Needing just one point in the season finale, the Senators wrapped up their sizzling second-half rally with a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Headed toward a spot in the NHL draft lottery two months ago, the Senators finished 23-4-4 over their final 31 games to storm into the post-season. The Senators face the Montreal Canadiens in the first round.
The Senators hope they can play deep into the post-season behind goalie Andrew Hammond. Nicknamed the “Hamburglar,” Hammond went from a borderline AHL goalie to posting a 20-1-2 record since he was recalled in the second half.
He stopped 34 shots and made sure the Senators would not need help from other teams to make the playoffs.
Mark Stone scored twice and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored for Ottawa. Matt Read scored for the Flyers.
PENGUINS 2, SABRES 0
Brandon Sutter scored twice and Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves in Pittsburgh’s playoff-clinching win over last-place Buffalo on the final day of the NHL regular season.
The Penguins snapped a 0-4-1 skid to secure the Eastern Conference’s remaining wild-card spot, eliminating the Boston Bruins in the process.
Pittsburgh extended their playoff string to nine consecutive seasons — the NHL’s second-longest streak behind the Detroit Red Wings’ 24 — and avoided a near-monumental late-season collapse.
The Penguins (43-27-12), who face the New York Rangers in the first round, limped into the playoffs by going 4-9-2 over their final 15 games.
CANADIENS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 3, SO
Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais scored in the shootout as Montreal beat Toronto to clinch the Atlantic Division title and the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Desharnais, Tomas Plekanec and Jacob De La Rose scored for the Canadiens, who got 19 saves from Vezina Trophy favorite Carey Price.
Phil Kessel, Casey Bailey and Tyler Bozak scored for Toronto, ending a season that will likely prompt plenty of changes in the coming days, weeks and months. Jonathan Bernier stopped 30 of 33 shots.
Montreal’s win, combined with a victory by the Detroit Red Wings, set the playoff picture with the Habs opening up against the Ottawa Senators.
DUCKS 2, COYOTES 1
Ryan Getzlaf and Jakob Silfverberg scored to lead Anaheim over the Arizona Coyotes in the season finale.
Frederik Andersen made 23 saves for the Ducks, who snapped a two-game losing streak and secured the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Anaheim face Winnipeg in the first round of the playoffs.
The Ducks set an NHL record with their 33rd one-goal victory, surpassing the previous mark of 32 set by the New Jersey Devils in 2006-2007.
Sam Gagner scored and Mike Smith made 36 saves for the Coyotes.
RANGERS 4, CAPITALS 2
Kevin Hayes and Dominic Moore each had a goal and an assist, while Henrik Lundqvist stopped 22 shots as New York capped their stellar regular season with a win over Washington.
The Rangers (53-22-7), winners of the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top team in the regular season, set franchise records for wins and points (113) in a season. The Rangers open the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Derick Brassard and Jesper Fast (empty-netter) added goals for New York, while Martin St Louis had two assists.
Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 53rd goal for Washington and Stanislav Galiev scored the first of his career.
The Capitals have home-ice advantage in their first-round series against the New York Islanders.
In other results, it was:
‧ Lightning 3, Bruins 2, SO
‧ Stars 4, Predators 1
‧ Red Wings 2, Hurricanes 0
‧ Blues 4, Wild 2
‧ Blue Jackets 5, Islanders 4, SO
‧ Avalanche 3, Blackhawks 2
‧ Kings 4, Sharks 1
‧ Jets 5, Flames 1
‧ Panthers 3, Devils 2
‧ Canucks 6, Oilers 5, OT
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