The Detroit Red Wings piled on seven straight goals to stun the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-2 and clinch a post-season berth for a franchise-record 21st straight season on Monday.
The home victory ensured the Red Wings passed the previous mark set from 1939 to 1958.
“It’s pretty good, for sure, getting in 21 straight years,” winger Tomas Holmstrom told reporters. “We’ve had such good teams and we’ve clinched the playoffs, but we want to win the Stanley Cup.”
The Red Wings dominated the Blue Jackets with four goals in the first 10 minutes and extended their lead to 7-0 by the third period, before cruising to a win that moved them to fourth in the West on 97 points, one ahead of Nashville.
Holmstrom scored two of Detroit’s first three goals, while Henrik Zetterberg and Todd Bertuzzi each had four assists.
The Red Wings also got a goal from defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom for the second straight game as he has proven to be the team’s lucky charm.
Lidstrom returned from a 10-game absence because of an ankle injury on Saturday and he has helped earn consecutive wins following a six-game losing streak.
Gustav Nyquist, Jiri Hudler, Brad Stuart and Pavel Datsyuk all added goals to make it a tough night for Columbus goaltender Steve Mason, who was pulled in the second period for the second straight night after allowing six of the scores.
Mark Letestu and Rick Nash each converted late goals for Columbus (24-45-7), who slumped to their seventh loss in nine games and remain burdened with the worst record in the league.
“They took it to us,” Nash said. “It showed they are a great team. We weren’t ready.”
Ty Conklin made 24 stops in the win for Detroit, playing without injured starter Jimmy Howard as well as leading scorer Johan Franzen.
CANUCKS 1, KINGS 0
In Vancouver, Roberto Luongo made 38 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as Vancouver blanked Los Angeles.
Manny Malhotra scored the game’s only goal in the first period as Vancouver got their third straight win without injured scoring star Daniel Sedin, who is out with concussion. The Canucks passed 100 points for the fourth straight season and moved within two points of West-leading St Louis.
Malhotra scored at 3 minutes, 5 seconds of the first when he fired in a Max Lapierre pass off the corner of the post and the crossbar. It was Malhotra’s first goal in 14 games. He had not scored since a Feb. 18 home win over Toronto.
LIGHTNING 5, FLYERS 3
In Philadelphia, Martin St Louis scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and Steven Stamkos notched a team-record 53rd goal as Tampa Bay beat Philadelphia.
Ryan Malone and J.T. Wyman also had goals to help the Lightning win their third straight game. It was a little too late for Tampa, who are 11th in the East and seven points out of a playoff spot with seven games remaining.
Wayne Simmonds, Matt Read and Scott Hartnell scored for Philadelphia. The Flyers lost for just the third time in 14 games this month.
Dwayne Roloson stopped 35 shots, outplaying Ilya Bryzgalov.
SHARKS 5, AVALANCHE 1
In San Jose, California, Joe Pavelski scored two goals to help San Jose improve their playoff chances with a victory over Colorado.
San Jose jumped into the Pacific Division lead with 88 points after both the Los Angeles Kings and the Dallas Stars lost earlier on Monday. The Stars dropped all the way into a tie with Phoenix (87 points) for seventh and eighth place in the West.
Andrew Desjardins, Torrey Mitchell and Ryane Clowe also scored for the Sharks, who won their third straight. Shane O’Brien scored for the Avalanche.
Monday’s other results:
‧ Senators 6, Jets 4
‧ Flames 5, Stars 4
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