All for not.

Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers were 18 seconds away from a 2-0 series lead over the Montreal Canadiens.

Tomas Plekanec's game-tying goal forced overtime, where Alexander Radulov won it for Montreal, tying up the series 1-1 as it shifts to Manhattan. And the OT winner wasted a superhuman effort from The King.

Lundqvist made a career playoff-high 54 saves through almost four periods of hockey, keeping the Rangers alive until Montreal finally struck. His previous career-best postseason mark was 49 saves in an overtime loss in April 2011 to the Washington Capitals.

New York was outshot 49-29 through periods two, three, and 18:34 of extra time. Lundqvist was sensational, and this after a shutout in Game 1.

The Rangers have taken home ice, but they'll no doubt be wondering what could have been after Lundqvist stopped 85 of 89 shots in two games.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

All the pressure is on the Washington Capitals.

For the first time since 2013 and only the second time since the 2004-05 NHL season was lost to a lockout, the Toronto Maple Leafs are back in the postseason.

One year after finishing 30th out of 30, and only in head coach Mike Babcock's second season of eight behind the Toronto bench, the Maple Leafs rode their rookies to an improbable 95-point season and a date with the Presidents' Trophy winners. It's all gravy from here.

Toronto isn't favored. It can't be. Especially when it's Stanley Cup or bust in D.C., with T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams, Daniel Winnik, Karl Alzner, and rental Kevin Shattenkirk set for unrestricted free agency on July 1.

Here are three things you need to know about the series:

Only 1 team can defend

Both these teams can score. Only one of them can defend, and you can probably guess which one.

Both teams can fill the net, each boasting five guys with 20 or more goals. The teams are also closer than expected on special teams. But you can see where Washington has the advantage - possession, shots against, and in goal.

Goals are harder to come by in the playoffs, as the checking and defense ramps up, and Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and Connor Brown are going to learn that awfully quickly.

The majority of the game is played at even strength, and there aren't many teams better at five-on-five than Barry Trotz's squad.

Holtby lives for the spring

Since 2012, when Braden Holtby burst onto the scene in Washington with a monumentally impressive playoff run, there's been no better goalie in the postseason.

And the sample size isn't small.

Here are the best playoff goalies since 2012, with a minimum of 20 postseason games played:

With all due respect to Frederik Andersen, he's nowhere near Holtby's level.

Massive advantage Washington, not only against Toronto, but against anyone in the Eastern Conference.

Young Leafs must learn lessons

It's always said about young teams: They must learn to lose before they win.

And you get the feeling Toronto is going to very much regret losing its regular-season finale to Columbus, blowing a 2-0 lead and an opportunity to play Ottawa and not the Capitals in the first round.

Regardless, Toronto's at the dance, that's what counts, and it appears it will be the first of many playoff appearances for this Maple Leafs squad. And as Babcock said, his club's in for a rude awakening as to what playoff hockey entails, no matter what he tells his group before Game 1.

"They're not going to believe me," he said. And he's probably right.

The Maple Leafs may take their lumps in this series - it could be over quickly.

But you get the feeling that even if Toronto goes down, if it can force the series to six or seven games, the Maple Leafs will look back on this playoff appearance as one that sets the stage for an eventual deep - and potential Stanley Cup - run.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The 82-game NHL regular season is in the books, and that means it's time to look at those who put the most rubber on the net, and how they fared in the process.

Here's a look at the top-10 shooters by volume in 2016-17, and they all have one thing in common: they score a lot.

All Skaters

Takeaways:

• Burns is the only defenseman on the list, and he's atop it. He's a freak, the best kind, and there's no other way to put it.
• Ovechkin finished second and yet his 313 shots were well off the pace he was firing at over the past three seasons. He had 398 shots in 2015-16, 395 in 2014-15, and 386 in 2013-14. Fewer shots resulted in 36 assists, his most since 53 in 2010-11.
• Bergeron (Seven percent) and Seguin (8.6 percent) didn't have much luck.
• Skinner's 281 shots were a career high, as were his 37 goals.
• Matthews finished as the only player in the league to record at least one shot on goal in each game he played (and he played in all of them).
• Pacioretty's 268 shots were his lowest in a season in which he's played at least 73 games and yet he still bagged 35, good for a tie for sixth in the NHL.

Defensemen

Takeaways:

• Burns is legit like no other player in the league. Appreciate what you're watching when you're watching him play.
• Defensemen often have low shooting percentages, since a large number of their shot attempts are coming from non-dangerous scoring areas. It makes what Burns and Karlsson do that much more impressive - they score at rates some forwards do.
• Ekblad played only 68 games, and his 225 shots were a career high, far more than his 182 in 78 games in 2015-16.

