NHL ROUNDUP : Rangers Clinch Award, Look Ahead to Playoffs

There was satisfaction, but hardly euphoria. Call it a night at the office, planning a couple more months--maybe.

Alexei Kovalev scored twice during a five-goal second period that gave the New York Rangers a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday and clinched the NHL President’s Cup for the Rangers.

The award is given to the team with the best regular-season record, but something more important comes along with it--home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

“Now we can put this behind us and get ready for the playoffs,” Ranger Coach Mike Keenan said.

“Obviously everyone is proud of (winning the Presidents’ Cup), but we’ve got to move on,” Ranger forward Adam Graves said. “We want to go into the playoffs on a high and I think we’re going in the right direction.”

The idea was to keep things businesslike. That’s easier to do when the Rangers remember the last time they were regular-season champions. That was two seasons ago, and they weren’t around long enough to appreciate home-ice anything. New York was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“We’re happy,” said goalie Mike Richter, who made 34 saves and extended his club record to 41 victories. “But it isn’t time to get ecstatic yet. It just feels good to be ending the season playing well.”

New York also established a club record for victories in a season with their 51st and tied the club mark for points with 109, with three games to play.

Calgary 5, San Jose 2--Joe Nieuwendyk earned an assist in his return after missing 17 games because of a knee injury as the Flames helped determine the Sharks’ playoff berth at Calgary.

Nieuwendyk, sidelined since Feb. 24, assisted on Theoren Fleury’s 37th goal early in the second period to break a 2-2 tie.

The loss, coming on the heels of a 3-2 setback in Vancouver on Thursday night, was San Jose’s second in a row after winning seven consecutive games. The Shark defeat, combined with Chicago’s victory over St. Louis, means they will be seeded eighth when the Western Conference playoffs open April 18. They would play either Calgary or Detroit.

New York Islanders 5, Dallas 1--Pierre Turgeon scored two goals at Uniondale, N.Y., as the Islanders beat the Stars and gained the inside track for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

New York tied Florida for eighth place with 80 points, but the Islanders hold the edge because they have two more victories than the Panthers.

Buffalo 1, Montreal 0--Dominik Hasek made 31 saves at Buffalo in his seventh shutout of the season.

New Jersey 7, Pittsburgh 2--Bill Guerin scored two first-period goals and Scott Stevens had a goal and three assists at East Rutherford, N.J., as the Devils ended a three-game losing streak.

Chicago 6, St. Louis 1--Joe Murphy scored twice in the second period and Ed Belfour stopped 32 shots as the Blackhawks won at St. Louis, only their second victory in nine games (2-6-1).