BOSTON (AP) - The Tampa Bay Lightning won their NHL record-tying 62nd game, getting a short-handed goal by Steven Stamkos during a three-goal second period in a 6-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday in the teams’ regular-season finale.
Nikita Kucherov, Anthony Cirelli, Erik Cernak and Braydon Coburn also scored for Tampa Bay (62-16-4), which tied the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for most victories during the regular season. Third-string goalie Edward Pasquale stopped 30 shots and Tyler Johnson added an empty-netter.
Six of the wins, though, came in shootouts. The league introduced shootouts to decide ties after overtime at the start of the 2005-06 season. Before that, games ended in ties after overtime, which was brought in for regular-season games in 1983.
David Krejci, Danton Heinen and Matt Grzelcyk each had a goal for Boston (49-24-9). Tuukka Rask made 16 saves.
It was the Lightning’s 30th road win, making them just the second team in league history to reach that total. The 2005-06 Red Wings had 31.
PREDATORS 5, BLACKHAWKS 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Viktor Arvidsson scored the go-ahead goal at 3:33 of the third period, and Nashville won its second straight Central Division title by rallying from an 0-2 deficit to beat Chicago.
The Predators, who will face Dallas in the opening round of the playoffs next week, now are assured of home-ice advantage through at least the first two rounds.
Arvidsson set the franchise record with his 34th goal of the season 22 seconds into the man advantage.
Filip Forsberg and Nick Bonino each had a goal and had an assist, and Dante Fabbro scored his first NHL goal for Nashville, which now has won five of six. Colton Sissons added an empty-netter with 2:09 left.
Pekka Rinne made 31 saves to finish 30-19-4, his eighth season with at least 30 wins.
Brendan Perlini and Drake Caggiula each scored for Chicago, which lost three of its final five.
ISLANDERS 3, CAPITALS 0
WASHINGTON (AP) - Valtteri Filppula scored twice in his return from injury, Robin Lehner stopped all 29 shots he faced and the Islanders beat Washington to clinch home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Matt Martin scored an empty-net goal with 2:33 left to seal it.
Coach Barry Trotz’s team came into the game against his former team needing at least one point to secure a second-place finish in the Metropolitan Division, just behind Washington. The Islanders will open the playoffs at home for the first time since 1988 against Pittsburgh.
The Capitals will face Carolina in the first round as they try to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. Backup goaltender Pheonix Copley started and made 18 saves.
SHARKS 5, AVALANCHE 2
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Evander Kane scored to make San Jose the first team in 10 years with at least four 30-goal scorers and the Sharks wrapped up the second-best record in the West by beating Colorado.
Brent Burns, Kevin Labanc, Gustav Nyquist and Micheal Haley also scored to give the Sharks two straight wins to close the regular season following a stretch of 10 losses in 11 games. Martin Jones made 28 saves.
Tyson Jost and Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche, who had gone 10 straight games without a regulation loss. Semyon Varlamov made 25 saves.
The Avalanche, locked into the second wild-card spot, will face Calgary, and San Jose will play Vegas in the opening round of the playoffs.
JETS 4, COYOTES 2
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor each had a goal and an assist and Winnipeg beat Arizona to earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Jacob Trouba and Nikolaj Ehlers also scored, and Blake Wheeler had his 71st assist for Winnipeg, which won just two of its last seven games (2-4-1) to give up a four-point lead in the Central Division. Nashville won earlier Saturday night to take its second straight division title, edging the Jets by one point.
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 19 shots as the Jets finished tied with St. Louis, but will have home-ice in the opening-round series due to a tiebreaker with more regulation/overtime wins.
Alex Galchenyuk and Brad Richardson scored for Arizona, and Calvin Pickard finished with 28 saves.
OILERS 3, FLAMES 1
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) - Connor McDavid left Edmonton’s victory over Calgary after injuring his left leg, and the team said X-rays came back negative.
After the game, the Oilers tweeted the results of the X-rays and added that the 22-year-old McDavid would travel home with the team and have an MRI in Edmonton.
Leon Draisaitl scored his 50th goal, and Alex Chiasson and Darnell Nurse also had goals for the Oilers, who have missed the postseason 12 times in 13 years.
Mark Jankowski scored for the Flames (50-25-7), who enter the playoffs as the top seed in the Western Conference.
Calgary will face Colorado in the first round.
BLUES 3, CANUCKS 2
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Jordan Binnington stopped both shots he faced in the shootout as St. Louis beat Vancouver, but the Blues fell a point short of first place in the Central Division.
Binnington finished with 23 saves and closed out his breakthrough season with a 24-5-1 record.
Vladimir Tarasenko and Brayden Schenn scored in regulation for the Blues. Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron converted in the tiebreaker.
Nashville won the Central Division for the second straight year with a win over Chicago. St. Louis (45-28-9) will face Winnipeg in the first round of the playoffs.
