NHL Peachy: NHL Morning Skate — April 10, 2017
LAST DAY OF REGULAR SEASON FINALIZES PLAYOFF PICTURE . . .
One division title, four playoff positions and four First Round matchups were decided during the final day of the regular season:
* The Ducks clinched the Pacific Division title by defeating the Kings. They will face the Flames in the First Round of the playoffs, their third all-time postseason meeting. Anaheim defeated Calgary in the 2006 Conference Quarterfinals (4-3 ANA) and 2015 First Round (4-1 ANA).
* The Oilers locked in the No. 2 seed in the Pacific Division to set up a First Round series with the Sharks, their second all-time meeting. Edmonton defeated the Sharks in six games in the 2006 Conference Semifinals en route to the Stanley Cup Final.
* The Bruins clinched the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division by virtue of Toronto’s regulation loss to set up a First Round matchup with the Senators, their first all-time postseason meeting.
* The Maple Leafs fell to the No. 2 Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference to set up a First Round series with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals, their first all-time meeting in the postseason.
. . . NHL ANNOUNCES FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE
The NHL announced the dates, starting times and national television coverage for the First Round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begins this Wednesday, April 12.
Click here for complete details.
2017 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS INFORMATION GUIDE
The 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs Information Guide now is available for download via the NHL’s Media site.
The guide features year-by-year scores, all-time standings and team-by-team postseason histories as well as club and individual playoff records.
An updated version of the document, as well as guides for all 16 playoff teams, will be available later this week.
SUNDAY’S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
DETROIT 4, New Jersey 1
TAMPA BAY 4, Buffalo 2
NY ISLANDERS 4, Ottawa 2
ST. LOUIS 3, Colorado 2
Columbus 3, TORONTO 2
NY RANGERS 3, Pittsburgh 2
Carolina 4, PHILADELPHIA 3 (SO)
Florida 2, WASHINGTON 0
ANAHEIM 4, Los Angeles 3 (OT)
EDMONTON 5, Vancouver 2
DUCKS CLAIM FIFTH CONSECUTIVE PACIFIC DIVISION TITLE . . .
Ryan Getzlaf tallied three assists to help the Ducks (46-23-13, 105 points) clinch the No. 1 seed in the Pacific Division, their fifth consecutive division title and sixth overall (also 2006-07).
* The Ducks finished the season on a 14-game point streak (11-0-3), the third-longest such run in franchise history behind 16 and 14-game runs in 2006-07 and 2015-16, respectively.
* Anaheim also registered at least a point in each of their final 10 games at Honda Center (9-0-1), marking the second straight season that the Ducks have posted a 10-game home point streak (Jan. 20 – March 14, 2016: 9-0-1).
* Getzlaf (58) registered at least three assists in a game for the fifth time this season to finish third in the League behind Connor McDavid (70) and Nicklas Backstrom (63).
. . . AS McDAVID NETS 100TH POINT IN OILERS’ NINTH STRAIGHT HOME WIN
Connor McDavid notched two assists to reach the 100-point milestone for the first time in his career (30-70—100 in 82 GP), extend his season-ending point streak to 14 games (7-18—25) and help the Oilers set a franchise record with their ninth consecutive home win.
* McDavid became the second Oilers player to lead the NHL in points, joining Wayne Gretzky who achieved the feat in seven consecutive seasons from 1980-81 to 1986-87.
* At 20 years, 86 days, McDavid became the third-youngest player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to lead the League in points, behind only Sidney Crosby (19 years, 244 days in 2006-07) and Gretzky (20 years, 69 days in 1980-81). Elias adds that McDavid is just the fifth player younger than age 21 to hit the 100-point mark over the past 27 seasons.
* McDavid, who led the NHL with 30 multi-point games in 2016-17, became the second Oilers player to record at least 100 points in a season over the past 26 campaigns, joining Doug Weight in 1995-96 (25-79—104 in 82 GP).
* Elias adds that McDavid became the first Oilers player to record points in at least 14 consecutive games since 1987-88 when Mark Messier (11-16—27 in 14 GP) and Gretzky (11-27—38 in 15 GP) each saw their point streaks end on Nov. 29.
ZETTERBERG LEADS RED WINGS IN FINAL GAME AT THE JOE
Playing in his 1,000th NHL game, Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg posted 1-1—2 to power the Red Wings to a victory in the final NHL game at Joe Louis Arena, the team’s home since 1979-80.
* Zetterberg, who notched an assist in his first game at Joe Louis Arena on Oct. 17, 2002 vs. MTL (his fourth NHL game), became the seventh player to skate in 1,000 career games with the Red Wings franchise. He finished the season with 17-51—68 in 82 GP to lead the Red Wings in scoring.
* Riley Sheahan (2-0—2) opened the scoring in the first period and tallied the last goal at The Joe with 2:33 remaining in regulation – his first goals in exactly one year (April 9, 2016 at NYR). In Detroit’s first game in the building on Dec. 27, 1979, Red Wings forwards Dennis Sobchuk (1:43) and Daniel Bolduc (17:46) scored in the second period of a 3-2 loss to the Blues.
* ICYMI: Click here for more details from the final game at Joe Louis Arena.
BICKELL CAPS NHL CAREER WITH SHOOTOUT GOAL
In the final game of his NHL career, Bryan Bickell scored in the shootout to help the Hurricanes win their season finale. Bickell, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November, returned to Carolina’s lineup for the final three contests and announced that Sunday would be his last NHL game.
"It was special. First time I lifted the Cup was in Philly. To end it here was nice," Bickell said. "Kind of think of all the memories and all the support and people that helped, it's really a moment that rushes in at once. I'm just happy to have them support me, believe in me and let me do what I love."
Photo via @NHLCanes
LOOSE PUCKS
Cam Atkinson (GWG) moved into sole possession of second place on the Blue Jackets’ all-time goals list as Columbus reached the 50-win mark for the first time . . . Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 39th goal of the season to finish tied for fourth in the League and establish a career high for points in a season (39-36—75 in 82 GP) as the Blues finished the campaign with a 15-2-2 run . . . Kings forward Jarome Iginla (0-1—1) became the 34th player in NHL history to record 1,300 career points (625-675—1,300) . . . Panthers goaltender James Reimer (33 saves) closed the season with back-to-back shutouts . . . Victor Hedman tallied 1-1—2 to eclipse 300 career points (65-236—301 in 549 GP) and finish the season with 16-56—72 in 79 GP, second among NHL defensemen behind Brent Burns (29-47—76 in 82 GP) . . . Oilers forward Jordan Eberle scored his second career hat trick to reach the 20-goal mark . . . Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen (1-1—2) became the sixth rookie to reach the 20-goal mark this season, the most since 2010-11 (7) . . . Ducks fans gave Kings broadcaster Bob Miller a standing ovation as he called the final game of his Hall of Fame career.
