FTS - 4/8/09

TOP STORY

NOT SO FAST

Roberto Luongo Closes the Door on the Flames and Prevents Them From Clinching the Northwest Title

(Photo Credit: Vancouver Province)

The Calgary Flames came to Vancouver determined to clinch the Northwest Division title Tuesday night. Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had other ideas. Luongo made 21 of his 46 saves in the first period, defenseman Mattias Ohlund scored twice, and the Canucks moved into a tie with Calgary atop the Northwest Division with a 4-1 victory. The Flames could have clinched the division with a win.

"We wanted to finish it off tonight, said Calgary coach Mike Keenan. "Luongo obviously thought differently. Luongo was the difference. We had a number of chances to get involved in the game offensively and he just stymied us. He was putting on a goaltending clinic tonight.

Flames captain Jarome Iginla tied the game 1-1 with 5:16 left in the second period, finally beating Luongo on the 33rd shot. But Ohlund restored the lead 22 seconds later with a shot off a Calgary defenseman -- his first goal in 26 games -- and added an insurance goal on the power play with 5:09 left.

The Canucks host Los Angeles on Thursday before ending the season in Colorado on Saturday afternoon. The Flames finish with a home-and-home series against Edmonton on Friday and Saturday. The timing of Calgary's final games could become significant because it fell to 2-10-2 in the second half of back-to-back games with the loss to Vancouver.

OTHER ACTION FROM LAST NIGHT

Carolina Hurricanes (45-28-7) over the New York Islanders (26-44-9) 9-0
Eric Staal had a hat trick (and an assist) and Erik Cole had four assists . Never before had the Isles lost by more than eight goals (and they hadn't done that since losing 8-0 at St. Louis in 1988).

Toronto Maple Leafs (33-34-13) over the New Jersey Devils (49-27-4) 4-1
Christian Hanson scored his first NHL goal against his favorite childhood player (Martin Brodeur). The Devils can win the division by earning a point in either of their last two regular season games or by having Philadelphia drop a point.

New York Rangers (41-30-9) over the Montreal Canadiens (41-29-10) 3-1
Chris Drury scored twice to get the Rangers within one win (or a Panthers regulation loss) of clinching a playoff birth

Philadelphia Flyers (43-25-11) over the Florida Panthers (39-30-11) 2-1
Jeff Carter scored the game-winning goal at 7:32 of the 3rd period to clinch a playoff birth for Philly.
Washington Capitals (49-23-8) over the Atlanta Thrashers (34-40-6) 4-2
Tomas Fleischmann had a goal and an assist and Washington beat Atlanta for the Capitals' second win over the Thrashers in three days. Simeon Varlamov stopped 29 shots in only his fifth start of the season for Washington, which moved four points ahead of New Jersey in the conference with the Devils' 4-1 loss to Toronto.

Ottawa Senators (36-34-10) over the Boston Bruins (51-18-10) 3-2
Dany Heatley scored his 38th goal on a power play in the second period and the Senators set a franchise record with their ninth straight home win. It's too little too late as the Senators will miss the playoffs for the first time since 1996.

Pittsburgh Penguins (43-28-9) over the Tampa Bay Lightning (24-38-18) 6-4
Sidney Crosby scored twice in a 1-minute, 4-second span midway through second period to help the Penguins clinch a playoff berth.Crosby reached 100 points for the third time in his career.

Chicago Blackhawks (44-24-11) over the Nashville Predators (39-33-8) 4-2
Patrick Kane and Martin Havlat each had a goal and an assist in the Blackhawks' fourth straight win. The Predators close out the season on the road at Detroit on Thursday night and at Minnesota on Friday. They are two points behind eighth-place St. Louis.

Minnesota Wild (38-33-9) over the Dallas Stars (35-35-10) 3-1
Marian Gaborik kept up his scoring ways with a goal and two assists, and the Minnesota Wild avoided elimination from the playoff chase for at least three more days. The Wild moved within one point of Nashville for ninth place after the Predators lost to Chicago, but St. Louis beat Phoenix later to remain three points ahead in eighth place. Minnesota hosts Nashville on Friday and finishes the regular season Saturday at Columbus, but is currently trailing in tiebreakers with both the Blues and the Predators and will need plenty of help to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight year.

Los Angeles Kings (33-36-11) over the Edmonton Oilers (37-34-9) 2-1
Kings forward Wayne Simmonds had a goal and an assist to help officially eliminate the Edmonton Oilers (coupled with the Blues' 5-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes later last night). Fernando Pisani had the lone goal for the Oilers, who started the game slowly with 19 first-period giveaways. lexander Frolov also scored for the Kings, who have won two of their last three

St. Louis Blues (39-31-10) over the Phoenix Coyotes (34-39-7) 5-1
BJ Crombeen scored twice, Chris Mason made 28 saves and the St. Louis Blues inched closer to their first playoff berth since 2004. "We can't get too high with it," Crombeen said. "We've still got two games left and it's such a tight race you can't let anything slip away." The Blues won for the seventh time in nine games to move two points ahead of Nashville for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

San Jose Sharks (53-16-11) over the Colorado Avalanche (32-44-3) 1-0 (SO)
Evgeni Nabokov made 20 saves in his seventh shutout and then stopped all three Colorado attempts in the shootout, carrying the Sharks two points closer to clinching the NHL's best regular-season record. Joe Pavelski scored the only goal during the first round of the shootout to move five points ahead of Boston in the President's Trophy race. Peter Budaj stopped 30 shots in his second shutout for the Avalanche, who have lost nine of ten.

NHL STANDINGS
http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm?type=CON&navid=NAVSTNMain

OTHER HEADLINES

-The New York Islanders have signed veteran forward Doug Weight to a one-year contract extension Tuesday. In his first season with the Islanders, the 39-year-old Weight has recorded nine goals and 26 assists despite missing 29 games because of injury. Weight will earn US$2 million next season, his second with the Islanders. He signed- with New York as an unrestricted free agent last July and earned $1.75 million this season. In 1,180 career games, Weight has 274 goals and 730 assists. The two-time Olympian is one of four American-born players to have recorded at least 200 goals and 700 assists in their career.

-Ron Wilson will be coaching Team USA in the 2010 Olympics
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=8838.html?cid=rsstsn

TONIGHTS ACTION:
Buffalo @ Toronto - 7:30PM (NHL Network)
%Columbus @ Chicago - 8:30PM

% = Game of the Night
^All Times are Eastern
We'll have the playoff scenarios for you tomorrow as well

~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out on Thursdays

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