Recaps: Games That Mattered in the East
Just some quick recaps (with East playoff implications) to keep everyone up to speed on how the East played out:
The New Jersey Devils‘ 2-1 defeat (and goal by Jamie Langenbrunner (19) with three seconds left) of the Buffalo Sabres assured them of 2nd place in the East, while the Sabres will get the third seed. The Sabres needed a regulation victory to leapfrog the Devils in the standings. The Devils face the Philadelphia Flyers in round one.
Despite a 4-3 overtime victory against the Washington Capitals, the Boston Bruins were mathematically unable to move up and consequently were locked-in at the 6th spot in the East. Boston will play Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres in round one.
The final game of the season resulted in a 6-5 overtime victory for the Pittsburgh Penguins over the New York Islanders, with Sidney Crosby (51) scoring twice, to tie Steven Stamkos (51) who also scored yesterday, for the league lead in goals scored. The fourth-seeded Penguins will play the Ottawa Senators.
With the Flyers shootout win against the Rangers, they have jumped over the Montreal Canadiens for seventh place; the eighth-seeded Habs will play the Washington Capitals.
