James van Riemsdyk scored twice and James Reimer made 49 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Ottawa Senators 4-1 for their first playoff berth in nine years.
SPIN: The Leafs look ready for the playoffs on the night they made the playoffs. Reimer played wonderfully in this one. Nazem Kadri and Joffrey Lupul lit the lamp for Toronto.
Pittsburgh knocked off Boston 3-2 to clinch home-ice advantage throughout the Eastern playoffs.
SPIN: Jussi Jokinen had a goal and two assists to power Pittsburgh. Zdeno Chara had a pair of assists in the loss for Boston.
Phoenix beat Chicago 3-2 in the shootout to keep the Coyotes’ faint playoff hopes alive.
SPIN: Brent Seabrook scored twice for Chicago while Nick Leddy and Patrick Kane had the assists on both goals. Phoenix likely won’t make the playoffs and shouldn’t be trusted to do too much here in the final days.
The Devils poked the Panthers 6-2 with Patrick Elias scoring twice in the win.
SPIN: David Clarkson and Stephen Gionta each added a goal and an assist as the Devils knocked lowly Florida around.
The Islanders knocked off the Jets 5-4 in a shootout despite two goals from Kyle Wellwood.
SPIN: The Jets wanted a won but getting a point will help them.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice, including his league-leading 30th goal of the season, as Washington thumped Montreal 5-1.
SPIN: Washington has won 9 of its last 10 to become a contender. Montreal goaltenders continue to give up goals by the bunch and Troy Brouwer scored a couple of them for the Capitals who went 2-of-3 on the power play.
Philadelphia got a hat trick from Wayne Simmonds in their 5-3 win over Carolina.
SPIN: It’s a great individual effort from Simmonds and Matt Read had a three-point game. Too bad the Flyers couldn’t get this kind of production when it was relevant.
Vancouver clinched a playoff berth with its 2-1 shootout win over Detroit.
SPIN: Corey Schneider stopped 33 saves and the Canucks are in the playoffs.
Multiple Goal Scorers
van Riemsdyk-TOR, Seabrook-CHI, Elias-NJ, Wellwood-WPG, Ovechkin-WSH, Brouwer-WSH, Simmonds-PHI HAT TRICK
Stat of the Night-First Come, First Served
The Islanders are 17-3-3 when scoring first.
Three Stars of the Night
1 Reimer
2 Simmonds
3 Seabrook
Sunday’s Games (all times ET)
Florida at Boston 1230pm
New Jersey at NY Rangers 3pm
Carolina at Tampa Bay 6pm
Calgary at Minnesota 6pm
St. Louis at Colorado 8pm
Columbus at San Jose 8pm
Anaheim at Edmonton 830pm
Dallas at Los Angeles 9pm
