PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Bryan Bickell scored in the shootout of his final game before retiring because of multiple sclerosis, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 Sunday in the season finale for both teams.
During a stoppage in the first period, fans and players from both teams gave Bickell a standing ovation and stick tap. The 31-year-old three-time Stanley Cup champion was diagnosed with MS in November but returned to hockey in February.
His shootout goal was the first of his career in his second attempt and set up Brock McGinn’s winner on the final shot of Carolina’s season. McGinn also scored twice in regulation.
It was an emotional night for Bickell, who had his wife and daughter watching from the stands. It was an otherwise meaningless game between two teams who fell short of preseason expectations to reach the playoffs.
Sebastian Aho sent the game into overtime when he scored a power-play goal with 5:10 remaining in regulation.
Eddie Lack stopped 41 shots for the Hurricanes, who finished the season 36-31-15.
OILERS 5, CANUCKS 2
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – Connor McDavid hit the 100-point mark, Jordan Eberle recorded a hat trick and Edmonton beat Vancouver.
McDavid had a pair of assists and ended the season with 30 goals and 70 assists in 82 games. He is the only player to reach 100 points this season. Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Chicago’s Patrick Kane tied for second with 89 apiece.
Edmonton will open the playoffs at home against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.
Drake Caggiula and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the red-hot Oilers, who have won 12 of their last 14 games and nine in a row on home ice.
DUCKS 4, KINGS 3, OT
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Nate Thompson scored his first goal of the season to tie it with 8:26 to play and Shea Theodore won it in overtime, helping Anaheim clinch its fifth consecutive Pacific Division title with a victory over Los Angeles.
Theodore scored on a breakaway to end the Freeway Faceoff, but the Ducks (46-23-13) had already locked up a first-round playoff date with the Calgary Flames by earning a point in their 14th consecutive game down the stretch (11-0-3).
Patrick Eaves and Antoine Vermette also scored and Jonathan Bernier stopped 15 shots as the Ducks held off Edmonton for the top spot in the Pacific.
Dustin Brown scored a tiebreaking goal with 12:05 left for the Kings, who missed the playoffs for the second time in three years.
BLUE JACKETS 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2
TORONTO (AP) – There will be no Battle of Ontario in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
James van Riemsdyk scored twice, but Toronto dropped its regular-season finale to Columbus and will face the Washington Capitals in the opening round of its first postseason since 2013.
Curtis McElhinney made 29 saves, but Toronto let a 2-0 lead melt away in a porous second period.
Matt Calvert, Josh Anderson and Cam Atkinson scored in the comeback for Columbus. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 30 shots for the Jackets, who are set for a first-round matchup against Pittsburgh.
Had they earned even a point, the Leafs would have faced the Ottawa Senators in the first round, but instead they get the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals.
RANGERS 3, PENGUINS 2
NEW YORK (AP) – Jimmy Vesey scored a tiebreaking goal in the third period and New York beat Pittsburgh.
Ryan McDonagh had a goal and an assist, Derek Stepan had a goal and Mika Zibanejad added two assists for the Rangers, who will match up against the Atlantic Division champion Montreal Canadiens in the postseason.
Nick Bonino and Carter Rowney scored for the Penguins, who will face the Metropolitan Division rival Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round as they look to defend their Stanley Cup.
With the game tied at 2, Vesey scored his 16th of the season on a backhand at 7:23 of the third period to help the Rangers end the regular season with a victory.
RED WINGS 4, DEVILS 1
DETROIT (AP) – Riley Sheahan had two goals and Henrik Zetterberg scored in his 1,000th NHL game, helping Detroit beat New Jersey in a party-like atmosphere for the final game at Joe Louis Arena.
Zetterberg put Detroit up 3-0 midway through the second period following Sheahan’s and Tomas Tatar’s goals in the first. Sheahan didn’t have a goal in his first 79 games this year but scored his second of the game with 2:33 left to bring fans to their feet, where they stayed for the game.
Jimmy Howard stopped 24 shots for the Red Wings, who failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1990 to end a postseason streak that tied for the third longest in league history.
Cory Schneider made 31 saves for the Devils, who haven’t earned a spot in the postseason since advancing to the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals.
PANTHERS 2, CAPITALS 0
WASHINGTON (AP) – With several regulars resting – including John Carlson, Matt Niskanen and T.J. Oshie – playoff-bound Washington lost its regular-season finale to Florida.
They learned during the game that they’ll face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. It’s the first playoff meeting between Washington and Toronto.
Trying to prepare for the playoffs, the Capitals sat defenseman Carlson with a lower-body injury and rested defenseman Niskanen and wingers Oshie and Justin Williams in their meaningless Game 82. Braden Holtby played only the first two periods, allowing one goal on 14 shots before giving way to backup Philipp Grubauer.
Captain Derek MacKenzie and Denis Malgin scored for Florida, which got a 38-save shutout from James Reimer in Tom Rowe’s final game as coach. Rowe will not return behind the bench after replacing Gerard Gallant in November.
ISLANDERS 4, SENATORS 2
NEW YORK (AP) – Anders Lee and Brock Nelson scored in the second period and New York closed the season with its sixth straight win by beating playoff-bound Ottawa.
Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera also scored and Nelson had an assist for New York, which was eliminated from playoff contention Saturday night.
Thomas Greiss, playing for the first time in six games, stopped 32 shots. Greiss last played on March 30, when he was pulled after giving up three goals on eight shots in first 8:06 of a 6-3 loss at Philadelphia. Jaroslav Halak started the last five games.
Bobby Ryan and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for the Senators and Mike Condon had 17 saves. Ottawa, which had already clinched second place in the Atlantic Division and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, left 10 players back home to rest.
LIGHTNING 4, SABRES 2
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Brayden Point scored a pair of goals, including the winner with 1:24 left, as Tampa Bay topped Buffalo in the season finale for both teams.
Braydon Coburn scored a short-handed goal and Victor Hedman added an empty-netter for the disappointing Lightning, who finished 42-30-10 for 94 points, but were considered a preseason favorite to win the Eastern Conference and were less than two years removed from playing in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Tampa Bay won four of its last five, but had its playoff hopes end Saturday night when Toronto defeated Pittsburgh.
William Carrier and Evander Kane scored for Buffalo.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves for the Lightning, while Linus Ullmark stopped 33 of 36 shots he faced for the Sabres.
BLUES 3, AVALANCHE 2
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Vladimir Tarasenko netted a go-ahead goal 79 seconds after Vladimir Sobotka scored in his first NHL game in three years, lifting St. Louis Blues over Colorado.
The Blues have won 15 of their last 19 games. They’ll open the postseason with a best-of-seven series against Minnesota.
St. Louis’ Jake Allen made 32 saves, and Zach Sanford also scored for the Blues.
Francois Beauchemin and Mikko Rantanen scored for the Avalanche. Calvin Pickard had 24 saves.
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