Times wires
Monday, April 4, 2011
Playoff chase
With nonshootout wins (first tiebreaker in determining final playoff spots) and games left. Division winners get top three seeds:
East Pts. Wins GR
1. Flyers-x 103 43 3
2. Capitals-x 103 42 3
3. Bruins-y 99 42 3
4. Penguins-x 100 37 3
5. Lightning-x 99 38 3
6. Canadiens 91 39 3
7. Rangers 91 34 2
8. Sabres 90 35 3
9. Hurricanes 87 33 3
10. Maple Leafs 84 32 3
West Pts. Wins GR
1. Canucks-p 113 48 3
2. Red Wings-y 102 42 3
3. *Sharks-x 101 41 4
4. Coyotes 96 37 3
5. *Kings 96 36 4
6. Predators 95 36 3
7. Ducks 93 40 3
8. Blackhawks 92 36 4
9. Flames 91 31 2
10. Stars 89 34 4
p-Clinched Presidents' Trophy y-Clinched division x-Clinched playoffs *-Late game
NEW YORK — Brandon Dubinsky and Michael Sauer scored 51 seconds apart late in the third period, and the Rangers turned a likely crippling defeat into their most stirring victory of the season by beating the defensive-minded Bruins 5-3 on Monday night.
The Rangers, who trailed 3-0 in the second, seemed beaten when the game suddenly turned. Dubinsky tied it with 3:48 left and Sauer followed at 17:03 with the winner that shook Madison Square Garden.
"It's a feeling that you can't describe when you hear that many people going crazy," Dubinsky said. "We fought so hard for so many months and we needed these two points.''
Derek Stepan scored an empty-net goal with 52.2 seconds left. Vinny Prospal had two goals in the second period to start the Rangers' rally.
New York began a season-ending, three-game homestand by jumping over idle Buffalo in the East.
"We respected the game plan when we took that 3-0 lead. Then guys wanted to get cute again," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "The only reason they took over is because we let them."
Around the league: Sabres goalie Ryan Miller believes there's a good chance he'll be back by the end of the week. He had a light half-hour workout, his first time on the ice since taking a shot off his collarbone March 29. … The Penguins signed free agent forward Brian Gibbons to a two-year, entry-level contract. In his final season at Boston College, Gibbons had 18 goals and 51 points in 39 games.
| at Rangers | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Bruins | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
First Period—1, Boston, Paille 5 (Boychuk, Ryder), 15:16. 2, Boston, Horton 25 (Krejci, Lucic), 16:53. Penalties—Staal, NYR (slashing), 5:55; Bergeron, Bos (tripping), 10:15.
Second Period—3, Boston, Kelly 13 (Kaberle, Seidenberg), 10:32. 4, N.Y. Rangers, Prospal 7 (Wolski, Staal), 11:34. 5, N.Y. Rangers, Prospal 8 (Wolski, Stepan), 18:26. Penalties—Krejci, Bos (hooking), 5:02; Krejci, Bos (slashing), 12:28.
Third Period—6, N.Y. Rangers, Dubinsky 24 (Callahan, Anisimov), 16:12. 7, N.Y. Rangers, Sauer 3 (Gaborik, Boyle), 17:03. 8, N.Y. Rangers, Stepan 21 (Fedotenko, Sauer), 19:07 (en). Penalties—Seidenberg, Bos (tripping), :53. Shots on Goal—Boston 19-4-7—30. N.Y. Rangers 5-9-12—26. Power-play opportunities—Boston 0 of 1; N.Y. Rangers 0 of 4. Goalies—Boston, Thomas 33-11-9 (25 shots-21 saves). N.Y. Rangers, Lundqvist 35-26-5 (30-27). A—18,200 (18,200). T—2:15.