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It was a night where watching the scoreboards was just as entertaining as watching any of the games. With multiple clinching scenarios and one team playing for their postseason lives, it was a compelling night in the race to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. So heres everything you need to know from a big night in the race for seeding or securing playoff spots (so far; check back for updates as other games conclude): The Bruins beat the Red Wings in a must-win game. (USATSI) 1. Bruins stay alive, prevent Red Wings from clinching with big win In the biggest head-to-head matchup of the regular season, the kept their playoff hopes alive by absolutely steamrolling the , 5-2. With the win, Boston prevented the Red Wings from clinching third place in the Atlantic Division, giving the Bruins some hope to move into that position. Even with the lo s, the Red Wings still just need a win on Saturday against the New York Rangers to clinch a playoff spot. After Thursday's action the Bruins are still in the second wild card spot. There are a number of paths they can follow when it comes to clinching a playoff spot of their own. A win on Saturday in the regular season finale against the Ottawa Senators combined with one Flyers Matt Nieto Jersey lo s in any fashion over the weekend would clinch the second wild card spot for them. An overtime lo s for the Bruins and one regulation lo s for the Flyers would also get the Bruins in. The Bruins could also move into the third spot in the Atlantic Division if they gain at least one point on Saturday and the Red Wings fail to earn a point against the Rangers. If the Bruins lose on Saturday, they would need Philadelphia to lose both of their games against the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. 2. Flyers come back only to lose in OT to Playing one of the worst teams in the NHL should have been a ble sing for the Flyers at this point in the season as they are still battling to stay alive in the playoff race. After erasing a 3-1 deficit in the third period, which included a goal in the final minute of regulation by , the Flyers still ended up losing in overtime. It was an extra point the Flyers badly needed to make themselves a little more comfortable, but a tripping penalty called on in overtime helped contribute to the power-play goal the Leafs scored in OT to take the second point. The Flyers still have the two aforementioned games against the Penguins and Islanders this weekend. Even with the lo s on Thursday they still Filip Kral Jersey control everything the rest of the way. If they keep winning, they are in no matter what anybody else does. The problem is those two games are another set of back-to-back games which will be their third set of back-to-backs over the final week-and-a-half of the regular season. This compacted schedule has really wreaked havoc on the Flyers hopes. Theyve now lost three straight games, none more heartbreaking than this one, though. That single point could come back to haunt them. 3. Islanders leap-frog for third place in the Metropolitan The New York Islanders earned a huge 4-1 win over their local rivals thanks to a three-goal second period and some excellent goaltending from , who made 36 saves in the win. By gaining two points and taking two away from the Rangers, the Isles are now in third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers have just one game left. Theyll close out the season Saturday against a Red Wings club that is going to need the win after that lo s to the Bruins Thursday night. The Islanders have a pair of games before their season comes to a close, so the Rangers have to win and they also need some help to finish in third. However, would the Rangers rather play the or the ? Right now, theyd start the postseason on the road against Florida. A second-place finish starts them on the road in Pittsburgh. Both teams are good, but the Pens are probably a little more dangerous with how well theyve played down the stretch. Sidney Crosby netted the game-winner as the Penguins clinched second in the Metro. (USATSI) 4. Penguins officially clinch second place in Les Binkley Jersey the Metro The Penguins, thanks to a breakaway goal in overtime, earned a big win over the . Getting to OT coupled with the Rangers regulation lo s ensured theyd hang on to second in the Metro, which also guarantees them home ice in at least the first round. It doesnt get much smoother than this: Crosby, overtime, and breakaway. That's all you need to know. NHL (@NHL) Pittsburgh also prevented from tying Martin Brodeurs single-season wins record for a goaltender. That was the Penguins eighth straight win and 14th in their last 15 games. This team is a machine right now. 5. Lightning clinch second place in the Atlantic The , after a slow start to the season and amid some incredibly poor injury luck of late, locked up second place in the Atlantic and home ice in the first round with a 4-2 win over the . It was Jonathan Drouin who scored the Lightning's game-winner over the Devils while playing in his first game back since being recalled from the American Hockey League. That's why they brought him up despite all the turmoil after Drouin's trade request earlier this year. In his return to the lineup, Drouin netted the game-winner to lock up 2nd place in the Atlantic. NHL (@NHL) 6. Tarasenko's heroics keep Blues' Central title hopes alive The Dallas Stars needed a win and the St. Louis Blues to lose in regulation to the Chicago Blackhawks to clinch the Central Division title. The Stars did their part with a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche, and the Blackhawks came very close to giving them the help they needed. But then Vladimir Tarasenko happened. With 1:16 remaining in regulation, the Blues sniper Evgeni Malkin Jersey buried his 38th goal of the season to tie the game and sent it overtime. Once there he scored the overtime game-winner on some crafty pa sing on an odd-man rush. That leaves both teams tied with 107 points heading into their regular season finales this weekend. If both teams win the Stars will win because they hold the tiebreaker (regulation and overtime wins). For the Blues to win they will simply need to earn more points than the Stars do on Saturday, either by a win and a Stars lo s, or a Stars regulation lo s and Blues overtime lo s. 7. Sharks are locked into third in the Pacific After losing to the Winnipeg Jets 5-4 Thursday night, Darius Kasparaitis Jersey the Sharks can finish no higher than third place in the Pacific Division. They will play either the Los Angeles Kings or Anaheim Ducks, depending on which of those teams finishes in second place. 8. Kings take big step towards Pacific Division title with win over Ducks In the last NHL game of this busy night, neither the Los Angeles Kings nor the Anaheim Ducks could clinch the Pacific Division, but the winner of that one was going to be in the driver's seat to claim first. The Kings earned the big 2-1 win Thursday night to take sole po se sion of first place in the division. They'll play their final game Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets and would clinch first in the Pacific with a win. The Ducks still have two games to play, taking on the Colorado Avalanche Saturday before playing a makeup game against the Washington Capitals Sunday. They now have to win both of those games and hope the Kings lose to the Jets if they want to win their fourth straight division title. 9. These eight teams will be playing at home in the first round While the final seeding remains up in the air, the eight teams that will start their first-round series at home are now known. Here they are: East: Capitals, Penguins, Panthers and Lightning West: Ducks, Kings, Stars and Blues