Apr. 22, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth (1) stops a shot by Winnipeg Jets right wing Chris Thorburn (22) during the third period at First Niagara Center. Winnipeg beats Buffalo 2 to 1. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

1. Antti Miettinen scored with just over 7 minutes left to give the Jets a 2-1 lead and a huge save by Ondrej Pavelec off Thomas Vanek kept the lead and the Jets held on for the win, moving within a point of Ottawa and the Rangers for a playoff spot.  Aaron Gagnon had given the Jets a 1-0 lead in the second and Vanek scored on the power play to even it up, setting the stage for Miettinen’s winner in the third.
2. Detroit needed a big game and they got one from Jimmy Howard as the goalie make 34 saves in shutting out the Coyotes 4-0.  Johan Franzen had 2 goals, with Damien Brunner adding a goal and an assist and Valtteri Filppula adding a goal.  Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall had two assists each for the Wings, who moved within a point of 7th and 8th place.  Phoenix is 5 points out with 3 to play, meaning they now need to run the table and get a ton of help, in other words, a miracle to make the playoffs.
3. Viktor Fasth posted a 24 save shutout to help the Ducks clinch the Pacific Division with a 3-0 win over the Oilers.  Ryan Getlzaf, Radek Dvorak and Sami Vatanen scored for the Ducks, who swept their 2 game mini-series in Edmonton.
4. Vancouver used a 3-1 win over the rival Blackhawks to clinch the Northwest Division and the third seed in the West.  Jannik Hansen, Zack Kassian and Daniel Sedin did the honors for the Canucks, while Daniel Carcillo broke Cory Schneider‘s shutout bid with just over 8 minutes left as the Hawks seemed to just go through the motions for most of the game.

That concludes our tour around the NHL for Monday.  All eyes will be on Washington where the Capitals host the Jets with first place in the southeast on the line as well as the 8th seed.  The Islanders and Rangers also play against the Canes and Panthers respectively as they will attempt to create a cushion between themselves and the Senators/Jets battle.   Check back tomorrow for a recap of all 10 games.

Apr 19, 2013; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff (34) and the rest of the Calgary Flames team celebrate the win against the Anaheim Ducks at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

1. Between the 18:42 mark of the first period and the 1:40 mark of the second, the Rangers struck for 5 goals on the Sabres, and rolled on to an 8-4 win.  Brad Richards scored his first career hat trick while singles were scored by Carl Hagelin, Anton Stralman, Rick Nash, Ryane Clowe and Ryan Callahan.  Ryan Miller was pulled after the 4th goal, which came on just the 14th New York shot.  Cody Hodgson and Nathan Gerber scored 6 seconds apart to make a 5-0 deficit 5-2 and give a glimmer of hope for an incredible comeback, but Callahan’s goal 32 seconds after Gerbe’s quickly snuffed that.  Drew Stafford and Mark Pysyk‘s first career goal rounded out the scoring for the Sabres, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.
2. Dallas missed out on the chance to move into an 8th place tie with Columbus by losing 2-1 to the Blues.  Brian Elliott won again, making 21 saves for the Blues.  Chris Stewart and Ryan Reaves scored for the Blues with Antoine Roussel replying for the Stars.
3. Chicago got one step closer to the President’s Trophy with a 5-4 OT win against the Predators.  Marian Hossa had the winner, with Duncan Keith providing a goal and two assists for the Hawks.  Brandon Saad, Patrick Kane and Michal Handzus also scored for Chicago.  Matt Halischuk had 2 goals and an assist for Nashville, with Kevin Henderson scoring his first career NHL goal in his first game and Bobby Butler also scoring to force overtime.  The Hawks move 6 points up on the Penguins in the race for first overall.
4. Jordan Eberle had a goal and two assists and Justin Schultz added a goal and an assist to lead the Oilers over the Avalanche 4-1.  Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had the other Edmonton goals as they avoided being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.  P.A. Parenteau scored for the long-ago eliminated Avalanche.
5. In what could be Miikka Kiprusoff‘s final home game in his great career, the Flames goalie made 32 saves to backstop Calgary to a 3-1 win over the Ducks.  Brian McGrattan scored the game winner in highlight-reel fashion after Roman Horak had put the Flames up 1-0.  Roman Cervenka capped it off with the empty netter.  Kiprusoff’s storybook ending was ruined by Corey Perry, who ended the shutout effort with less than 4 minutes left.

That concludes our tour around the NHL.  Saturday is a huge day for a number of teams.  Winnipeg could take over first in the Southeast with a regulation or overtime win against the Islanders and a Washington loss in regulation in Montreal. The Senators and Maple Leafs renew the final chapter of the Battle of Ontario, with 5th place on the line, and Detroit has pretty much a must win game in Vancouver.  Emotions will be high in Boston as the Bruins host the Penguins in the game that was postponed from Friday night due to the manhunt in Boston that had the entire city in lockdown. Check back tomorrow for a full recap of all the action.