NHL recap: Flyers clinch playoff berth, eliminate Caps, Blue Jackets

Tyson Foerster scored the only goal of the shootout which featured an extra round to give the host Philadelphia Flyers a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Carolina Hurricanes in the penultimate game of the regular season for both teams.

Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras scored in regulation for Philadelphia (42-27-12, 96 points), who have won five of their last six. Dan Vladar stopped 24 shots and all four of Carolina's shootout attempts.

Flyers right wing Garnet Hathaway (19) and right wing Owen Tippett (74) celebrate with teammates after the game against the Hurricanes at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and an assist and Bradly Nadeau got the other goal for the Hurricanes (52-22-7, 111 points), who clinched the top spot in the Eastern Conference with the point despite the loss. Brandon Bussi made 18 saves.

Carolina's Jackson Blake hit the goal post while cutting across the slot about 1:15 into the five-minute overtime period.

Philadelphia scored twice in the second period to tie the game 2-2.

Michkov put the Flyers on the board 7:57 into the period when he scored from the left circle skating toward the net after taking a cross-ice pass from Denver Barkey.

Zegras' power-play goal with 9:29 left in the middle period tied it. He took a pass below the right circle, had the time to take a couple of strides to his left and put a shot past Bussi. Ex-Spartan Porter Martone assisted on the goal to stretch his point streak to five games (seven points on three goals and seven assists).

Nadeau scored on Carolina's first shot 8:41 into the game. He connected on a one-timer from the slot, converting Ehlers' pass from behind the net. Ehlers power-play goal with 4:30 left in the opening period made it 2-0. His shot from below the right circle and along the goal line caromed in off of Vladar.

The win by Philadelphia eliminated Washington and Columbus from the playoffs. Those two teams battle in Columbus in a meaningless game on Tuesday.

The Hurricanes rested Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, captain Jordan Staal, Andrei Svechnikov and defensemen Jaccob Slavin and Shayne Gostisbehere in anticipation of the upcoming playoffs.

Sabres wrap up Atlantic Division crown

Tage Thompson scored twice and Alex Tuch had a goal and assist as the Buffalo Sabres clinched the Atlantic Division title with a 5-1 victory against the host Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.

Buffalo (50-23-8, 108 points) recorded its fourth straight victory. The Sabres have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference behind the Carolina Hurricanes' 111 points.

After snapping a 14-season playoff drought this month, Buffalo will open the postseason against either the Boston Bruins or the Ottawa Senators.

Ryan McLeod and Josh Norris (Oxford) also scored while Rasmus Dahlin notched two assists for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 15 saves.

Rookie Ryan Greene scored for Chicago, and Spencer Knight stopped 21 shots.

The Sabres outshot the Blackhawks 26-16. Chicago finished 0-for-5 on the power play compared to 0-for-2 for Buffalo.

The Blackhawks (28-39-14, 70 points) put a brief scare into the Sabres when Greene opened the scoring with a short-handed goal at 3:58 of the first period. With Sam Rinzel off for high-sticking, Greene took an Ilya Mikheyev pass off the rush, made a move in front and beat Luukkonen with a wrist shot just 14 seconds into the Buffalo man advantage.

Also sluggish at even strength in the early going, the Sabres tied the game at 19:02 of the first period. Josh Doan stole a Greene pass inside the Chicago blue line and fed the puck to Norris, who sent a wrist shot over Knight from the left circle.

Norris stretched his point streak to five games while Doan extended his to four.

Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar (Mount Clemens) wore a cage mask after leaving the team's Saturday home loss to the St. Louis Blues early upon taking a puck to the face.

Chicago fell to 1-8-1 in its past 10 games.

Quick loses final NHL game

Goalie Jonathan Quick, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, lost the final game of his career as the host Florida Panthers defeated the New York Rangers, 3-2, on Monday night in Sunrise.

Cole Reinhardt produced the first two-goal game of his career, including the game-winner with 1:50 left in the third. Mackie Samoskevich also scored for the Panthers, who got 24 saves from backup goalie Daniil Tarasov, including 13 in the third period.

Quick, a 40-year-old who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, made 14 saves in the loss.

Both the Rangers (33-39-9) and the Panthers (39-38-4) have been eliminated from playoff contention. Florida, after winning Stanley Cup titles in 2024 and 2025, will end its season with a home game against Detroit on Wednesday. New York will end its season with a road game at Tampa Bay, also on Wednesday.

The Rangers got goals from rookies Matthew Robertson and Gabe Perreault.

Before the game, the Panthers handed out team awards to Sergei Bobrovsky (fan favorite), Luke Kunin (unsung hero), and Brad Marchand (three stars).

After the game, the Panthers called for Quick to come back to the ice for a curtain call. Quick appeared to wipe away tears as he stepped off the ice for the final time.

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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Philadelphia Flyers clinch first playoff spot since 2020