It’s officially the last Tuesday in the 2018/19 regular NHL season and it was a very entertaining, nerve-wracking and exciting one. We were treated to 61 goals and some shock results, as well as a couple of amazing comebacks.
The Dallas Stars thrashed the Philadelphia Flyers 6-2 to book their spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Nashville Predators v Buffalo Sabres
3-2
The Nashville Predators moved into a tie for top spot in the Central Division with a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
Nashville pulled level with the Winnipeg Jets, who lost 5-1 to the Minnesota Wild. Both teams have two games remaining and are two points ahead of the St Louis Blues, who have three games left.
Craig Smith and Ryan Johansen scored, P.K. Subban had a goal and an assist, and Pekka Rinne made 26 saves for the Preds.
Kyle Okposo scored in the first period and Jeff Skinner scored his NHL career-high 38th goal of the season in the second for Buffalo, who have lost a season-high eight consecutive games. Carter Hutton made 32 saves.
Up Next:
Canucks v Predators – Thursday, April 4 (8pm)
Senators v Sabres – Thursday, April 4 (7pm)
Boston Bruins v Columbus Blue Jackets
6-2
The Columbus Blue Jackets fell into a tie for the second eastern wild card from the Eastern Conference, after losing 6-2 to the Boston Bruins.
Columbus and the Montreal Canadiens trail the Carolina Hurricanes by a single point for the first wild card; Carolina defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. The Blue Jackets could have clinched a playoff berth with a win and a regulation loss for the Canadiens, who defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2.
Jake DeBrusk had two goals and an assist, Brad Marchand and Karson Kuhlman had a goal and an assist, Marcus Johansson and David Pastrnak scored, and Tuukka Rask made 32 saves for the visitors, who led 5-0 early in the third.
Oliver Bjorkstrand and Matt Duchene scored for Columbus, who had outscored opponents 24-4 during a five-game win streak. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled at 16:00 of the second period after allowing four goals on 23 shots. Joonas Korpisalo made three saves on five shots in relief.
Up Next:
Bruins v Wild – Thursday, April 4 (8pm)
Blue Jackets v Rangers – Friday, April 5 (7pm)
Carolina Hurricanes v Toronto Maple Leafs
4-1
The Carolina Hurricanes moved back into the first wild card spot in the east with a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Dougie Hamilton scored twice, Jordan Staal had a goal and an assist, and Justin Williams scored for the Canes. Petr Mrazek, who is 10-2-0 in his last 12 starts, made 23 saves for his 100th NHL win.
Hamilton‘s second of the night, an emptynetter with 48 seconds left, was his NHL career-high 18th goal of the season. The defenseman has scored 15 goals since January 1st, leading all other NHL D-men by 4.
John Tavares scored and Garret Sparks made 33 saves for the Maple Leafs, who will finish third in the Atlantic Division.
Up Next:
Devils v Canes – Thursday, April 4 (7pm)
Lightning v Leafs – Thursday, April 4 (7pm)
Tampa Bay Lightning v Montreal Canadiens
2-4
The Montreal Canadiens gained ground in the Eastern Conference wild card race with a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Habs, are tied in points with the Blue Jackets, who lost 6-2 to the Boston Bruins and hold the second eastern wild card. Both teams have played 80 games, but the Blue Jackets have three more regulation/overtime wins (ROW).
Nate Thompson, Joel Armia, Artturi Lehkonen and Max Domi scored for Montreal. Domi’s goal came on the 45th shot for the Canadiens. Carey Price made 22 saves.
Steven Stamkos and Cedric Paquette scored and Edward Pasquale made 41 saves for the Bolts, who have clinched the Presidents’ Trophy and are the third team in NHL history to win 60 games in a season.
If Tampa win their two remaining games, both on the road, they will tie the 1995/96 Detroit Red Wings for most victories in a season in NHL history (62).
Up Next:
Lightning v Leafs – Thursday, April 4 (7pm)
Canadiens v Capitals – Thursday, April 4 (7pm – NBCSN)
Pittsburgh Penguins v Detroit Red Wings
1-4
The Pittsburgh Penguins failed to clinch a Stanley Cup Playoff berth with a 4-1 loss at the Detroit Red Wings.
Phil Kessel scored and Matt Murray made 22 saves for Pittsburgh, who would have secured a postseason spot with a win.
Tyler Bertuzzi had two goals and an assist to become the first player in Red Wings history to have three on more points in four consecutive games.
Anthony Mantha also scored twice, Dylan Larkin had three assists, and Jimmy Howard made 38 saves for Detroit, who won for the sixth straight game, their longest win streak since a six -game stretch in October 2016.
Mantha‘s empty-net goal was his fifth goal in two games.
Up Next:
Red Wings v Penguins – Thursday, April 4 (7pm)
Winnipeg Jets v Minnesota Wild
1-5
The Minnesota Wild thought they’d done enough to remain in Stanley Cup Playoff contention with an easy 5-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets, however due to the Colorado Avalanche’s 6-2 thrashing of the Oilers, Minnesota have been eliminated.
