TORONTO: Toronto fans filled the Air Canada Center ready to celebrate their team clinching an NHL playoff spot for the first time in nearly a decade on Thursday night but the Maple Leafs’ 5-3 loss to the visiting Islanders left many poised to push the panic button.
The Leafs are clinging to fifth place in the Eastern Conference on 53 points but their grip on a playoff spot is starting to slip.
Four chasing teams — the Ottawa Senators (52 points), New York Islanders (51), New York Rangers (48) and Winnipeg Jets (48) — all made up ground with wins on Thursday, setting up a nail-biting finish to the regular season.
Rangers 6, Panthers 1: Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard scored twice and Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 34 shots as New York won their fourth straight home game and improved to 6-2-1 in their last nine contests.
Rick Nash had a goal and two assists and Brad Richards scored and set up a goal for the eighth-place Rangers, who remained three points behind the New York Islanders.
Senators 3, Capitals 1: Kyle Turris scored a pair of goals and hosts Ottawa snapped Washington’s eight-game win streak.
Cory Conacher also scored and Craig Anderson turned aside 18 shots as the Senators won their fourth consecutive game to improve to 15-3-3 at home and pull within one point of fifth-place Toronto in the Eastern Conference.
Devils 3, Flyers 0: Martin Brodeur turned aside all 23 shots he faced for his 121st career shutout, and fourth-liner Ryan Carter scored early in the second period, as visiting New Jersey snapped a 10-game winless skid (0-6-4) to keep alive their flickering postseason hopes.
Canadiens 3, Lightning 2: Captain Brian Gionta scored his second goal of the game with 47 seconds remaining in the third period as Montreal edged visiting Tampa Bay.
Jets 4, Hurricanes 3 (overtime): Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien fired a rebound past Justin Peters 1:23 into overtime as hosts Winnipeg blew a two-goal lead in the third period but recovered for their fifth straight win.
Blake Wheeler had a goal and two assists, defenseman Zach Bogosian added one of each and Paul Postma also scored for the Jets, who moved within two points of Washington for the Southeast Division lead.
Ondrej Pavelec made 24 saves, Peters stopped 27 shots in his fifth consecutive start.
Tuomo Ruutu scored twice and Alexander Semin tied the game for Carolina, who fell to 2-14-2 in their last 18 contests and finished 1-2-1 in four games against Winnipeg.
Blues 2, Coyotes 1 (shootout): Andy McDonald scored in the opening round of the shootout and Brian Elliott made 33 saves as St. Louis edged visiting Phoenix.
McDonald opened the shootout by beating Chad Johnson high to the blocker side and Elliott watched Antoine Vermette’s attempt go wide before stopping Phoenix’s next two shots as the Blues won their second straight game.
David Perron scored in the first period for St. Louis, who sit sixth in the Western Conference.
Radim Vrbata tied it late with a power-play goal and Johnson turned aside 29 shots for the Coyotes, who are five points behind eighth-place Columbus in the West.
Stars 5, Canucks 1: Cody Eakin and Jamie Benn each recorded a goal and an assist as hosts Dallas posted their sixth win in seven games.
Vernon Fiddler, Ray Whitney and Erik Cole also scored while Kari Lehtonen made 37 saves in his return from injury for the Stars, who climbed within two points of Columbus for eighth place in the Western Conference.
Derek Roy scored against his former team and Cory Schneider stopped 25 shots for the Northwest Division-leading Canucks, who could have clinched a playoff spot with a victory.
Vancouver completed a 2-2-1 road trip and remained four points ahead of division rivals Minnesota.
Sharks 6, Wild 1: Logan Couture scored a pair of goals and set up two others as hosts San Jose cruised past Minnesota.
Martin Havlat recorded two goals and an assist while Raffi Torres and Joe Pavelski both added one of each for the Sharks, who remained level on points with fourth-placed Los Angeles in the Western Conference.
Antti Niemi made 27 saves in his 22nd consecutive start for San Jose.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored the lone goal for Minnesota, who are a point behind sixth-placed St. Louis.
Kings 2, Blue Jackets 1: Kyle Clifford scored at 13:32 of the second period to snap a tie — as well as his 16-game goalless drought — as hosts Los Angeles halted Columbus’ five-game winning streak.
Defenseman Drew Doughty opened the scoring during a power play in the first period and Jonathan Quick made 20 saves for the Kings, who improved to 17-4-1 at home and held onto fourth place in the Western Conference.
Rookie defenseman Dalton Prout scored his first career goal for the Blue Jackets, who fell to 3-1-0 on their six-game road trip but remained in the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
Los Angeles completed a sweep of their season series with Columbus for the first time in franchise history.