Rookies

Takeaways:

• Watch Laine play and you can be convinced his 17.6 percent shooting rate is truly reflective of his talent, and sustainable. He's that good, his release that wicked and already elite.
• Everything went right for the Maple Leafs this season - look at the shooting percentages of their star rookies. That's a big reason why they're in the playoffs.
• In any other season, Aho and Werenski are Calder Trophy finalists. Both only 19, you're going to be hearing and reading a lot about them in the coming years.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The 82-game NHL regular season is in the books, and that means it's time to look at those who put the most rubber on the net, and how they fared in the process.

Here's a look at the top-10 shooters by volume in 2016-17, and they all have one thing in common: they score a lot.

All Skaters

Takeaways:

• Burns is the only defenseman on the list, and he's atop it. He's a freak, the best kind, and there's no other way to put it.
• Ovechkin finished second and yet his 313 shots were well off the pace he was firing at over the past three seasons. He had 398 shots in 2015-16, 395 in 2014-15, and 386 in 2013-14. Fewer shots resulted in 36 assists, his most since 53 in 2010-11.
• Bergeron (Seven percent) and Seguin (8.6 percent) didn't have much luck.
• Skinner's 281 shots were a career high, as were his 37 goals.
• Matthews finished as the only player in the league to record at least one shot on goal in each game he played (and he played in all of them).
• Pacioretty's 268 shots were his lowest in a season in which he's played at least 73 games and yet he still bagged 35, good for a tie for sixth in the NHL.

Defensemen

Takeaways:

• Burns is legit like no other player in the league. Appreciate what you're watching when you're watching him play.
• Defensemen often have low shooting percentages, since a large number of their shot attempts are coming from non-dangerous scoring areas. It makes what Burns and Karlsson do that much more impressive - they score at rates some forwards do.
• Ekblad played only 68 games, and his 225 shots were a career high, far more than his 182 in 78 games in 2015-16.

Rookies

Takeaways:

• Watch Laine play and you can be convinced his 17.6 percent shooting rate is truly reflective of his talent, and sustainable. He's that good, his release that wicked and already elite.
• Everything went right for the Maple Leafs this season - look at the shooting percentages of their star rookies. That's a big reason why they're in the playoffs.
• In any other season, Aho and Werenski are Calder Trophy finalists. Both only 19, you're going to be hearing and reading a lot about them in the coming years.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Sidney Crosby added more hardware to his mantle Sunday, winning his second Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal-scorer with the conclusion of the 2016-17 regular sason.

The Pittsburgh captain had his feet up Sunday, sitting out the Penguins' season finale and finishing with 44 goals - the second-highest total of his career - in 75 games. Crosby won his first Richard Trophy in 2009-10, when he scored 51 goals, the first and only time he's hit the half-century mark. (Steven Stamkos also had 51 that season.)

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and Toronto Maple Leafs super rookie Auston Matthews finished second to No. 87 with 40 goals. And ain't no shame in that.

Crosby shot 17.3 percent this season, which also ranks second-highest in his career. He was sniping at an otherworldly 19.9 percent in 2010-11, finishing with 32 goals in an injury-shortened 41-game season.

His 0.59 goals-per-game average led the league, his 30 even-strength goals ranked second to Matthews, and he scored the opening goal of a game 11 times - third to Matthews' 14 and Patrick Kane's 12.

It's been a remarkable year for Crosby. He won his first Conn Smythe Trophy and second Stanley Cup last June, and now adds another Richard Trophy before the Penguins' quest to repeat begins Wednesday.

Dominant like no other, you can argue Crosby's never been better.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Century man.

Connor McDavid is your 2016-17 Art Ross Trophy winner. It's undoubtedly the first of many for the 20-year-old.

The Edmonton Oilers captain wrapped up his eventual Hart Trophy-winning season Sunday with two assists (his 30th multi-point game), and finished his second campaign in the league with 30 goals, a league-high 70 assists, and 100 points.

The helpers extended No. 97's point streak to 14 games, the longest by an Oiler since 1987-88, when a couple of guys named Mark Messier (14 games) and Wayne Gretzky (15 games) went on impressive runs.

McDavid finishes with 11 more points than Sidney Crosby - who didn't play in the Pittsburgh Penguins' season finale - and Patrick Kane. Both finished with 89 points.

The 2015 first overall pick is the Oilers. He, of course, led his club in every significant offensive category, and also finishes atop the NHL's points-per-game leaderboard, his 1.22 points per game besting Crosby's 1.19.

McDavid also led the league in even-strength points (71) and even-strength assists (45). Look - he had a mighty fine season. And the kid's only getting started.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's almost the most wonderful time of the year.

There's just one more 10-game slate before the Stanley Cup Playoffs, kids, and here's what you need to know about the finish line.

Mission 100

Edmonton Oilers phenom and soon-to-be-crowned Art Ross Trophy champion Connor McDavid picked up an assist Saturday night against the Canucks to give him 98 points on the season.

