NHL Roundup \ Saturday’s other games

April 12, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

King 4, Sharks 3

LOS ANGELES — Wayne Simmonds had a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves as the Kings finished their season with a win over the Sharks, who still won the Presidents’ Trophy. The Sharks (53-18-11) secured the top record in the NHL for the first time in club history when the Boston Bruins lost at Buffalo. Michal Handzus, Alexander Frolov and Peter Harold also scored for the Kings (34-37-11), who didn’t qualify for the playoffs. Devin Setoguchi, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau had goals for San Jose, which wrapped up the regular season and will be the top-seeded team in the Western Conference playoffs. “It feels good, that’s what we worked for all year,” Sharks forward Milan Michalek said. “Now we have to forget about it and start getting ready for the playoffs.” Despite securing the best record in the league, the Sharks are stumbling into the postseason. They also lost 4-1 at home against Phoenix on Thursday and needed a shootout to beat last-place Colorado 1-0 on Tuesday. “It’s certainly not the way you want to finish your season with two losses,” defenseman Dan Boyle said. “Both games I think there have been some good things and we’ll try and focus on that. Without a doubt there has been a lot of mistakes and turnovers and key defensive mistakes.”

Sabres 6, Bruins 1

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Thomas Vanek scored two goals, including his 40th, and had an assist in Buffalo’s season-ending win. “We didn’t have our heads into it,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien, whose team came out flat in falling behind 4-0 before the game was 18 minutes old. “It would’ve been nice, but we’re not going to cry over spilled milk.” Mikael Tellqvist made 33 saves, and Tim Connolly and Matt Ellis had a goal and assist each for the Sabres, who were eliminated from playoff contention this week. Daniel Paille and Chris Butler also scored in helping Buffalo finish on a 7-2-1 run. The Bruins (52-19-10), who close the regular season at the New York Islanders today, will settle for having the best record in the Eastern Conference. Mark Recchi spoiled Tellqvist’s bid for a shutout with 6:05 remaining.

Canucks 1, Avalanche 0, OT

DENVER — Henrik Sedin scored 40 seconds into overtime and Roberto Luongo stopped 22 shots for his second straight shutout, helping Vancouver clinch the Northwest Division title with a win over Colorado. Vancouver (45-27-10), which earned its second division crown in three seasons, will enter the postseason on a three-game winning streak. Sedin scored by banking in a shot off the skate of Colorado defenseman Scott Hannan. It was his 22nd goal. Colorado, which will wrap up the season Sunday at home against St. Louis, will finish last in the West for the first time since the team relocated to Denver from Quebec in 1995.

Thrashers 6, Lightning 2

ATLANTA — Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 43rd goal, and the Thrashers snapped a three-game skid in final game of the season for both teams. Colby Armstrong scored twice, Eric Perrin, Ron Hainsey and Colin Stuart added goals, and Kari Lehtonen made 24 saves. Tampa Bay rookie Steven Stamkos, the No. 1 overall draft pick, scored his 23rd goal early in the third period, and Matt Pettinger added a goal. The Lightning closed the season with a nine-game winless streak, dropping the last four in regulation.

Blackhawks 4, Red Wings 2

DETROIT — Dustin Byfuglien scored on a penalty shot with 28 seconds left, breaking a tie and lifting Chicago over Detroit. Niklas Hjalmarsson netted his first NHL goal, and Ben Eager and Andrew Ladd also scored for Chicago. Brian Campbell chipped in with two assists, and Cristobal Huet stopped 21 shots. Valtteri Filppula and Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit. Ty Conklin made 22 saves. Byfuglien was hooked by Niklas Kronwall on a partial breakaway and was awarded the penalty shot. He beat Conklin with a high shot for his 15th goal. Ladd added an empty-net goal with 10 seconds remaining.

Devils 3, Hurricanes 2

NEWARK, N.J. — Dainius Zubrus scored with 4:26 to play and New Jersey took advantage of some favorable bounces to beat Carolina in a possible preview of a first-round playoff series. David Clarkson and Zach Parise also scored for the Devils, who won four of five after a season-high, six-game losing streak. Anton Babchuk scored two power-play goals for the Hurricanes, who rested No. 1 goalie Cam Ward on the last day of the regular season after 28 straight starts. Michael Leighton had 32 saves in filling in for Ward, but he made a bad clearing play on the winning goal by Zubrus and was embarrassed when two bad bounces led to open-net goals in the first period.

Panthers 7, Capitals 4

SUNRISE, Fla. — David Booth had two goals and three assists to lift the Panthers in the regular-season finale for both teams. Steve Eminger and Michael Frolik scored in an 8-second span to break a 4-4 tie in the third period. Nick Tarnasky added an empty-netter with 9 seconds remaining. Radek Dvorak and Bryan McCabe also scored for the Panthers, who were eliminated from playoff contention on Thursday. Booth’s goals were his 30th and 31st of the season; he became the sixth player in Florida’s franchise history to reach the 30-goal mark. Alexander Semin scored twice for Washington, and Brooks Laich and Alexander Ovechkin also got goals. The Capitals clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference on Thursday.

Flyers 3, Islanders 2

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Martin Biron stopped 30 shots and Simon Gagne had a goal and an assist as Philadelphia beat the New York Islanders. Joffrey Lupul and Mike Knuble also scored for the playoff-bound Flyers, who remain in contention for home-ice advantage in the first round. Sean Bergenheim and Tim Jackman scored for the Islanders, who have lost three in a row.

Maple Leafs 5, Senators 2

TORONTO — Martin Gerber made 37 saves against his former team. With the Maple Leafs and Senators long out of playoff contention, this was no Battle of Ontario. But it was a big victory for Gerber, who started the season with Ottawa before being claimed off waivers by Toronto last month. It was also a big night for Boyd Devereaux, who scored three goals for Toronto (33-35-13).

Associated Press