Malkin wins scoring crown

First Posted:

PITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin scored his 50th goal of the season and added an assist to lock up his second NHL scoring title and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 on Saturday.

Malkin finished the regular season with 109 points and became the ninth player in Penguins history to reach the 50-goal mark when his wrist shot with 12 seconds left in the second period beat Philadelphia’s Sergei Bobrovsky to give Pittsburgh a two-goal lead.

Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis also scored for the Penguins, who knocked off the Flyers for the first time at Consol Energy Center. Brent Johnson stopped five shots in relief of Marc-Andre Fleury to get the win.

Brayden Schenn and Jaromir Jagr scored for the Flyers, who rested leading scorer Claude Giroux in the regular season finale in preparation for their first-round matchup with Pittsburgh starting next week.

Bruins 4, Sabres 3

BOSTON — Patrice Bergeron had three assists before scoring the winner in the shootout to lead defending Stanley Cup champion Boston into the playoffs with a win over Buffalo.

The Sabres had already been eliminated from the playoff race.

Tyler Seguin scored twice, and Brad Marchand also had a goal for the Bruins, who will be the No. 2 seed in the East. They open the playoffs next week against either Ottawa or Washington.

Blackhawks 3, Red Wings 2

DETROIT — Patrick Kane scored the only goal of the shootout to give Chicago the win over Detroit in the final game of the regular season for both teams.

Despite the loss, the Red Wings clinched the fifth seed in the Western Conference, while the Blackhawks finish as the sixth seed.

Viktor Stalberg and Andrew Shaw scored in regulation for Chicago, Patrick Sharp had two assists and Corey Crawford made 30 saves.

Johan Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk scored for Detroit. Jimmy Howard stopped 30 shots.

Datsyuk tied the game with 46 seconds left while Howard was off for the extra attacker.

Devils 4, Senators 2

NEWARK, N.J. — Ilya Kovalchuk scored twice, Stephen Gionta broke a third-period tie with his first NHL goal and New Jersey beat Ottawa for its sixth straight win.

Petr Sykora also scored, and Martin Brodeur made 31 saves for the Devils, who clinched the No. 6 seed in Eastern Conference. They will face Florida or Washington in the opening round.

Matt Gilroy and Jim O’Brien scored for Ottawa, which will be the seventh or eighth seed in the East, facing either the Rangers or Boston. Craig Anderson made 30 saves for Ottawa.

Flames 5, Ducks 2

CALGARY, Alberta — Nigerian-born Akim Aliu scored his first two NHL goals to lead Calgary to a season-ending win over Anaheim.

By winning their final two games, the Flames reached the 90-point mark for the eighth season in a row. However, since going to the Stanley Cup finals in 2004, they have been ousted from the playoffs in the first round four times followed by three years of not making the postseason.

Rangers 4, Capitals 1

NEW YORK — Washington scored three first-period goals and third-string goaltender Braden Holtby made 35 saves Saturday night to help the Capitals beat the Rangers 4-1, spoiling New York’s chance to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy.

The Rangers (51-24-7) finished with 109 points for the third time in franchise history and remain tied with Vancouver for the league’s top spot. The Canucks host Edmonton later Saturday.

Washington (42-32-8) has 92 points and will be the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference if Florida earns at least a point against Carolina. Washington would open the playoffs in Boston, while the Rangers host Ottawa in the first round.