Matt Savoie capped off the regular season in spectacular fashion, netting his inaugural NHL hat trick as Edmonton dominated Vancouver 6-1 on Thursday night, securing home-ice advantage for their upcoming playoff run.
The decisive victory in their final regular season matchup locked up second place in the Pacific Division for Edmonton. The Oilers will welcome the third-seeded Anaheim Ducks for the opening game of their Western Conference playoff series on Monday.
Colton Dach contributed a goal and assist for Edmonton, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Josh Samanski also found the back of the net. Connor McDavid distributed four assists, completing his NHL scoring title campaign with 138 points, and Evan Bouchard recorded three helpers. Goaltender Connor Ingram faced minimal pressure, turning away just 11 shots for the victory.
Rookie Ty Mueller notched his first NHL goal for Vancouver, the league’s worst team, ending their three-game winning streak. Kevin Lankinen recorded 29 saves and earned an assist on Mueller’s tally.
Ducks 5, Predators 4
Troy Terry earned a high-sticking penalty call and capitalized on the resulting power play with 2:54 remaining, propelling visiting Anaheim past Nashville in both teams’ regular season conclusion.
Cutter Gauthier, Jackson LaCombe, Alex Killorn and Tristan Luneau also lit the lamp, while Mikael Granlund collected three assists, John Carlson added two helpers and Ville Husso stopped 17 shots for Anaheim, who return to playoff action for the first time in eight seasons.
Steven Stamkos recorded two goals and one assist, Filip Forsberg also scored twice, Luke Evangelista and Ryan Ufko each contributed two assists and Juuse Saros made 35 saves for Nashville, who dropped three of their final four contests.
Flames 3, Kings 1
Arsenii Sergeev turned in a stellar performance with 27 saves, including several highlight-reel stops, in his NHL debut as host Calgary defeated Los Angeles.
Morgan Frost, Zayne Parekh and Joel Farabee scored while Zach Whitecloud provided two assists for Calgary, who will sit out the playoffs for consecutive seasons.
Quinton Byfield scored for Los Angeles, who claimed the second wild-card playoff position in the Western Conference and will face the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche in their first-round series beginning Sunday. Anton Forsberg made 18 saves in the Kings’ first regulation defeat in April following a 6-0-2 stretch.
Blues 5, Mammoth 3
Robert Thomas achieved his second career hat trick, powering St. Louis past Utah in both teams’ season finale in Salt Lake City.
Rookie defenseman Logan Mailloux delivered the decisive goal with 2:57 left in the final period. Pavel Buchnevich also scored, Dylan Holloway registered two assists and Joel Hofer made 20 saves as St. Louis entered the offseason riding a four-game winning streak.
Lawson Crouse matched his career high with his 24th goal of the campaign for Utah, while Kailer Yamamoto and Michael Carcone also scored and captain Clayton Keller and MacKenzie Weegar each recorded two assists. The Mammoth have dropped three of their last four games before their Western Conference first-round matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Sharks 6, Jets 1
Macklin Celebrini posted one goal and two assists to establish a new franchise single-season scoring record, leading San Jose past host Winnipeg in both teams’ season finale.
The 19-year-old Celebrini accumulated 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) to surpass Joe Thornton’s previous franchise mark of 114 points from the 2006-2007 campaign. William Eklund also contributed a goal and two assists, Will Smith added a goal and assist and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 25 shots.
Cole Koepke provided the only goal for Winnipeg, who concluded their season with four consecutive defeats. Eric Comrie made 27 saves.
