PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Ottawa found its point and the postseason.
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 and clinched 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 postseason.
The Senators hope they can play deep into the postseason 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.
RANGERS 4, CAPITALS 2
WASHINGTON (AP) – Kevin Hayes and Dominic Moore each had a goal and an assist, Henrik Lundqvist stopped 22 shots and New York capped its 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.
Derick Brassard and Jesper Fast (empty netter) added goals for New York, and 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.
BLUES 4, WILD 2
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen returned from injuries with two points apiece, helping St. Louis finish the regular season strong with a victory over Minnesota.
Jori Lehtera scored twice and Brian Elliott was solid in net for the Central Division champions, who thwarted Minnesota’s bid for an NHL-record 13th consecutive road victory.
Marco Scandella and Zach Parise scored for the Wild, who allowed two or fewer goals in each of the wins that matched the 2005-06 Red Wings for the NHL’s longest road winning streak. Minnesota, which pulled goalie Devan Dubnyk before the third period trailing 3-1, has the first wild-card spot in the West.
KINGS 4, SHARKS 1
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Brayden McNabb and Marian Gaborik scored third-period goals, and Los Angeles wrapped up its season with a victory over San Jose.
Tyler Toffoli and Andy Andreoff also scored and Jonathan Quick made 20 saves for the defending Stanley Cup champions, whose reign ended quietly in an afternoon game with no stakes. Both California rivals are missing the playoffs in the same season for the first time since 2003.
The Kings are the first champs to miss the ensuing postseason since Carolina in 2007, finishing ninth in the Western Conference after a winless three-game road trip to Canada earlier in the week.
Brent Burns scored a power-play goal and Alex Stalock stopped 32 shots for the Sharks.
JETS 5, FLAMES 1
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) – Lee Stempniak had a goal and assist and playoff-bound Winnipeg set a franchise record for points in a rout of Calgary.
Drew Stafford, Michael Frolik, Adam Lowry and Matt Halischuk also scored for the Jets.
The win gave the Jets 99 points, two more than the Atlanta Thrashers earned in 2006-’07 before their relocation to Winnipeg in 2011.
The Jets (43-26-13) also tied the franchise record for wins.
Michael Ferland scored for Calgary, which had its three-game winning streak end.
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