San Jose snares berth in playoffs
The surging San Jose Sharks maintained their mastery of the Minnesota Wild to clinch a spot in the playoffs on Wednesday night.
Jeremy Roenick scored his 507th career goal and added the decisive shootout score to help the Sharks secure a playoff berth with their 13th victory in 14 games, 4-3, over the Wild.
Roenick and Curtis Brown each had a goal and an assist, and Evgeni Nabokov made 21 saves in his NHL-leading 42nd victory for San Jose, which took 27 points from 14 games since Feb. 21 after beating Minnesota for the seventh straight time.
The Sharks have the NHL's second-best record with 97 points, but their latest win had a somber tone after Minnesota defenseman Kurtis Foster broke his left leg in the second period. Foster, a third-year pro, hit the boards violently after a collision with San Jose rookie Torrey Mitchell.
"I feel real bad for the kid," said Roenick, who shook Foster's hand as he left the ice on a stretcher. "It takes a lot of guts going in there with speed. Going in there that fast, there's going to be some bad things happen."
Joe Pavelski put the Sharks ahead with 2:02 left in regulation on an awkwardly angled shot set up by Milan Michalek, who stole a puck behind the Minnesota goal and fed Pavelski for the go-ahead score. But after a penalty and an empty net gave the Wild a 6-on-4 power play, Marian Gaborik slammed home his second man-advantage goal of the night with 28 seconds to play.
Roenick scored the decisive shootout goal in the third round when Niklas Backstrom couldn't hold on to his hard shot. Nabokov stopped Mikko Koivu to end the meeting of division leaders, gleefully kicking the puck after dropping it out of his glove.
Rangers 2, Devils 1
Chris Drury scored the tying goal with 4:46 left in regulation, and Nigel Dawes beat Martin Brodeur in the shootout to give the visiting Rangers a victory over New Jersey.
New York tied Ottawa in points in the Eastern Conference playoff race but is still in sixth place because it has one fewer win. The Rangers are 6-0 this season against the conference-leading Devils, holding them to five goals and winning three times after regulation.
Dawes had the only goal in the shootout, and Henrik Lundqvist turned aside Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Gionta and Zach Parise in the tiebreaker after making 17 saves through overtime.
Sabres 7, Lightning 4
Thomas Vanek scored three consecutive goals and Jochen Hecht scored twice during host Buffalo's six-goal third period, capping a comeback victory.
Blackhawks 5, Capitals 0
Nikolai Khabibulin made 25 saves in his first start in nearly a month to earn his second shutout this season.
Ducks 2, Stars 1
Todd Bertuzzi's power-play goal with 27.2 seconds left broke a tie, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 20 shots for visiting Anaheim.
Defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim strengthened its grip on second place in the Pacific Division behind San Jose, moving three points ahead of third-place Dallas.
Red Wings 3, Blue Jackets 1
Henrik Zetterberg scored three goals in the third period to lift host Detroit and record his third career hat trick.
Hurricanes 5, Thrashers 3
Eric Staal scored his 35th goal and Sergei Samsonov added a goal and an assist in visiting Carolina's victory.