The 20-year-old is riding a 13-game point streak (seven goals, 16 assists) and needs two more points to hit the century mark in only his second campaign in the NHL. Kid's good.

The good news: McDavid's Oilers are up against the Canucks again, this time at home.

Prediction: He's hitting 100. Probably 101. It's Vancouver, after all.

Capitals or Senators?

The Toronto Maple Leafs clinched a playoff berth - there's something you don't write every year - with a game to spare, but No. 82 matters. Like, a lot.

A Toronto win or overtime/shootout loss Sunday means the Maple Leafs finish third in the Atlantic Division, setting up another postseason series with the Ottawa Senators, their provincial rivals.

Fact: Toronto has never lost to Ottawa in the playoffs.

A regulation-time loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets means Toronto gets the NHL-best Washington Capitals in the first round. No bueno.

Columbus has lost six in a row. It wants and needs to stop the bleeding before Game 1 on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins. And while a playoff spot ensures the Maple Leafs' season is a success, Toronto must avoid Washington at all costs if it wants to do something special - why not? - with its spring.

There's more: Toronto's No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen's status is up in the air after he was Tom Sestito'd Saturday. It may be Curtis McElhinney against the team that waived him earlier this season. That enough drama for you?

Sun sets on the Pacific

The Pacific Division is still up for grabs as the sun sets on the regular season.

Not only is young McDavid going for 100 points, he's looking for another win.

Here's the deal: If the Oilers win in any fashion and the Anaheim Ducks lose to the Los Angeles Kings in regulation, Edmonton wins the Pacific and gets the Calgary Flames at home in the first round. (Yes, please!)

If Anaheim gets a point, it wins the Pacific for the fifth straight season and gets the Flames, meaning an Oilers-San Jose Sharks first-round series.

There's a bloody lot to play for Sunday.

So long, Joe Louis

The Detroit Red Wings would have preferred to say goodbye to Joe Louis Arena during the postseason, but everything ends, even 25-year playoff streaks.

Sunday is the final game at iconic Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, and, sorry PETA, there will be octopuses. The Red Wings are moving to Little Caesars Arena next season.

The Devils are in town. A favor, if we may, New Jersey: Please let Riley Sheahan score. The 25-year-old is goalless through 79 games. He's put 106 pucks on net. We know the hockey gods are unfair, but this is now bordering on cruel.

Wouldn't it be something if Sheahan scored the final goal at the Joe?

Zetterberg's 1,000th

A little more intrigue to the Joe Louis finale.

Sunday's affair is Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg's 1,000th regular-season game. The Swede, drafted a remarkable 210th overall in 1999, is a Stanley Cup champion, the face of the Red Wings and everything they stand for, and the pride of the red and white. How's that for timing?

"I couldn't have picked a better game to have my 1,000th," Zetterberg said, according to MLive.com's Ansar Khan. And we wholeheartedly agree.

Detroit and its exceptional captain deserve a win as the curtain falls on its storied barn. Sorry, New Jersey, it's nothing personal, and surely you understand.

Goodbyes

Bryan Bickell plays his final NHL game Sunday, his career over after a multiple sclerosis diagnosis last November. He'll be remembered as a champion, and a fighter.

The Colorado Avalanche play Game 82 on Sunday, and thank god for that. What a disaster. The best - we use the term as lightly as possible - the club can do is finish with 50 points. Fifty! Keep Jared Bednar in your thoughts this offseason.

Say it ain't so, Jarome. Sunday could also be Jarome Iginla's final game in the NHL, though we refuse to believe that's the case. While he was mercifully traded by Colorado at the deadline, it was unfortunately to Los Angeles, on the outside of the playoff picture. It should have been you, Calgary.

Enjoy the final day of the regular season. The best is yet to come.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Mobile app users - expand the banner below to view more on the race to the playoffs.

It's a good story. It could have a fairy-tale ending.

The New York Islanders, thought for dead multiple times this season - most recently and especially after John Tavares was hurt a week ago, in a 2-1 win over New Jersey - are somehow still standing in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. And they have Jaroslav Halak, their once-banished goalie, to thank.

Recalled from the AHL on March 23, Halak's won four straight, allowing only four goals during the streak, and if the Islanders do get into the playoffs - still a very slim possibility - it will be on the 31-year-old's back.

Now owning a higher save percentage than New York's starting goalie, Thomas Greiss, albeit in half as many games, it can easily be argued that Halak's earned the team's most important start. Check out the difference in where the Islanders are allowing shots from when Halak's in net compared to Greiss:

Halak

Greiss

(Images courtesy: Hockey Viz)

The Islanders aren't exactly helping Halak out back there.

Two games to glory

New York's got two games left, a back-to-back over the season's final two days. Put simply, the Islanders need to win both. And head coach Doug Weight ain't thinking about anything but Saturday night.

