NHL roundup: Sharks lose again, take top seed anyway

LOS ANGELES (AP) " Wayne Simmonds had a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves as the Los Angeles Kings finished their season with a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks, who still won the Presidents' Trophy on Saturday.

The Sharks (53-18-11) secured the top record in the NHL for the first time in club history when the Boston Bruins lost at Buffalo earlier Saturday.

Michal Handzus, Alexander Frolov and Peter Harold also scored for the Kings (34-37-11), who didn't qualify for the playoffs.

Devin Setoguchi, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau had goals for San Jose, which wrapped up the regular season and will be the top-seeded team in the Western Conference playoffs.

Sabres 6, Bruins 1

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) " Thomas Vanek scored two goals, including his 40th, and had an assist in Buffalo's season-ending win over Boston that clinched the Presidents' Trophy for San Jose.

Mikael Tellqvist made 33 saves, and Tim Connolly and Matt Ellis had a goal and assist each for the Sabres, who were eliminated from playoff contention this week. Daniel Paille and Chris Butler also scored in helping Buffalo finish on a 7-2-1 run.

The Bruins (52-19-10), who close the regular season at the New York Islanders on Sunday, will settle for having the best record in the Eastern Conference. Boston will take on Montreal in the first round of the playoffs.

Mark Recchi spoiled Tellqvist's bid for a shutout with 6:05 remaining.

Canucks 1, Avalanche 0, OT

DENVER (AP) " Henrik Sedin scored 40 seconds into overtime and Roberto Luongo stopped 22 shots for his second straight shutout, helping Vancouver clinch the Northwest Division title with a win over Colorado.

Vancouver (45-27-10), which earned its second division crown in three seasons, will enter the postseason on a three-game winning streak.

Sedin scored by banking in a shot off the skate of Colorado defenseman Scott Hannan. It was his 22nd goal.

Colorado, which will wrap up the season Sunday at home against St. Louis, will finish last in the West for the first time since the team relocated to Denver from Quebec in 1995.

Flames 4, Oilers 1

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) " Mike Cammalleri scored two goals and added an assist for Calgary, and Curtis McElhinney made 35 saves for his first NHL victory.

McElhinney improved to 1-6-1 this season and 1-8-1 overall. The former Colorado College star has started seven games and made 19 NHL appearances.

Craig Conroy and Jamie Lundmark also scored for the Flames, relegated to the fifth seed in the Western Conference playoffs after Vancouver beat Colorado to win the Northwest Division. Calgary will face fourth-seeded Chicago in the first round.

Defenseman Tom Gilbert scored for the Oilers, out of the playoffs for the third straight season since losing to Carolina in the 2006 Stanley Cup final.

Blackhawks 4, Red Wings 2

DETROIT (AP) " Dustin Byfuglien scored on a penalty shot with 28 seconds left, breaking a tie and lifting Chicago over Detroit.

Niklas Hjalmarsson netted his first NHL goal, and Ben Eager and Andrew Ladd also scored for Chicago. Brian Campbell chipped in with two assists, and Cristobal Huet stopped 21 shots.

Valtteri Filppula and Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit. Ty Conklin made 22 saves.

Byfuglien was hooked by Niklas Kronwall on a partial breakaway and was awarded the penalty shot. He beat Conklin with a high shot for his 15th goal. Ladd added an empty-net goal with 10 seconds remaining.

Devils 3, Hurricanes 2

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) " Dainius Zubrus scored with 4:26 to play and New Jersey took advantage of some favorable bounces to beat Carolina in a possible preview of a first-round playoff series.

David Clarkson and Zach Parise also scored for the Devils, who won four of five after a season-high, six-game losing streak.

Anton Babchuk scored two power-play goals for the Hurricanes, who rested No. 1 goalie Cam Ward on the last day of the regular season after 28 straight starts.

Michael Leighton had 32 saves in filling in for Ward, but he made a bad clearing play on the winning goal by Zubrus and was embarrassed when two bad bounces led to open-net goals in the first period.

The teams will meet again in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Flyers 3, Islanders 2

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) " Martin Biron stopped 30 shots and Simon Gagne had a goal and an assist as Philadelphia beat the New York Islanders.

