NHL Results - Friday, Apr 10, 2015

NY Islanders @ Pittsburgh 3-1 - The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Stanley Cup Playoff fate will be decided on the final day of the regular season. John Tavares scored the go-ahead goal in the third-period of the New York Islanders' 3-1 win against Pittsburgh at Consol Energy Center on Friday. The Penguins (42-27-12), who have yet to win a game in April (0-4-1), were unable to clinch a playoff berth for the second consecutive game. They can clinch a spot with a win against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, a Boston Bruins loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, or an overtime/shootout loss to the Sabres coupled with a Bruins shootout win against the Lightning. New York (47-28-6) clinched at least third place in the Metropolitan Division and will play the Washington Capitals in the first round. The Islanders can finish second in the division with a regulation or overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets and a Capitals loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, or a win if the Capitals do not get a point. Pittsburgh outshot the Islanders 17-5 in the first period, but a goal from forward Casey Cizikas, scored seconds after Patric Hornqvist appeared to give the Penguins an early lead, allowed the Islanders to leave the period up 1-0. With defenseman Thomas Hickey in the penalty box for slashing Hornqvist, Crosby sent a shot into the Islanders crease, where Hornqvist batted the puck off of Jaroslav Halak’s pad before Chris Kunitz escorted it behind the net. Hornqvist took the puck from Kunitz and caught Halak sliding left, leading to a backhand attempt inside the right post. Halak, who made 37 saves, recovered, but the puck pounced over his left pad and into the net at 7:52 of the first period. The goal was disallowed when it was ruled inconclusive because it could not be determined if the puck fully crossed the goal line, which was obstructed by Halak’s glove. Cizikas scored eight seconds later. Defenseman Nick Leddy sent a stretch pass to Cizikas streaking through the neutral zone, allowing him to charge alone toward Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury before placing a wrist shot into the upper-right corner of the net for a shorthanded goal. With the Penguins on the verge of entering the third period down one goal, defenseman Rob Scuderi scored his first of the season to tie the game 1-1 with 5.7 seconds remaining in the second. Crosby sent a shot off of Halak’s pad that bounced toward the left faceoff circle. Scuderi raced toward the puck and flicked a wrist shot toward Halak, who attempted to catch the puck with his blocker hand after losing his stick. Halak dropped the shot and the puck went past the goal line for Scuderi’s 100th NHL point. The Islanders took a 2-1 lead on Tavares’ 37th goal of the season at 2:46 of the third period. Defenseman Brian Strait sent a slap shot off of Fleury's left pad that bounced to Tavares alone at the goalmouth.
Tavares is tied with Crosby, who had an assist on Scuderi's goal, for first in the NHL scoring race with 84 points. Michael Grabner gave the Islanders a 3-1 lead with a shorthanded goal with 3:40 remaining. Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic left the game because of an undisclosed injury with 3:46 left in the first period. Capuano said Hamonic will be re-evaluated Saturday. After spoiling Pittsburgh’s home finale on Friday, New York will play its last regular-season home game at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday. The Penguins' final regular season game won't be as sentimental, but Hornqvist is looking forward to the challenge of making the playoffs.
Buffalo @ Columbus 2-4 - Todd Richards won his 126th game as Blue Jackets coach (126-105-21) to pass Ken Hitchcock for the most in their history. The Sabres will finish 30th in the League standings and pick no lower than second in the 2015 NHL Draft, likely to select Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, potential franchise-turning players. Atkinson broke a 2-2 tie with 9:25 left in the third period. He scored off a long rebound after a shot from Dalton Prout. Seven of Atkinson's 21 goals have been game-winners. Boone Jenner scored an empty-net goal for his ninth with 50 seconds remaining to back 23 saves by Sergei Bobrovsky. Nick Foligno and Matt Calvert scored for Columbus, and David Savard and Jack Johnson each had two assists. The Blue Jackets took the lead 14 seconds into the game. Foligno scored his Blue Jackets-leading 31st goal from between the circles with a slap shot after a pass from Brandon Dubinsky. Dubinsky has three goals and seven assists in a seven-game point streak. Marcus Foligno, Nick's younger brother, helped the Sabres tie it 1-1 at 2:25. He outmuscled Prout behind the net and fed Gionta in front. Gionta put a drop pass onto the stick of Grigorenko for his third goal. Calvert, with his 13th, made it 2-1 at 9:35 of the first. He has three goals in four games. The Sabres rallied for a second time to tie the score when Gionta converted Buffalo's second power play with 59 seconds left in the second. He snapped a shot off the rush for his 13th goal and has a goal and an assist in two straight games.