NEW YORK — Henrik Lundqvist made 20 saves in coasting to his second shutout of the season, and Rick Nash scored twice for the playoff-bound New York Rangers in a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams. The Rangers still had to wait to find out who they will face in the first round of the playoffs, but they know it won't be the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. The Rangers avoided finishing eighth in the Eastern Conference and will be either the No. 6 or 7 seed. Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan both had a goal and assist in the first period against backup goalie Johan Hedberg, who gave Martin Brodeur a rare game off. One year after reaching the Stanley Cup finals, the Devils will head home early after failing to make the playoffs. Panthers 5, Lightning 3: NHL points leader Martin St. Louis had a goal and an assist in the Tampa Bay Lightning's 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers in the season finale for two non-playoff teams. The 37-year old St. Louis finished the year with 60 points. Red Wings 3, Stars 0: The Detroit Red Wings are headed to the playoffs for the 22nd straight season after Henrik Zetterberg had two goals and an assist in a 3-0 victory over the Dallas Stars. Jimmy Howard made 17 saves to post his fifth shutout of the season as Detroit secured the seventh spot in the Western Conference. It's the lowest playoff seed for the Red Wings since the NHL moved to the 1 vs. 8 conference format in 1993. Blue Jackets 3, Predators 1: Jack Johnson scored the go-ahead goal with 4:48 left and the Columbus Blue Jackets capped a remarkable turnaround with a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Coming into the night, the Blue Jackets were tied for eighth in the West with Minnesota, each with 53 points. The Wild, coming off a 6-1 loss at home to Edmonton on Friday, were in action at Colorado. The Wild would clinch a playoff spot with a win. Detroit beat Dallas Saturday and clinched the No. 7 seed.
Capitals 3, Bruins 2: Eric Fehr scored on a power play 3:23 into overtime, and the Washington Capitals, with nothing at stake Saturday night, came back for a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins, who are trying to win the Northeast Division. Boston entered the day tied with the Montreal Canadiens, who beat Toronto 4-1 to grab the division lead. The Bruins need to beat Ottawa Sunday to take the title. The NHL regular season originally was supposed to end Saturday, but the game between Bruins and Senators was rescheduled because of the Boston Marathon bombings. Flyers 1, Senators 1: Jakub Voracek scored the game winner as the Philadelphia Flyers closed out the season with a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. Jason Akeson also scored for the Flyers (23-22-3) while Steve Mason faced 44 shots. The Flyers failed to advance to the post season for just the ninth time in franchise history. The loss leaves the Senators sitting eighth in the Eastern Conference. Canadiens 4, Leafs 1: Lars Eller had a goal and two assists as the Montreal Canadiens sent Toronto a pre-playoff message, defeating the sluggish Maple Leafs 4-1. The Canadiens (29-14-5) did it without No. 1 goalie Carey Price, who was given the night off in favour of Peter Budaj. Wild 3, Avalanche 1: Devin Setoguchi broke a second-period tie and Niklas Backstrom stopped 29 shots, helping the Minnesota Wild secure their first playoff spot in five years with a 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche. The Wild earned the No. 8 seed and will face top-seeded Chicago in the first round of the post-season. Penguins 8, Hurricanes 3: James Neal scored three goals in his first game back from a concussion and the Pittsburgh Penguins snapped a two-game skid with an 8-3 victory over Jordan Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes. Other results: St Louis 3, Chicago 1; Phoenix 5, Anaheim 3; Edmonton 7, Vancouver 2; Los Angeles 3, San Jose 2. — Agencies
