A rare third-period collapse sealed the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes' fate. There will be no postseason title defense.
Vincent Lecavalier and Dan Boyle scored early in the third to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning past Carolina 3-2 on Tuesday night.
The Hurricanes became the first defending Stanley Cup winner to miss the playoffs the next season since New Jersey in 1996.
PHOTO: AP
Lecavalier tied it at 2-all on his 52nd goal at 1:20 of the third. He scored from the low slot off Vinny Prospal's deflected pass. Boyle gave the Lightning a 3-2 lead when he skated into the Carolina zone and scored from the right circle at 3:13.
Eric Perrin also scored for the Lightning, who trail Southeast Division-leading Atlanta by one point.
Sabres 4, Penguins 1
At Pittsburgh, Buffalo clinched the Northeast Division and wrapped up a No. 1 conference seeding for the first time in 27 years, slowing Pittsburgh's rush to the postseason behind Thomas Vanek's 40th goal of the season.
In a possible preview of an Eastern Conference playoff matchup, Vanek and Jason Pominville scored goals slightly more than a minute apart in the third period to put the Sabres up by three goals in only their fourth victory in Pittsburgh in 10 seasons.
The Sabres made certain their final three games of the season, all against non-playoff teams, will effectively mean nothing as Dmitri Kalinin and Derek Roy also scored in Buffalo's 51st victory of the season. The Sabres are assured of opening the playoffs next week as the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference.
Islanders 3, Rangers 2, SO
At Uniondale, New York, Wade Dubielewicz helped the Islanders stave off playoff elimination by stopping 36 shots, plus three more in the shootout to lead the Islanders past the Rangers.
Dubielewicz stopped Michael Nylander, Brendan Shanahan and Jaromir Jagr in the shootout.
Miroslav Satan had the only shootout goal. He beat Henrik Lundqvist with a backhand in close in the first round.
Blues 5, Coyotes 2
Celebrations have been few and far between for the St. Louis Blues this season. D.J. King's goal on Tuesday night was one of those moments. King scored his first career goal and Doug Weight added a goal and an assist to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Phoenix Coyotes 5-2.
Petr Cajanek had a goal and an assist and Radek Dvorak and Barret Jackman also scored for the Blues.
In other NHL action on Tuesday it was:
Devils 2, Senators 1, SO; Blackhawks 3, Predators 2, SO; Canadiens 2, Bruins 0;
Maple Leafs 3, Flyers 2, OT;
Red Wings 3, Blue Jackets 0;
Wild 3, Oilers 0;
Capitals 1, Panthers 0;
Avalanche 4, Flames 3.
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