NHL Three Stars: Callahan sends Rangers to playoffs; Rask blanks Bolts
No. 1 Star: Ryan Callahan, New York Rangers
The Rangers captain scored the game-winning goal at 2:55 of overtime, sending his team to the playoffs with a 4-3 victory at the Carolina Hurricanes. Callahan beat goalie Dan Ellis cleanly, picking the corner for his 15th of the season. He also had an earlier assist on Derek Stepan’s first-period goal.
No. 2 Star: Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
Rask made 30 saves, helping the Bruins shut down Steven Stamkos and Marty St. Louis in their 2-0 whitewash of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
No. 3 Star: Cam Atkinson, Columbus Blue Jackets
The Jackets forward opened and closed the scoring with goals, as Columbus stayed alive for a playoff spot with a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars. His second goal, a power-play tally at 18:20 of the third period, was a dagger.
Honorable mention: The Detroit Red Wings had five different goal scorers in their 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators; Pavel Datsyuk had three points. … Oliver Lauridsen’s goal was the difference and Ilya Bryzgalov made 21 saves in the Flyers’ 2-1 win over the Islanders. … The New Jersey Devils rallied with three goals, including Ilya Kovalchuk’s game winner, in their 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. … After finding out they missed the playoffs, the Winnipeg Jets allowed three third-period goals to the Montreal Canadiens in their 4-2 loss. David Desharnais had the game-winner. … Brad Staubitz’s first of the season and 28 Jonas Hiller saves propelled the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. … Ryan Reaves’ two goals helped the St. Louis Blues to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames. … Sergei Gonchar’s power-play goal in OT clinched a playoff spot for the Ottawa Senators against Washington. Craig Anderson made 19 saves in the 2-1 win; Alex Ovechkin scored goal No. 32. … Phil Kessel scored two goals and James Reimer made 34 saves in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers. … Jiri Tlusty had two goals for the Hurricanes. …
Did you know? With Jared Staal being called up to Carolina, it is the 10th time that three brothers played for the same team in the same season in North American major pro sports history and the first time since the Statsnys did it for the Quebec Nordiques in 1985, according to STATS. (AP)
Dishonorable mention: The Rangers were helped by a weak tripping call vs. Tuomo Ruutu in the third period, which led to a fluky tying goal. … Peter Mueller was a minus-3. … Tim Jackman of the Flames was given an instigator and a misconduct for this fight against Ryan Reaves:
