Boston Bruins center David Krejci (right) shoots the puck past Buffalo Sabres right wing Drew Stafford during the NHL encounter. The Bruins won 4-1. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports
Agencies/Boston
The Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-on 1 Saturday to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy which gives them home-ice advantage throughout the National Hockey League playoffs.
David Krejci scored twice and Tuukka Rask made 24 saves for the Bruins who finished with the best record in the NHL for the first time since the 1989-90 season.
Patrice Bergeron scored his 30th goal and Greg Campbell had a single in front of a crowd of 17,565 at the TD Garden Arena. The Bruins were coming off shootout losses in each of their last two games.
Boston will face Detroit Red Wings in the opening round of the playoffs after Columbus beat Florida on Saturday to clinch the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston closes the regular season on Sunday in New Jersey before starting the playoffs at home.
“It’s a nice achievement,” said Krejci about the Presidents’ Trophy, which goes to the team with the most points in the regular season. “But we’re trying to accomplish something different.”
Mark Streit scored with 2:50 remaining in overtime as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 and clinched third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers improved to 11-2-1 in their last 14 games at Pittsburgh, and are the only team to beat the Pirates more than twice this season. The Penguins (51-24-6) are locked-in as the second seed in the Eastern Conference and will meet the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Flyers (42-30-9) will start the postseason against the New York Rangers.
The Columbus Blue Jackets tuned up for the playoffs with 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers. Ryan Johansen scored the winning goal on a power play with 14:02 left to clinch the first wild-card berth for Columbus.
The Blue Jackets, who are in the postseason for just the second time in the 14-year history of the franchise, will be without injured Nathan Horton for the rest of the season, after the right winger underwent abdominal surgery. Florida, who have missed the playoffs for the 12th time in 13 years, finished the season 29-45-8.
Brian Gionta scored the game-winning goal on a penalty shot in overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a home 1-0 win in their regular season finale. Montreal (46-28-8) will play Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs.
The Canadiens will have home-ice advantage unless the Lightning win their final regular season game against Washington on Sunday.
The Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-5 at home in a wild back-and-forth game that featured four goals in the last three minutes. The Predators delivered the knockout blow on a goal from right winger Patric Hornqvist with 58.2 seconds left. Chicago played without several top players as they prepare to meet either the Colorado Avalanche or St Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs.
Jason Spezza scored the only goal as the Ottawa Senators beat the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto, who lost their seventh game in a row on the road, miss the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons.
Joe Pavelski scored two first-period goals to break the 40-goal barrier for the first time in his career and the San Jose Sharks beat the slumping Phoenix Coyotes 3-2. The loss was the seventh straight for Phoenix, who had a five-point lead on Dallas two weeks ago for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Sharks play the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs.
Goaltender Frederik Andersen made 27 saves and winger Devante Smith-Pelly scored the winning shootout goal as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3. The Ducks (53-20-8) secured the Western Conference regular-season title and will face the Dallas Stars in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Edmonton Oilers sent left winger Ryan Smyth out in style as one of the most beloved figures in franchise history ended his career on a winning note over the visiting Vancouver Canucks 5-2.