Zach Parise scored twice, Victor Rask, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno also scored, and Devan Dubnyk made 32 saves for the Wild, who trail the Colorado Avalanche by three points for the second western wild card.
Jacob Trouba scored and Eric Comrie made 23 saves for the visitors, who have lost four of their last five games and are tied with the Nashville Predators for first place in the Central.
It was Comrie‘s first NHL game of the season.
Up Next:
Jets v Avalanche – Thursday, April 4 (9pm)
Bruins v Wild – Thursday, April 4 (8pm)
Philadelphia Flyers v Dallas Stars
2-6
The Dallas Stars secured their place in the postseason for the first time since 2016 with a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Alexander Radulov had two goals and two assists, Jason Dickinson and Esa Lindell each had a goal and an assist, Tyler Pitlick and Blake Comeau scored, and Anton Khudobin made 32 saves for Dallas, who hold the first wild card in the west and are three points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, and three behind the St Louis Blues for third in the Central Division.
Dallas scored their first two shots on Flyers goalie Cam Talbot.
Oskar Lindblom and Shayne Gotisbehere scored for Philly, who have lost three in a row and are 1-5-0 in their last six. They’re already eliminated from playoff contention after their loss in Raleigh, NC on Saturday. Talbot made 24 saves.
Up Next:
Stars v Blackhawks – Friday, April 5 (8:30pm)
Flyers v Blues – Thursday, April 4 (8pm)
Edmonton Oilers v Colorado Avalanche
2-6
The Colorado Avalanche tightened their grip on the second western wild card with a 6-2 comeback victory against the Edmonton Oilers.
Colorado scored six unanswered goals, four in the space of 7:08 in the second period to move four points ahead of the Arizona Coyotes ***. The Avs are three points behind the Dallas Stars, who hold the first wild card.
Alexander Kerfoot scored twice, Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie, Colin Wilson and Sven Adrighetto also netted, and Semyon Varlamov had 27 saves for the hosts, who are 7-0-2 in their last nine.
Milan Lucic and Darnell Nurse scored for Edmonton, who have been eliminated from playoff contention and have lost four in a row, as well as seven of their last nine. Mikko Koskinen made 23 saves.
Up Next:
Sharks v Oilers – Thursday, April 4 (9pm)
Jets v Avalanche – Thursday, April 4 (9pm)
San Jose Sharks v Vancouver Canucks
2-4
Markus Granlund scored with 6:21 remaining, as they Vancouver Canucks rallied for a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.
Tanner Pearson scored twice, Troy Stecher scored an emptynetter, and Thatcher Demko made 33 saves for the Canucks, who have won three straight but were eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention last Friday.
Bo Horvat had two assists taking him to 12 points (4g, 8a) in his last 12 games.
Kevin Labanc and Joe Pavelski scored and Martin Jones made 19 saves for the Sharks, who have allowed 43 goals in their last 10 games, winning just once in that period.
Labanc has six points (3g, 3a) in a six-game point streak, whilst Joe Thornton had two assists for San Jose, tying Steve Yzerman (1,063) for eighth place on the NHL all-time list in his 1,546th game, which tied Nicklas Lidström for 12th all-time.
The Sharks clinched second place in the Pacific Division and will have home-ice advantage in the Western Conference First Round against the Vegas Golden Knights. San Jose have two regular season games left to build up positive momentum for the postseason.
Up Next:
Sharks v Oilers – Thursday, April 4 (9pm)
Canucks v Predators – Thursday, April 4 (8pm)
Los Angeles Kings v Arizona Coyotes
3-1
The Arizona Coyotes lost ground in the Western Conference wild card race with a 3-1 loss against the already eliminated L.A. Kings.
The hosts trail the Colorado Avalanche by four points for the second western wild card with two games remaining for each side. The Avalanche won 6-2 earlier in the evening.
Kyle Clifford, Trevor Lewis and Drew Doughty scored, and Jack Campbell made an NHL career-high 49 saves for the Kings, who are 5-2-1 in their last eight games.
Doughty‘s goal came 45 seconds from time to make it 3-1, whilst Clifford‘s goal was the first allowed by Darcy Kuemper at even strength in a span of 228:13, since the Coyotes’ 2-0 loss at the NY Islanders on March 24. Clifford has four points (2g, 2a) in his last three games.
Arizona coach Rick Tocchet told media post-game that Lewis‘ stick got through an opening in Kuemper‘s mask and the goalie’s vision was blurry afterward.
Brad Richardson scored and Kuemper, making his 21st consecutive start, allowed two goals on 18 shots for the hosts, who have lost seven of nine, scoring more than two goals just once in that time.
Kuemper has allowed five goals in his last four starts, and the Coyotes have gone 10-2-1 in their last 13 home games.
Arizona, who had won seven of its previous 10 against L.A., outshout the Kings 50-24 and failed to score on six power plays.
Up Next:
Kings v Ducks – Friday, April 5 (10pm)
Coyotes v Knights – Thursday, April 4 (10pm)
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ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
Artistry of Sport 
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