Rounding up the night

It was a very nice night, hockeywise.

Some interesting results during the night, regarding the playoffs. This was only in the East though. Because there was only two matches in the West and these were really not anywhere near the playoff fights. Well, the Kings beat the Coyotes 4-0. That should put an end to the playoff hunt for the Phoenix team for this season. The other game inolving teams from the West was the Stars vs. the Shars in San José. The Sharks won it 3-2 after OT. Joe Thornton lead the troops, with two goals.

Back to the East!
The Rangers beat the Devils in MSG, 3-2. That should mean that there will be a playoff spot for the Blueshirts. Nothing is clinched yet but it sure looks good. The Rangers went 1-0 up through a PP goal by Brendan Shanahan early in the second, then the Devils turned it around with goals from Patrik Elias and Zack Parise. In the third, new Swede on the block, Christian Backman scored with a nice wrist shot. That was really needed, since he was the one responsible for the Devils second goal with a major flaw in his passing game, giving Parise a breakaway. The goal by Dawes was pretty weird, it looked like a flying header or so. But it counts. 3-2 Rangers.

The Pens beat the Islanders, 4-1. A match that really doesn't change anything worth mentioning. The Pens has already clinched a playoff spot and the Islanders season will still be over in four matches.

The Caps beat the Bolts 4-3 after OT, putting some pressure on the Flyers. The Flyers has the last playoff spot, but they are only two points ahead of the Caps. Although, the Flyers has one game more left to play. The Caps got to be beating themselves. A game like this, against an opponent that has got nothing to play for should result in two points. Now there will be a tough one for them. They have the chance for a quick bounce-back tomorrow, when they play the Panthers away. The Flyers, however are playing the Devils (away) tonight, and the Islanders tomorrow.

I stand firm that the Caps will make this. They have a easier schedule. The Flyers will play the Pens twice, for example.

The last three matches to report, follows here:
The Bruins beat the Maple Leafs at home, 4-2, after a strong last period (3-1).
Buffalo Sabres beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-3 after penalties. Derek Roy scored the winning penalty.
And the Atlana Thrashers beat the Florida Panthers, 3-2, almost certainly putting an end to the chances of a playoff spot for the Panthers.