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East playoff update: Canes beat Red Wings, Capitals and Bruins also win

Jimmy Howard, Erik Cole

Carolina Hurricanes’ Erik Cole (26) tries to score on Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard (35) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, April 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

AP

Eastern Conference playoff race

y-1. Washington - 107 pts (1 GR)
x-2. Philadelphia 103 pts (2 GR)
y-3. Boston - 101 pts (2 GR)
x-4. Pittsburgh - 102 pts (2 GR)
x-5. Tampa Bay - 99 pts (2 GR)
x-6. Montreal - 93 pts (2 GR)
7. Buffalo - 92 pts (2 GR)
8. NY Rangers - 91 pts (2 GR)
9. Carolina - 89 pts (2 GR)

y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot
GR - games remaining

Carolina 3, Detroit 0

Read the full recap here.

The Hurricanes pulled within two points of the eighth place New York Rangers, giving them a chance to make the playoffs. Carolina more or less needs to win their final two games - preferably both in regulation - while the Rangers need to drop a game in regulation. There are some other convoluted ways that Buffalo can make it, but we’ll take a wait-and-see approach before filling your noggins with unnecessary hypothetical situations.

Washington 5, Florida 2

The Capitals didn’t make their own schedule, but in a way, you almost wonder if they kept these final two games in storage. After all, is there a better way to rest up for the playoffs (while improving your odds of getting the top seed) than bullying the crummy Panthers twice? Washington now holds a four point lead over the Philadelphia Flyers for the top spot in the East, although Philly does have a game in hand.

That extra game left won’t mean anything if Washington manages a single point from their contest against Florida on Saturday ... if the Flyers even push them that far.

As for the actual game itself, Semyon Varlamov kept the Panthers off the board in the first period despite an 18-6 shot discrepancy, allowing the Caps to cruise to victory. Varlamov finished with 31 saves while Alex Ovechkin had an empty-net goal and two assists in the win.

Boston 3, NY Islanders 2

This Bruins win makes things a little bit worse for the idle Flyers, as Boston now only trails Philadelphia by two points for the second seed in the East. Both teams have two games left and the Flyers have a shaky tiebreaker advantage (more wins, but the same amount of non-shootout wins), so it’s perfectly possible for the B’s take the No. 2 seed.

Is it likely? Maybe. The Bruins play two bottom feeders who have been intermittently dangerous (Ottawa and New Jersey) while the Flyers play against the Islanders and Sabres. Crazier things have happened ... even during the 2010-11 season, actually.

Boston’s win was fueled by their less-frequent scorers, as Shawn Thornton, Dennis Seidenberg and Gregory Campbell provided the three goals. Tim Thomas did his best to cleanse that jarring New York Rangers defeat from his memory* by stopping 30 out of 32 shots for his 34th win of the season. Michael Grabner provided both Isles tallies, pushing his season total to 33.

* - Imagine if the Bruins earn the second seed and the Rangers make it to seventh place? One can only speculate as to how many times sports channels will replay New York’s five unanswered goals.