Eastern Conference
x-1. Washington - 103 pts (3 GR)
x-2. Philadelphia - 102 pts (4 GR)
y-3. Boston - 99 pts (4 GR)
x-4. Pittsburgh - 100 pts (3 GR)
x-5. Tampa Bay - 97 pts (4 GR)
6. Montreal - 91 pts (3 GR)
7. Buffalo - 88 pts (4 GR)
8. NY Rangers - 87 pts (4 GR)
9. Carolina - 86 pts (4 GR)
10. Toronto - 84 pts (3 GR)
e-11. Atlanta - 78 pts (4 GR)
e-12. New Jersey - 77 pts (4 GR)
x - clinched playoff spot
y - clinched division title
e- eliminated from playoffs
GR - games remaining
Click here for the full recap.
The Capitals now have a one-point lead over the Philadelphia Flyers for the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference, although Philly holds a game in hand (which you can witness tomorrow afternoon, in the NBC Game of the Week against the New York Rangers). Meanwhile, the Sabres at least earned a point to keep themselves one point ahead of the eighth-place Rangers and two points ahead of the ninth place Hurricanes.
This sets up an incredibly juicy Sabres-Hurricanes contest in Carolina on Sunday evening.
Speaking of the Canes, they played against the Islanders tonight in a game they had to win (regardless of the fact that the Isles have been notably scrappy lately). Carolina did just that, as Erik Cole won it for his team once again while Joe Corvo had a goal and two assists. Again, the Hurricanes are now only two points behind the Sabres and one point behind the Rangers for one of the final playoff spots.
Boston 3, Atlanta 2; Montreal 3, New Jersey 1
Three things were clinched in these two games. First, the Bruins guaranteed themselves a top-three seed by clinching the Northeast Division with today’s win. This defeat eliminated Atlanta from the playoffs (read the full recap here).
Meanwhile, Zach Parise returned to the Devils’ fold just in time to watch his team get eliminated from the postseason for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Mathieu Darche scored two goals and Carey Price made 20 saves to win this one for the Habs.
The Maple Leafs’ playoff dreams are still alive, even if their chances are pretty slim. Phil Kessel hit the 30-goal mark for the third straight season by scoring the game’s opening goal, Jason Spezza scored twice in a losing effort and James Reimer made 23 saves in this Toronto win. The Leafs are a little short on points and games remaining, but they can still dream of an unlikely playoff run thanks to this victory.
Pittsburgh 4, Florida 2; Tampa Bay 3, Minnesota 1
The Penguins reached the 100-point mark tonight, but the Lightning kept pace for home ice advantage in their near-definite first round matchup. Pittsburgh has three more points than Tampa Bay, but the Bolts have an extra game in hand so they can close that gap to just one point if they earn two points in that extra contest.
Jordan Staal earned three assists in the game to help the Pens come back from a 2-1 deficit while Dwayne Roloson stopped 29 out of 30 shots to officially eliminate the Wild from the West playoffs, which must have been slightly sweet since Roloson was once in Minnesota’s goalie rotation.
***
It was an interesting and game-changing Saturday in the East, with teams jockeying for position in fascinating ways. Keep your eye on PHT tonight, as we’ll handicap the race for the top spot in the East as well as the slugfest for the final two seeds.