rangers 1New York, NY (Sports Network) - The Washington Capitals scored a trio of first-period goals and rode that momentum to a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers. Nicklas Backstrom added his first goal since returning from a concussion in the second period for the Capitals (42-32-8), who finished as the Eastern Conference's seventh seed and will battle the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins in the opening round of the playoffs. With Michal Neuvirth out of the lineup, Braden Holtby started Washington's season finale and made 35 saves. Neuvirth was hurt in the second period Thursday when the Panthers' Marco Sturm fell on his left leg. It's uncertain how much time Neuvirth will miss. Henrik Lundqvist allowed four goals on just 17 shots for the top-seeded Rangers (51-24-7), who will host the Ottawa Senators in the playoffs. Despite losing three of its last four games, New York can still secure the Presidents' Trophy as the regular season's best team for the first time since 1993-94 if Vancouver loses to Edmonton in regulation later Saturday.Final Score: Florida 4, Carolina 1Sunrise, FL (Sports Network) - Scott Clemmensen made 34 saves and the Florida Panthers captured the Southeast Division title with a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in the regular-season finale on Saturday. Florida earned the No. 3 seed and will face the sixth-seeded New Jersey Devils when the playoffs begin next week. It will be the team's first appearance in the playoffs since they lost to New Jersey in the first round in 1999-2000. Mikael Samuelsson had a goal and two assists while Marcel Goc scored one goal with one assist. John Madden and Stephen Weiss also found the back of the net for the Panthers (38-26-18), who snapped a five-game skid. Joni Pitkanen scored the only goal for the Hurricanes (33-33-16), who finished last in the Southeast Division. Brian Boucher was tagged for three goals on 25 shots.Final Score: Tampa Bay 4, Winnipeg 3Winnipeg, MB (Sports Network) - Teddy Purcell netted a hat trick, and his final goal of the contest came 68 seconds into overtime to give Tampa Bay a 4-3 victory over Winnipeg in the season finale for both teams at MTS Centre. Steven Stamkos provided the other goal -- his 60th of the season -- for the Lightning (38-36-8), who won three of five to end the year. Dwayne Roloson made 28 saves for the victory. Jim Slater tallied twice for the Jets (37-36-9), who dropped six of eight to finish off their first season in Canada after relocating from Atlanta. Ondrej Pavelec allowed four goals on 25 shots in defeat.Final Score: Calgary 5, Anaheim 2Calgary, AB (Sports Network) - Akim Aliu scored his first two goals to help the Calgary Flames finish the season on a high note with a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Jay Bouwmeester added a goal and an assist and Lee Stempniak and Anton Babchuk scored the other goals for the Flames (37-29-16), who closed out the season with two straight wins but will miss the playoffs for a third straight time. Henrik Karlsson stopped 23 shots for the win. Bobby Ryan scored twice for the Ducks (34-36-12), who dropped four of five to finish the season last in the Pacific Division. Jonas Hiller gave up all five goals on 23 shots in the loss.Final Score: Montreal 4, Toronto 1Montreal, QC (Sports Network) - Peter Budaj posted 30 saves to lead Montreal to a 4-1 win over Toronto in the final game of the season. Max Pacioretty had a goal and an assist while Brad Staubitz, Tomas Plekanec and Erik Cole each lit the lamp for the Canadiens (31-35-16), who won two of three to close out the season, but still finished in last place in the Northeast Division. Dion Phaneuf scored the only goal of the game for the Maple Leafs (35-37-10), who dropped five of seven to finish just two points ahead of Montreal. Ben Scrivens gave up three goals on 26 shots in the loss. It's the first time since the 2006-07 season that Montreal is missing the postseason while Toronto has not made it to the playoffs since the season before the lockout.Final Score: Columbus 7, NY Islanders 3Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - Cam Atkinson tallied twice in a four-goal second period for Columbus as the Blue Jackets defeated the New York Islanders, 7-3, on Saturday. James Wisniewski and Vinny Prospal added and goal and two assists apiece for Columbus (29-46-7), which closed the year with wins in five of its last six contests. Rick Nash, Jack Johnson, and R.J. Umberger also lit the lamp for the Blue Jackets, who got 35 saves from Steve Mason. Michael Grabner, Kyle Okposo and Milan Jurcina scored for New York (34-37-11), which lost four of its last five games. Al Montoya allowed seven goals on 37 shots in defeat.
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