The Washington Capitals clinched the Southeast Division title with a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday, as all the playoff qualifiers were settled on the penultimate day of the NHL season.
The win was the Capitals’ seventh straight, the franchise’s longest in 15 years and a streak that tipped Carolina out of the playoff spots.
The Capitals finished last in the southeast each of the past three season and were still there as late as Dec. 30.
PHOTO: AP
They became the first NHL team to make the playoffs after sitting at 14th or 15th in the conference at the halfway mark.
Sabres 3, Bruins 0
In Boston, Thomas Vanek scored three goals as Buffalo ended its season by beating Boston.
Jocelyn Thibault shut out the Bruins in his first start since January.
Boston, which clinched a playoff berth on Friday, will finish seventh or eighth in the Eastern Conference and play Montreal in the first playoff round. The Bruins lost all eight of this season’s matches against the Canadiens, seven in regulation.
Blues 3, Blue Jackets 0
In St. Louis, Keith Tkachuk scored the 498th and 499th goals of his career as St. Louis beat Columbus.
Manny Legace earned his 27th career shutout, stopping 25 shots for his fifth shutout of the season.
The Blue Jackets, who dropped their fifth game in six decisions, were outscored 14-2 in their past three games in St. Louis.
Ducks 4, Kings 3
In Los Angeles, Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne scored two goals, including the third period winner, to clinch victory over Los Angeles.
Selanne fired a wrist shot from the left circle past Dan Cloutier to break a 3-3 tie.
Canadiens 3, Maple Leafs 1
In Montreal, the home team beat Toronto to move two points clear atop the Eastern Conference.
Montreal will finish top and get home ice advantage through the playoffs unless Pittsburgh can win at Philadelphia on the final day of the regular season Sunday.
Chris Higgins scored twice and Mark Streit had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, who will clinch their first conference title in 19 years if the Penguins don’t win.
Thrashers 4, Lightning 1
In Atlanta, Colby Armstrong scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period and Atlanta added two empty-netters in the final minute to beat Tampa Bay.
The loss meant the Lightning finished with the worst record in the NHL, giving it the best chance of securing the top draft pick.
Atlanta wasn’t much better this season. The Thrashers had the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.
Flames 7, Canucks 1
In Vancouver, British Columbia, Jarome Iginla scored his 50th goal of the season and added two assists to lead Calgary past Vancouver.
Calgary moved into sixth in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Colorado, which finishes against Minnesota on Sunday.
The Canucks finished their season with just one win in their final eight games.
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