Rangers 6, Bruins 4
BOSTON — Matthew Barnaby set up a pair of first-period goals by Petr Nedved and added an empty-net score, helping the New York Rangers boost their slim playoff hopes by beating the Boston Bruins 6-4 Saturday.
The Rangers have won four straight games, all on the road. But they will miss the postseason for the fifth straight year with any combination of their losses or Montreal wins totaling two.
Eric Lindros, Sandy McCarthy, and Martin Rucinsky also scored for New York.
Boston had power-play goals by Glen Murray and Brian Rolston. Bill Guerin and Sergei Samsonov also scored for Boston.
Center Joe Thornton returned to the Boston lineup after missing 13 games with a left shoulder injury and had two assists.
ISLANDERS 5, CAPITALS 4: At Uniondale, N.Y., seven seasons of embarrassment were finally wiped away New York clinched a playoff spot Saturday night, one year after posting the worst record in the NHL.
Oleg Kvasha, Eric Cairns, Kenny Jonsson, Jason Blake and Michael Peca scored in a 5-4 win over the Washington Capitals, giving New York its first postseason berth since 1994. A sellout, T-shirt-waving crowd chanted, "Playoffs, Playoffs" as New York was winding up its first victory over Washington in five years.
FLYERS 3, PENGUINS 1: At Philadelphia, Justin Williams and Jeremy Roenick had goals, and Roman Cechmanek made 17 saves as Philadelphia snapped a five-game losing streak.
The Flyers, who won for just the second time in 10 games at home, are three points behind Boston for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with four games remaining. They are just 6-10-3 since the beginning of March.
Pittsburgh, which is out of the playoff race, has lost a season-high six in a row.
Cechmanek won for the first time since Feb. 27. He had missed 13 games with a sprained right ankle before returning on April 1.
CANADIENS 4, BLUE JACKETS 1: At Montreal, Patrice Brisebois had a short-handed goal and an assist, and Jose Theodore made 19 saves as Montreal extended its winning streak to five games.
Stephane Quintal, Yanic Perreault, and Joe Juneau also scored for Montreal as the Canadiens solidified their hold on the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Montreal has 83 points and a three point-lead over ninth-place Washington, which dropped a 5-4 road decision to the New York Islanders.
MAPLE LEAFS 2, PANTHERS 2: At Toronto, Trevor Kidd made 46 saves for Florida, which earned a tie by killing off a two-man advantage in overtime.
Peter Worrell and Olli Jokinen scored for the Panthers, outshot 48-25.
Mats Sundin had his 39th goal and Darcy Tucker his 20th for the Maple Leafs, who are battling for home-ice advantage in the playoffs. Toronto went 1-for-8 on the power-play.
PREDATORS 3, FLAMES 1: At Nashville, Tenn., Nathan Perrott made his first NHL goal a game-winner for Nashville.
The victory was only Nashville's second in its last 10 home games (2-7-1).
Nashville's Scott Hartnell wasted little time scoring the first goal of the game. With 91 seconds elapsed in the first period, Vitali Yachmenev hit Hartnell with a pass as he skated in from the right wing. His shot beat Calgary goaltender Roman Turek.
KINGS 4, OILERS 3 (OT): At Los Angeles, Ziggy Palffy's second goal of the game — 28 seconds into overtime — gave the Kings the victory.
Jason Allison fed a cross-ice pass on a 2-on-1 break and Palffy slipped the puck behind goalie Tommy Salo.
SHARKS 6, RED WINGS 3: At San Jose, Calif., Patrick Marleau scored three goals, and Owen Nolan had a goal and two assists as San Jose jumped into second place in the Western Conference.
Marleau was spectacular in recording his first career hat trick, and Vincent Damphousse and Mike Rathje added goals as the Sharks clinched a playoff berth for the fifth straight season.
With the biggest offensive output by any opponent this season against the league-leading Red Wings, San Jose wrapped up a six-game homestand with five victories, including four in a row.