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Tonight in the West: Kings clinch spot, Blackhawks and Ducks build cushions

Kyle Clifford, Ilya Bryzgalov, Michal Rozsival

Los Angeles Kings left wing Kyle Clifford, center, scores on Phoenix Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, of Russia, as defenseman Michal Rozsival, of the Czech Republic, looks on during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, April 6, 2011, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

AP

Western Conference playoff race

p - 1. Vancouver - 113 pts (3 GR)
y-2. San Jose - 103 pts (2 GR)
y-3. Detroit - 102 pts (2 GR)
4. Nashville - 97 pts (2 GR)
5. Los Angeles - 98 pts (2 GR)
6. Phoenix - 97 pts (2 GR)
7. Anaheim - 95 pts (2 GR)
8. Chicago - 95 pts (2 GR)
e-9. Calgary - 93 pts (1 GR)
10. Dallas - 91 pts (3 GR)

p- clinched Presidents’ Trophy
z - clinched conference title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot
e- eliminated from playoffs

Carolina 3, Detroit 0

Read the full recap here.

The Red Wings lost this game, but with the Sharks’ loss, they basically just stood in place tonight (albeit losing one of their last chances to improve). The biggest loss, though, came in the form of Henrik Zetterberg’s injury.

Chicago 4, St. Louis 3 (OT)

This game also received the fancy pants recap treatment, as you can read here.

Chicago now has a four-point lead over the Dallas Stars for the final playoff spot, with two games left. They also ended the night tied with the Ducks with 95 points, although Anaheim holds a tiebreaker advantage that would force the Blackhawks to earn one more point. (The Ducks have 41 non-shootout wins to the ‘Hawks 37, so that advantage will remain.)

Dallas has three games left to close that four-point gap, with their schedule being decidedly easier that Chicago’s remaining schedule (even if two games against the Red Wings will be more manageable without Zetterberg). Still, Chicago also has two more non-shootout wins, so they hold a nice tiebreaker advantage too.

Most simply, Chicago could clinch a playoff spot with three points in their final two games, since the most points Dallas can get is 97. Dropping games - especially in regulation - could make things a lot more complicated.

Anyway, before we move on to the next game, here’s video of that much-debated Marian Hossa goal.

Calgary 6, Edmonton

The Flames were eliminated from contention tonight, but Jarome Iginla reached 42 goals on the season with a hat trick in his first game since hitting the 1,000-point mark. It’s pretty hard to argue with Calgary’s decision not to trade Iggy, even if they fell just a bit short of the playoffs.

Anaheim 6, San Jose 2

This game was all about Corey Perry, who scored a hat trick to become the first (and possibly only) player in the NHL to hit 50 goals. Perry also had an assist, by the way. (Watch video footage of his great night here.)

The Ducks received a scare when Ray Emery left the net, but he was cleared to play (yet stayed on the bench since the score was so lopsided).

Anaheim can smell the playoffs at this point, but aren’t guaranteed a spot just now. All they need is two more points, though, because the Stars won’t be able to overcome the Blackhawks’ tiebreaker lead in non-shootout wins.

Los Angeles 3, Phoenix 2 (SO)

Jarret Stoll scored the Kings’ first goal and then earned the shootout winner (he’s nine for 10 in that category this season, by the way) to clinch a playoff berth for the Kings. The win also gives Los Angeles a brief hold of fourth place in the West, with 98 points on the season and two games left.

The loss also moves the Coyotes down to sixth place in the West, since the fifth-place Nashville Predators have one more win (both teams have 37 non-shootout wins, though).