 As of last night the San Jose Sharks are heading to the playoffs! The Standings in the West: 1st Vancouver Canucks 109 points (Y) 2nd St. Louis Blues 107 points (Y) 3rd Los Angeles Kings 94 points (X) 4th Nashville Predators 102 points (X) 5th Detroit Red Wings 101 points (X) 6th Chicago Blackhawks 99 points (X) 7th San Jose Sharks 94 points (X) 8th Phoenix Coyotes 93 points (X) |  The Washington Capitals are taking the last spot in the playoff hunt in the east! The Standings in the East: 1st New York Rangers 109 points (Y) 2nd Boston Bruins 100 points (Y) 3rd Florida Panthers 92 points (X) 4th Pittsburgh Penguins 106 points (X) 5th Philadelphia Flyers 103 points (X) 6th New Jersey Devils 100 points (X) 7th Ottawa Senators 92 points (X) 8th Washington Capitals (X) |
Notice anything about the playoff standings? Every team has a (Y) for clinching a division or a (X) for a playoff spot. That is that. All 8 teams from both conferences have been decided. By tomorrow night we will know who is going to play who, who wins each confernce, who will get home ice advantage and who will win the Presidents Trophy! Will the Vancouver Canucks get it for a second year in a row or will the St. Louis Blues get it after a breakout season or will the New York Rangers take it home for the 1st time since 1994? Last night was a busy busy night in the NHL, here is a quick breakdown:
Alex Semin scores the insurance goal.
The Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers and clinched the 8th playoff spot in the east. Washington held the lead the whole game with goals by Jay Beagle, Alex Ovechkin and Brooks Laich. Florida's Mikael Samuelsson scored for a 3-1 score to end the 2nd period. Ed Jovanovski scored 42 seconds into the 3rd period to bring Florida within one goal. But late in the 3rd period with 1:02 left on the clock Alexander Semin scored his 21st goal of the year, the insurance goal for Washington and that sealed the deal. Washington is heading to the playoffs. Florida is currently the 3rd seed in the east but hasn't clinched the division title yet. Watch Semin's goal below!
The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. The most exciting part of this game would be Steven Stamkos scoring his 59th goal of the year in front of his family and friends. Fingers crossed Stamkos get to 60 Saturday night. If so Stamkos would be the 6th player in the last 20 years to record 60 goals in a single season. Good Luck Stamkos!
Steve Staios and his 1000th NHL game!
The New York Islanders beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-4. This wasn't just any old game. Steve Staios suited up for his 1000th NHL game. Staios is the 279th player in the NHL to hit 1000 games in a span of 94 years. Staios played his 1st NHL game on March 21st 1996 as a Boston Bruin. During his career Staios has played in Boston (66) Vancouver (143), Atlanta (97), Edmonton (573), Calgary (57) and Long Island (64). Staios didn't register any points last night but former Canuck Michael Grabner scored twice! Both of these teams are out of the playoffs but at least they go out in style.
The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1. This was a tough game for Buffalo to swallow. With a win they were still in the playoff race and with a loss they were a step back. It was a scoreless 1st period and Buffalo scored late in the 2nd with a goal by Ville Leino to make it 1-0. Then Philly came back in the 3rd to score two goals. With this loss and the Washington Capitals win Buffalo is officially out of a playoff spot. Better Luck next year Buffalo!
The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 5-2. New York played backup goalie Martin Biron and rested Henrik Lundqvist. This was Biron's 500th NHL game. Pittsburgh held the lead the whole game always making the Rangers play catch up. With the PENS win they solidify 4th place in the east.
The Carolina Hurricane beat the Montreal Canadians 2-1 in a S/O. Both regulation goals came in the 2nd period. The only goal scored in the shootout was by team Captain Eric Staal and 3rd shooter for the Hurricane. Both these 2 teams are out of playoff running and have been for a bit now but all the players are working for jobs next year.
The Boston Bruins beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1. We may have gotten an early look at a series in the 1st round. If the playoffs started tonight these two teams would be meeting up.
The New Jersey beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1. It was a tie game until Petr Sykora scored in the 3rd for the Devils win.
The Nashville Predators beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 and put the flame officially out on the Stars hopes of making the playoffs. It was a scoreless 1st and 2nd period with Francis Bouillon and Patric Hornqvist scoring. Nashville is a force to be reckoned with 102 points and 47 wins this season!
The Minnesota Wild beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 in a shootout. Devin Setoguchi scored the only goal in the shootout.