Elias Pettersson and Tanner Pearson scored for Vancouver (35-36-11). Thatcher Demko made 34 saves for the Canucks, who missed the playoffs for the fourth season in a row.
BLUE JACKETS 6, SENATORS 2
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) - Pierre-Luc Dubois scored two goals and Columbus routed Ottawa.
The Blue Jackets finished 47-31-4 and secured the second wild card in the East. They’ll face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs.
Alexandre Texier, Riley Nash, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Markus Nutivaara also scored for the Blue Jackets. Joonas Korpisalo made 27 saves.
Thomas Chabot and Mikkel Boedker scored for the Senators (29-47-6). Anders Nilsson stopped 17 shots after replacing starter Craig Anderson, who was pulled midway through the first after giving up three goals on seven shots.
The Senators finished last in the NHL standings for the first time in 23 years.
HURRICANES 4, FLYERS 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Jordan Staal scored the go-ahead goal in the second period and Carolina hung on to beat Philadelphia for its fourth win in five games.
The Hurricanes finished in the top wild-card spot in the East, and will play the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in the opening round of the playoffs.
Warren Foegele, Justin Faulk and Teuvo Teravainen scored in the first period for the Hurricanes.
Carolina also set a franchise record with its 22nd road win this season.
Oskar Lindblom, Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier had goals for the Flyers, who missed the playoffs.
SABRES 7, RED WINGS 1
DETROIT (AP) - Jeff Skinner scored twice to reach the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career and Buffalo beat Detroit in the season finale for both teams.
Rookie defenseman Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist, and Sam Reinhart, Conor Sheary, Zemgus Girgensons and Brandon Montour scored for Buffalo. Linus Ullmark made 23 saves.
Anthony Mantha scored for Detroit. Jimmy Howard stopped shots 21 shots before being pulled in favor of Kaden Fulcher in the second period. Fulcher made nine saves in his NHL debut.
RANGERS 4, PENGUINS 3, OT
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Ryan Strome scored 2:09 into overtime and New York beat Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale.
Brendan Smith, Brady Skjei and Vladislav Namestnikov also scored for New York, long eliminated from playoff contention for the second straight year. Alexandar Georgiev stopped 36 shots while starting for the second straight night. The Rangers snapped a three-game skid and won for just the fifth time in their final 21 games (5-10-6).
Sidney Crosby, Nick Bjugstad and Jake Guentzel scored for the Penguins, who earned a point to secure third-place in the Metropolitan Division and a matchup with the New York Islanders in the first round of the playoffs. Matt Murray finished with 26 saves.
DEVILS 4, PANTHERS 3, OT
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) - Travis Zajac scored the winning goal on the power play in overtime, lifting New Jersey over Florida.
Nathan Bastian scored twice in regulation, Pavel Zacha also scored a goal and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 37 shots for the Devils in the season finale for both teams.
On the winner, Zajac fired a shot from the high slot that got past Roberto Luongo at 4:04 of 4-on-3 overtime.
Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and Mike Hoffman scored for the Panthers. Roberto Luongo made 23 saves.
CANADIENS 6, MAPLE LEAFS 5, SO.
MONTREAL (AP) - Ryan Poehling recorded a hat trick and added the shootout winner in his NHL debut as Montreal beat Toronto.
Jordan Weal and Andrew Shaw also scored for the Canadiens (44-30-8), who were eliminated from playoff contention Friday. Goalie Charlie Lindgren, in his first game of the season, stopped 44 of 49 shots.
Zach Hyman, Jake Gardiner, Trevor Moore, William Nylander and Kasperi Kapanen scored for the Maple Leafs (46-28-8), who will face the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs. Frederik Andersen stopped 44 of 49 shots.
STARS 3, WILD 0
DALLAS (AP) - Tyler Seguin broke open a scoreless game with two third-period goals, and Dallas beat Minnesota to take the Western Conference’s top wild-card spot.
Ben Bishop made 22 saves for his career-high seventh shutout of the season, and Tyler Pitlick also scored for the Stars. Dallas will open the postseason against Nashville.
Minnesota’s Alex Stalock stopped 41 shots.
KINGS 5, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ilya Kovalchuk had two goals, Dustin Brown had two assists and last-place Los Angeles closed the season with a victory over playoff-bound Vegas.
Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist for Los Angeles while Jeff Carter and Matt Roy also scored. Jonathan Quick made 29 saves.
The Kings finished last in the Western Conference with 71 points, but won six of its last 11 games.
Brandon Pirri and Valentin Zykov scored for Vegas, which is the seventh team in NHL history to make the playoffs in each of its first two seasons. The Golden Knights, third in the Pacific Division, will open the Stanley Cup Playoffs at San Jose. Mark-Andre Fleury made 27 saves.
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