Joffrey Lupul and Mike Knuble also scored for the playoff-bound Flyers, who remained in contention for home-ice advantage in the first round.

Sean Bergenheim and Tim Jackman scored for the Islanders, who have lost three in a row.

Philadelphia will face Pittsburgh in the first round of the playoffs.

Penguins 3, Canadiens 1

MONTREAL (AP) " Maxime Talbot and Kris Letang scored short-handed goals 55 seconds apart midway through the third period to send Pittsburgh over Montreal.

Evgeni Malkin, poised to claim his first NHL scoring title, increased his point total to 113 with his 35th goal 1:09 into the game for Pittsburgh, which will play Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs.

Roman Hamrlik scored for Montreal, which will be the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and face top-seeded Boston in the postseason. The Canadiens' loss also set up a playoff matchup between No. 2 Washington and the No. 7 Rangers.

Pittsburgh's third straight victory sealed the Carolina Hurricanes into sixth place and created a first-round series between them and the No. 3 New Jersey Devils.

Wild 6, Blue Jackets 3

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) " Marian Gaborik had two goals and an assist to lead Minnesota past Columbus.

Kurtis Foster and Mikko Koivu each added a goal and an assist, and Marc-Andre Bergeron and Martin Skoula also scored for the Wild, eliminated from the postseason picture on Friday night.

The Blue Jackets, who clinched their first postseason trip in their eight NHL seasons on Wednesday, entered the night in sixth place in the Western Conference.

Rick Nash, Jared Boll and Derek Dorsett had goals for Columbus, which led 2-0 after the opening 6 minutes.

Panthers 7, Capitals 4

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) " David Booth had two goals and three assists to lift Florida over Washington in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Steve Eminger and Michael Frolik scored in an 8-second span to break a 4-4 tie in the third period. Nick Tarnasky added an empty-netter with 9 seconds remaining for Florida.

Radek Dvorak and Bryan McCabe also scored for the Panthers, who were eliminated from playoff contention on Thursday. Booth, with 31 goals, became the sixth player in Panthers history to reach the 30-goal mark.

Alexander Semin scored twice for Washington, and Brooks Laich and Alex Ovechkin added goals. The Capitals clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference on Thursday and will take on the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.

With his assist on Semin's goal, Ovechkin tied his career high with 54, matching the total he set in his rookie season.

Maple Leafs 5, Senators 2

TORONTO (AP) " Martin Gerber made 37 saves against his former team and helped Toronto beat Ottawa to wrap up the season. Gerber started the season with Ottawa before being claimed off waivers by Toronto last month.

Boyd Devereaux scored three goals for Toronto, and Niklas Hagman netted the other two.

Jason Spezza and Chris Kelly scored for the Senators, who missed the playoffs two years after reaching the Stanley Cup finals.

Thrashers 6, Lightning 2

ATLANTA (AP) " Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 43rd goal, and Atlanta snapped a three-game skid with a victory over Tampa Bay as both teams finished the season.

Colby Armstrong scored twice, Eric Perrin, Ron Hainsey and Colin Stuart added goals, and Kari Lehtonen made 24 saves.

Tampa Bay rookie Steven Stamkos, the No. 1 overall draft pick, scored his 23rd goal early in the third period, and Matt Pettinger added a goal. The Lightning closed the season with a nine-game winless streak, dropping the last four in regulation.

The Thrashers won 12 of their final 18, including nine of 13 at home, under first-year coach John Anderson.

Coyotes 5, Ducks 4, SO

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) " Viktor Tikhonov scored in the fourth round of the shootout and Phoenix beat Anaheim.

Anaheim, which lost for the third time in 13 games, moved one point ahead of St. Louis for seventh place in the Western Conference.

Phoenix entered the third period with a two-goal lead, but Bobby Ryan and Teemu Selanne scored 45 seconds apart to get the Ducks even.

Steven Reinprecht scored a pair of power-play goals and added an assist for the Coyotes, who ended the season with five wins in seven games. Reinprecht and Shane Doan also scored in the shootout.

Todd Fedoruk and Enver Lisin also scored and Doan had two assists for Phoenix.