The Bruins kicked off Sunday with a big win against the conference-clinching Blackhawks. Anton Khudobin had a night, outperforming the Blackhawks with only two goals against and stopping a flurry of great chances in the waning seconds as the Blackhawks pulled their goalie. I'd like to see him play in a playoff series and discover if he can become the next Devan Dubnyk story.
Final: Bruins 3, Blackhawks 2
The Islanders and the Sabres met in Buffalo, New York not having been eliminated yet. The Islanders got an early lead on a Cal Clutterbuck goal, his fifth of the year. Evander Kane tied it up but the Isles answered back quickly on a Joshua Ho-Sang goal. They never looked back, as Anders Lee would score twice in the third. Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves to put the Islanders five points out of a playoff spot.
Final: Islanders 4, Sabres 2
League-worst Colorado faced the Minnesota Wild in a Central Division matchup. A wild first period saw four tallies, the Wild's coming from Martin Hanzal, Jared Spurgeon, and Erik Haula, and Colorado's coming from captain Gabriel Landeskog. Zach Parise and Jordan Schroeder scored for Minnesota to finish out.
Final: Wild 5, Avalanche 2
Final: Lightning 6, Stars 3
The New York Rangers came into Sunday with a chance to seal the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. No scoring happened in the first period, and a good save from Hendrik Lundqvist made sure of that. Valteri Filppula broke the ice in the second, but Mika Zibanejad and Brendan Smith answered to help the Rangers take a 2-1 lead going into the third period. Oscar Lindberg and Chris Kreider scored to make the game look like it was coming to a close and give the Rangers a 4-1 lead. The Flyers pulled Steve Mason and Brayden Schenn scored to make it 4-2. Filppula scored his second of the game a minute later to make it a 4-3 game, but the Rangers would hold on to win.
Final: Rangers 4, Flyers 3
The Los Angeles Kings were at home for what would seem like an easy game against the second-worst NHL team, the Arizona Coyotes. If the Kings lost, they would be eliminated from playoff contention. Things weren't looking good for L.A. early, as Alexander Burmestrov scored late in the first to make it 1-0 Arizona. Anthony Duclair would score a second late goal in the second period to make it 2-0. Alec Martinez answered with yet another late goal, but it wasn't enough as Mike Smith made 34 saves to get the win.
Final: Coyotes 2, Kings 1
An interesting game came around when the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators faced each other in a Central Division rivalry game. With a win, Nashville would clinch a playoff spot. Vladmir Tarasenko and Ryan Johansen each scored in the first to make it a tied game. 55 seconds into the second, Alexander Steen scored to give the Blues a lead. David Perron would add onto that, and the next goal wouldn't come until Joel Edmunson would score unassisted in the third. The Blues hung on, but Nashville would clinch when the Kings later lost.
Final: Blues 4, Predators 1
The Sharks needed a win to keep pace at the top of the Pacific Division. They went to Vancouver to play the Canucks. Tomas Hertl got things rolling with two goals in the middle of the first to give the Sharks an advantage. The Canucks would answer back as Bo Horvat assisted Sven Baertschi to get the Canucks back in it. Vancouver would pull their goalie, and Patrick Marleau would score with two seconds left to give the Sharks the win. Martin Jones made 29 saves on 30 shots.
Final: Sharks 3, Canucks 1
The Penguins and Hurricanes met in Pittsburgh with Carolina needing a win to gain ground in the wild-card race. Jake Guentzel scored a power-play goal as a result of a tripping call, but Jeff Skinner scored his 33rd two minutes later to keep things tied. Scott Wilson scored the only goal in the second, and Conor Sheary added to the Penguin's lead in the third with another PPG to make it 3-1. Justin Faulk scored on the power play to make it 3-2. The Penguins would hold on, and Matt Murray made 33 saves.
Final: Penguins 3, Hurricanes 2
The Washington Capitals came into the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets trying to prove they were the best Metro team. No goals were scored in the first period, as the Capitals killed off a penalty for holding. Washington made a statement in the second. Three goals came from T.J. Oshie, Andre Burakovsky, and Matt Niskanen to make a 3-0 lead. Jack Johnson and Kyle Quincey would score, but it wasn't enough to pass a strong Braden Holtby, who made 35 saves, and the Capitals won.
Final: Capitals 3, Blue Jackets 2
The Ducks required a win to regain their first-place spot in the Pacific Division. They faced the Calgary Flames, a division rival also headed to the playoffs. Patrick Eaves scored his thirtieth goal on the power-play, and Jakob Silfverberg scored as well to give Anaheim a two-goal lead. In the second, Kris Versteeg scored two power play goals to tie the game. Late in the period, Korbinian Holzer scored to allow the Ducks to carry a lead into the third. Michael Frolik scored to tie up the game, from Mikael Backlund's 30th assist of the year. Late in the third period, Logan Shaw scored to give the Ducks a win and third place in the division. Jonathan Bernier had 18 saves, and Ryan Kesler had three assists.
Final: Ducks 4, Flames 3
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