The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 5-2. New York played backup goalie Martin Biron and rested Henrik Lundqvist. This was Biron's 500th NHL game. Pittsburgh held the lead the whole game always making the Rangers play catch up. With the PENS win they solidify 4th place in the east.
The Carolina Hurricane beat the Montreal Canadians 2-1 in a S/O. Both regulation goals came in the 2nd period. The only goal scored in the shootout was by team Captain Eric Staal and 3rd shooter for the Hurricane. Both these 2 teams are out of playoff running and have been for a bit now but all the players are working for jobs next year.
The Boston Bruins beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1. We may have gotten an early look at a series in the 1st round. If the playoffs started tonight these two teams would be meeting up.
The New Jersey beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1. It was a tie game until Petr Sykora scored in the 3rd for the Devils win.
The Nashville Predators beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 and put the flame officially out on the Stars hopes of making the playoffs. It was a scoreless 1st and 2nd period with Francis Bouillon and Patric Hornqvist scoring. Nashville is a force to be reckoned with 102 points and 47 wins this season!
The Minnesota Wild beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 in a shootout. Devin Setoguchi scored the only goal in the shootout.
Cam Atkinson and his 3 hat trick pucks!
The Columbus Blue jackets beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2. David Jones and Paul Stastny scored for Colroado. Only two players scored for the Blue Jackets. Cam Atkinson scored 3 times for his first ever career Hat Trick! Atkinson scored the 1st goal to open up the scoring in the 1st period at 6:35, the second came at 11:51 in the 2nd and the 3rd goal came at 18:56 in the 3rd! Congrats to Cam! The other 2 goals came from Columbus Captain Rick Nash who scored goals 28 and 29 last night! Columbus las been out of the playoff running for a long time now. They were the first team to officially get the boot. Colorado had been in that ugly 4 way tie for the 8th place in the western standings but last night Columbus threw a big pail of water on that hope.
The Calgary Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2. It was the Flames last home game of the season. Vancouver's Alex Burrows opened up the scoring early in the 1st period with a beauty of a goal shorthanded. It was a scorless 2nd period and Vancouver went into the 3rd period with the lead. Mike Cammalleri scored early in the 3rd to tie the game. Curtis Glenncross scored to make it 2-1 Calgary. Then Cammalleri scored his 20th goal of the season to make it 3-1. The 2 goal lead was short lived with Jannik Hansen scoring his 16th goal of the year 26 seconds later. Dan Hamhuis assisted both Vancouver goals. Akim Aliu played his 1st NHL game. Aliu was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2007 and is from Okene, Nigeria and didn't start playing hockey 'til he was 12 years old! Wow! Calgary is officially out of the playoff running but Vancouver is still in the chase for the top spot in the west and perhaps the President's Trophy! Check out the Burrows shorthanded goal below!
The Anaheim Ducks beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 in OT. Sam Gagner scored in the 2nd period to open the scoring and get Edmonton on the board. Andrew Cogliano and Bobby Ryan both scored for Anaheim in the 2nd 36 seconds apart. In the 3rd period Jordan Eberle scored for the Oilers. It is Eberle's 34th goal of the season and in true Eberle fashion the goal was a show. Eberle doesn't let down when he scores making every goal something special to watch. Anaheim Captain Ryan Getzlaf scored the winner in OT. Check out Jordan Eberle's goal below.
Joe Pavelski scoring!
The San Jose Sharks are heading to the playoffs. The Sharks beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-5 in a shootout. Five different Sharks scored including Jason Demers, Joe Thornton, Ryane Clowe, Patrick Marleau and Martin Haviat. Los Angeles had 4 different Kings score including Alec Martinez, Jarret Stroll, Captain Dustin Brown and Justin Williams scored twice! Los Angeles currently has the 3rd seed in the west but Phoenix or San Jose could take it. It was a busy game with 2 goals in the 1st period, 3 in the 2nd and 5 goals in the 3rd. A scoreless OT and Joe Pavelski scored the only goal in the shootout. One of the oddest things to happen in this game was a player from the San Jose bench playing the puck? Ryane Clowe of the Sharks reaches his stick over the bench and touches the puck?! That is a no no in hockey. Check it out below!
Tonight's NHL lineup is super short:
The Phoenix Coyotes take on the St. Louis Blues at 4:30. If St. Louis wins they will be tied for 1st in the west. If Phoenix wins they will move into 7th place in the west! Enjoy X
The Phoenix Coyotes take on the St. Louis Blues at 4:30. If St. Louis wins they will be tied for 1st in the west. If Phoenix wins they will move into 7th place in the west! Enjoy X
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