"The plan is Jaro's starting," Weight said about Saturday's game in Newark, according to Newsday's Arthur Staple. "That's the extent of it."

Greiss, with 25 wins in 48 starts, will watch from the bench with the season on the line. Signed to a three-year extension in late January, the 'tender appears to be the goalie of choice in New York moving forward (Halak still has a season left on his deal), though he's also 31. Problem is, he's stunk in the second half.

Greiss posted an .891 save percentage in February, followed by an .895 in March. Halak had a .925 save percentage in the minors, and has only lost one game since being recalled. And, hell, for what it's worth, he beat the Devils in his only start against them this season, stopping 26 of 27 in the game that Tavares was injured. Right now, you're damned right the small sample size matters.

New Jersey put three goals past Greiss on only 21 shots on Feb. 18.

Greiss has the better 5-on-5 save percentage, but has been poor on the penalty kill compared to Halak.

The numbers are the numbers, but this couldn't have been a hard decision for Weight. Halak's the guy. He has to be.

Halak's redemption story continues. The Islanders are hoping the next chapter's written in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Mobile app users - expand the banner below to view more on the race to the playoffs.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Patrick Eaves scored his eighth goal in nine games, John Gibson made 26 saves and the Anaheim Ducks moved closer to a fifth straight Pacific Division title with a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.

Kevin Bieksa ended his 47-game goal drought and Chris Wagner also scored as the Ducks recorded their 25th consecutive home regular-season victory over the Flames since Jan. 19, 2004, extending the longest such streak in NHL history.

Mikael Backlund scored for Calgary, which has lost three of four.

Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler left the game in the third period after a knee-on-knee hit from Flames captain Mark Giordano, who extended his leg and hit the U.S. Olympian's right knee well after he had shot the puck.

Fowler crumpled and couldn't leave the ice under his own power after the hit from Giordano, who wasn't penalized.

The hit set off a combative final period featuring 96 combined penalty minutes, including Josh Manson's battering of Giordano in a one-sided fight. The Flames had a lengthy 5-on-3 advantage while Anaheim had five players in the box midway through the period, but couldn't capitalize.

''I think there's a lot of hate there,'' Manson said.

The Ducks began the night two points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, who have a game in hand. Anaheim has earned points in 12 consecutive games down the stretch, moving closer to a possible first-round matchup with the wild-card Flames.

Flames goalie Brian Elliott made 16 saves after replacing Chad Johnson just 5:19 into the first period. The Flames' backup goalie left his first appearance since March 23 with an unspecified lower-body injury after stretching to make a pad save.

Calgary hasn't won at Honda Center in the regular season since Darryl Sutter's Flames beat Mike Babcock's Ducks over 13 years ago. Anaheim's 25 straight victories over Calgary represent the longest winning streak in one arena against one opponent in NHL history.

Honda Center fans serenaded the Flames with a loud chant of ''You can't win here!'' in the closing seconds.

After Anaheim won 4-3 at Calgary on Sunday night on a late goal by Logan Shaw, the Flames were a step quicker than the Ducks in the first period of the rematch. Backlund ended an 11-game goal drought since March 11 with his 22nd goal of the season.

Anaheim evened it early in the second when captain Ryan Getzlaf took a sneaky shot off a faceoff and Eaves capitalized for his 31st goal - 11 more than his previous career high.

Bieksa then put Anaheim ahead when he slipped a stoppable shot past Elliott. The veteran defenseman hadn't scored a goal since Dec. 15.

NOTES: The Ducks also played without key defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen, both out with upper-body injuries. ... Gibson was solid in just his third appearance since Feb. 20 for the Ducks, who hope their starting goalie has recovered enough from his nagging lower-body injury to return for the postseason. ... Calgary earned a playoff victory in Anaheim back in 2006 during the regular-season skid.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

No collapse this time around.

The Montreal Canadiens booked their spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 6-2 victory Thursday over the Florida Panthers.

Claude Julien, who took over for Michel Therrien in mid-February, improved to 13-5-1 in his return to the Canadiens' bench.

Montreal will play in the postseason for the fourth time in the last five springs. The club advanced to the Eastern Conference finals in 2013-14, and if the Habs lock up the Atlantic Division, they'll meet the New York Rangers in the first round, and will be looking for revenge. The Blueshirts eliminated Montreal in six games in 2014, before losing the Stanley Cup Final to the Los Angeles Kings.

The Canadiens went 3-0 against the Rangers this season.

Paul Byron scored another pair Thursday, pushing his career high to 22 goals, while Brendan Gallagher had a four-point game on a goal and three helpers. Carey Price was Carey Price - he stopped 29 of 31 shots.

With Ottawa set to drop their game Thursday, Montreal will jump six points clear of the Senators, though Guy Boucher's squad does hold a game in hand.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.