NHL scores 2015: Preds lead trio of playoff-clinching teams

The Nashville Predators, Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens all earned their spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs table. Fittingly, each one had to work hard to clinch their berths.

Nashville's win was the most sentimental of the bunch, coming against the Washington Capitals and former Preds coach Barry Trotz. But they got a ton of help from the forwards that pushed them along all season. Mike Ribeiro scored, and Filip Forsberg added three points of his own to edge the Predators past a hungry Capitals squad.

The Ducks also found victory in a one-goal game, but with far less energy expended than their Western Conference brethren in Tennessee. The New York Islanders just don't have the same spark as they did for most of the season, and the Ducks pounced on them. As they have all season, the Ducks got contributions from their depth players in the win.

Montreal rounded out the trio of clinchers with an overtime win against Florida. At times, the Habs looked disoriented. Aleksander Barkov burned them for two pretty early goals and the Panthers seemed to have them on the ropes at the midway point. Montreal found a way to survive, though, as Max Pacioretty ended things with an overtime game-winner.

Boston Bruins 4, New York Rangers 2

Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Arizona Coyotes 2

San Jose Sharks 3, Philadelphia Flyers 2 (SO)

Detroit Red Wings 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 0

Carolina Hurricanes 3, New Jersey Devils 1

Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Ottawa Senators 3 (OT)

Columbus Blue Jackets 4, St. Louis Blues 2

Minnesota Wild 4, Los Angeles Kings 1

Colorado Avalanche 5, Buffalo Sabres 3

Dallas Stars 4, Vancouver Canucks 3 (OT)

It's actually more of a sprint at this point. Whatever you want to call it, the Blackhawks are squarely in it right now. Minnesota's tremendous charge since the All-Star break finally reached its logical conclusion on Saturday after a win over the Los Angeles Kings. The Wild leapfrogged Chicago, sending the Hawks to the first wild card slot in the Western Conference. At 94 points, the Blackhawks have a bit of a cushion with a handful of games left. But it's certainly not a comfortable position to be in this late in the game.

The Senators had many convinced that they were going to complete their improbable three-week long run to the playoffs. That possibility looks less likely now that they've dropped two games in a row, including a bad loss to the Leafs on Saturday. The bottom line is you can't leave points on the table against teams like Toronto and expect to still sneak into the postseason. Andrew Hammond's injury doesn't help, and neither does Boston's brief resurgence as of late.

Even when he was healthy, the Red Wings have been quietly distancing themselves from their starting netminder this season. You can't really blame them, as Petr Mrazek has played excellently when given a chance. Meanwhile, Howard has underwhelmed to the point that Mrazek got a start in Tampa Bay on Saturday. As usual, he shined, making 23 saves in a 4-0 shutout win.

The most jaw-dropping moment in hockey actually came from the college ranks. And considering how busy the schedule was in the NHL, you know it had to be a big play. In fact, you can't get any bigger than the incredible diving stick save by Miami University's Louie Belpedio to keep Providence from scoring an empty-netter in the NCAA Tournament.

It looks like Jagr has the most points out of all the trade deadline acquisitions w/ 10 pts in 13 games. Chris Stewart closest with 9 in 14.

— Paige Lewis (@PaigeLewisFL) March 29, 2015

What, you were expecting Antoine Vermette?

• A Boston University player totally wiped out trying to celebrate with teammates.
• Tyler Seguin gets snacks after he scores.
• Craig Anderson's blocker hand seems all healed.