Thursday's NHL Action

RANGERS, CANADIENS HEADED TO PLAYOFFS

BRUINS, CAPITALS, DEVILS ARE 1-2-3

New York and Montreal are playoff-bound after a victory and overtime loss, respectively, Thursday night, which means Florida and Buffalo will have the spring off. The Rangers (42-30-9) held off the Flyers, 2-1, at Madison Square Garden to clinch their fourth consecutive postseason berth. Markus Naslund and Ryan Callahan scored first period goals for the Blueshirts and Henrik Lundqvist made sure they were enough with 37 saves in his 36th victory. Philadelphia (43-26-11) remains tied with Carolina and Pittsburgh for spots four through six in the Eastern Conference.

The Rangers and Canadiens are even with 93 points for the final two positions, with the New Yorkers technically 7th because of one more win. Montreal earned its ticket for the Second Season with the one point from an overtime loss in Boston. Mark Recchi scored 2:42 into the extra session to give the Bruins the 5-4 decision and, more importantly, the Eastern Conference title. The latest edition of this rivalry included 76 penalty minutes.
Capitals 4 – Lightning 2

Brooks Laich’s two goals and Mike Green’s two assists helped give Washington the East’s #2-seed, the franchise record for points (108; 50-23-8) and its 11th consecutive defeat of the Lightning. The Caps need one more win for another franchise mark. Steven Stamkos made his own history with a Tampa rookie record 22nd goal.

Devils 3 – Senators 2 SO

Minutes before securing a second point from Ottawa with shootout goals from Zach Parise and Brendan Shanahan, the Devils won the Atlantic Division when the Flyers fell at the Garden. New Jersey (50-27-4) will be the 3rd-seed in the East bracket. Brian Gionta, Brian Rolston, Jarkko Ruutu, and Dany Heatley scored in regulation in this one. The Devils have now won three of four after six straight.

Penguins 6 – Islanders 1

At least it was 9-0 again for the Islanders, who were less bad Thursday in Pittsburgh than they were Tuesday in Carolina. Philippe Boucher, Pascal Dupuis, Matt Cooke, Bill Guerin, Sidney Crosby, and Tyler Kennedy scored for the Penguins, who remain in the hunt for home ice in round one. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Carolina all have 97 points.
Sabres 5 – Hurricanes 1

Carolina is stuck on 97 points after this one-sided defeat on home ice, which ended the Hurricanes’ nine-game winning streak. Jason Pominville scored twice for Buffalo and Ryan Miller took a shutout into the final minute, only to find out moments after the game that they had been eliminated from playoff contention. Eric Staal scored his 40th goal of the season.

Panthers 3 – Thrashers 2

Like the Sabres, the Panthers took care of business Thursday night and then watched their playoff dreams end. David Booth’s goal 15:35 of the third period was the difference on this night in Atlanta. Zach Bogosian had both Thrasher tallies.
Predators 4 – Red Wings 3 SO

Nashville captain Jason Arnott scored in the fourth round of the shootout to give the Predators a necessary second point. Arnott and J.P. Dumont scored in the back-half of the third period to force extra time in the first place. The victory in Detroit kept the Preds even with Anaheim and St. Louis at the bottom of the Western playoff picture, although Nashville is technically 9th.

Canucks 1 – Kings 0

Two nights after facing 46 shots, Roberto Luongo saw only 20, saving them all, at GM Place against the Kings. Ryan Kesler scored the lone goal, on the power play in the second period. The victory puts Vancouver (44-27-10) two points ahead of Calgary for third place in the West, but the Flames control their own destiny with a home-and-home this weekend against Edmonton. The Canucks finish the regular season Saturday in Colorado.

Coyotes 4 – Sharks 1

Al Montoya’s 40 saves prevented the Sharks from securing the Presidents’ Trophy in front of their home crowd. Scottie Upshall and Peter Mueller had a goal and an assist for the last-place Coyotes. San Jose (53-17-11) is three points better than Boston for the overall top seed, but the Bruins have a game in-hand. The Sharks final game is Saturday in Los Angeles.

Stars 3 – Avalanche 2 SO

If you haven’t seen Mike Ribeiro’s deciding goal in the shootout, go find it somewhere! The Stars center skated in slowly on Peter Budaj, turned his back, put the puck between his legs, and flipped it over Budaj into the net. The Colorado goalie had no idea where the puck was as it fluttered over him, dropped into the crease and rolled into the net.

IN OTHER NEWS…

According to the ESPN.com, the next Winter Classic will be played at Fenway Park. New York and Philadelphia were the other cities in contention, but Beantown is the choice. The Bruins will host an Original Six foe, most likely Montreal, on New Year’s Day.

After the Avalanche lost to the Stars, Colorado captain Joe Sakic announced he would not play again this season. The 39-year-old has yet to recover from a back injury suffered in late November. Sakic refused to discuss his playing status past this season.

Don Koharski ended his 32-year on-ice career by refereeing Thursday night’s Capitals-Lightning game. Koharski is expected to move into the League office to help train and recruit officials.

The Calgary Flames have signed winger David Moss to a three-year, $3.9 million-dollar extension. The 27-year-old Michigan native has 20 goals and 18 assists this season.

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
Nashville @ Minnesota 8:00pm ET
Columbus @ St. Louis 8:30
Calgary @ Edmonton 9:00
Dallas @ Anaheim 10:00