Player of the Night: Alex DeBrincat, Chicago Blackhawks
Before Wednesday’s game against the St. Louis Blues, DeBrincat said the Blackhawks wanted to “crush their hopes,” referring to the Blues’ playoff chances. Well, they did just that in dramatic fashion overcoming a 3-1 deficit to win 4-3. DeBrincat played a big role in the come back, scoring the game-tying goal with 11:30 to go and then assisting on Duncan Keith’s winner with 8.5 seconds left.
Highlight of the Night: Duncan Keith, soul crusher:
MISC:
• Blake Hillman’s first NHL goal came shorthanded and helped cut the Blues’ lead to 3-2. He’s the fifth Blackhawks to record their first career goal this season.
• The Blackhawks win meant that the Los Angeles Kings clinched a playoff spot.
• Alex Burrows and Ryan Dzingel each had a goal and an assist as the Ottawa Senators doubled up the Buffalo Sabres 4-2. Matt Duchene put home his team-leading 27th goal of the season.
[The 2018 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs begin April 11 on the networks of NBC]
• With the loss the Buffalo Sabres secured 31st in the NHL and will now have the top odds (18.5 percent) in the NHL Draft Lottery, which will be held later this month. This is the third time in five years that Buffalo has finished in that position.
• Via the AP, the “Sabres’ league-worst 11 home wins matched a franchise low for any year, including the lockout-shortened 48-game 2012-13 season, when Buffalo went 11-10-3. Buffalo also went 11-19-9 during a 78-game season in 1971-72.”
• Ondrej Kase put home a rebound with 3:56 left to snap a 1-1 tie and help give the Anaheim Ducks a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. The victory also meant that Anaheim clinched a playoff spot for the sixth straight year.
• The Ducks now hold the third spot in the Pacific Division, one point behind the San Jose Sharks.
Factoid of the Night:
Blake Hillman: 3rd @NHLBlackhawks player over the last 30 seasons whose 1st career NHL goal was a shorthanded one- joins Jake Dowell (Nov 22, 2007) & Mike Hudson (Oct 12, 1988)
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) April 5, 2018
Scores:
Senators 4, Sabres 2
Blackhawks 4, Blues 3
Ducks 3, Wild 1
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.