The Columbus Blue Jackets secured the final available playoff spot, a number of Chicago Blackhawks hit career milestones and the Dallas Stars failed to nail down the first wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Here are three things we learned in the NHL on Friday:
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Blue Jackets clinch final playoff spot in nail-biter
With a 3-2 shootout win over the New York Rangers, the Columbus Blue Jackets locked up the NHL’s last available playoff spot, officially eliminating the Montreal Canadiens from contention.
Columbus’ playoff chase has been a popular point of discussion since the team loaded up at the trade deadline and decided to keep pending unrestricted free agents Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin for a playoff push.
The Jackets were up 2-1 late in the third period but needed the shootout to win after Bobrovksy allowed an atrocious goal with 6.1 seconds left that made it 2-2.
Panarin scored the game winner in the shootout with a perfect wrist shot that went top corner over the glove of Alexandar Georgiev. Bobrovsky then denied Tony DeAngelo to seal the victory.
The kick is the best part. pic.twitter.com/YYNBEiw3Lb
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 6, 2019
Milestone night for Blackhawks
Dylan Strome, Jonathan Toews, Erik Gustafsson and Cam Ward all hit personal milestones in the Blackhawks 6-1 win over the Dallas Stars.
With a goal in the second period, Strome scored 20 for the first time in his career.
The goal was Strome’s 50th point with the Blackhawks in 57 games after coming over in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes, and 56th total point on the season.
He tallied just 16 points in 48 total games with Arizona over the course of three seasons, leading many to label him as a bust, but Strome appears to have found his groove in Chicago playing on a line with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat.
In one of the most surprising offensive surges in the NHL this season, Gustafson had an assist on Strome’s goal, putting his point total at 60 on the year. Now at 43 helpers on the season, Gustafson has recorded more assists this season than he had total points in his previous two seasons combined. He currently ranks sixth in points among NHL defencemen.
With an assist on Slater Koekkoek’s third-period goal, Toews hit the 80-point mark for the first time in his career and surpassed his previous career-high of 44 assists.
Toews, enjoying a wildly resurgent offensive season, had not put up 70-plus points since 2010-11 and had not broken 60 points since 2014-15.
Last but not least, Ward, who entered the game in relief of an injured Corey Crawford, played in his 700th NHL game, tying him with Tomas Vokoun and making him the 28th goalie in NHL history to hit that mark.
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Playoff picture is still unclear
We now know which 16 teams will be playing for the Stanley Cup, but until games wrap up on Saturday, only two matchups have been officially determined.
Had the Stars gotten at least one point against the Blackhawks, the Colorado Avalanche would have been locked into the second wild-card spot and would have been matched up with the Calgary Flames. Instead, the Stars got walloped 6-1, leaving the door open for the Avalanche to leap-frog them Saturday night.
The San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights will meet in the first round, while out East, the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs face off in the opening round for the second straight year.
The Sharks will be looking to exact some revenge against the Golden Knights, after Vegas eliminated San Jose in six games as part of their magical run to the Stanley Cup Finals in the 2018 playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Leafs are hoping that the third time is the charm, as the Bruins have eliminated Toronto in the first round twice since the now-infamous 2013 seven-game series.
The Central Division is anyone’s game heading into the final day of the season and three teams in the Metropolitan Division could shuffle positions.
It’s safe to say that we are in line for an entertaining final Saturday before the postseason kicks off.
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