Saturday's hockey: No. 1-seed MSU earns Big Ten bye; UM to face Notre Dame
The top two teams in the Big Ten standings split the final regular-season series of the season.
After Michigan State won 5-2 on Friday to clinch the program's first Big Ten hockey championship, Wisconsin rebounded with a 4-1 win on Saturday.
Karsen Dorwart had the only goal and goalie Trey Augustine made 36 saves for the Spartans (22-9-3, 15-6-2).
Michigan State earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament and will have a bye in the quarterfinal round this weekend. The Spartans will host a Big Ten semifinal on March 16.
Michigan 6, Minnesota 5 (OT)
Michigan wrapped up the regular season with a 6-5 overtime victory against the University of Minnesota on Saturday at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis.
Seamus Casey scored twice, including the winner in overtime, Gavin Brindley had two goals and two assists, Dylan Duke and Rutger McGroarty each had three points and goalie Noah West made 23 saves.
The Wolverines will begin postseason play as the fourth seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan will host fifth-seed Notre Dame in a best-of-three quarterfinal series at Yost Ice Arena.
Friday and Saturday's games are set for 7 p.m. A third game, if necessary, would be Sunday at 7 p.m.
Michigan Tech 6, St. Thomas 0
Michigan Tech clinched the No. 3 seed in the CCHA Mason Cup playoffs with a 6-0 victory at home against St. Thomas.
Goalie Blake Pietila earned his third shutout of the season and the 23rd of his career with 18 saves.
The Huskies will host Bowling Green in a best-of-three series this weekend at John Macinnes Arena in Houghton.
Northern Michigan 1, Bowling Green 0
Northern Michigan's Connor Eddy scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win against Bowling Green on Saturday in Marquette.
The Wildcats will travel to face Minnesota State this weekend for the opening round of the playoffs.
North Dakota 3, Western Michigan 0
Western Michigan outshot No. 3-ranked North Dakota, 35-27, but lost 3-0 on Saturday at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
The Broncos will wrap up the regular season at home against Miami this weekend at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo.
Rockford 5, Grand Rapids 4 (OT)
The Grand Rapids Griffins' point streak reached 18 games with a 5-4 overtime loss against the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
The Griffins are one game away from tying the franchise record of 19 straight games set in 2015.
Goalie Sebastian Cossa stretched his point streak to 10 games (7-0-3), Jackson native Carter Mazur had two assists and Matt Luff scored his first goal since returning from injury.
Madison 5, NTDP U18s 0
The NTDP U18s will wrap up three games in three days against the Green Bay Gamblers on Sunday at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth at 4 p.m.
Goalie Nick Kempf made 29 saves in Saturday's 5-0 loss against the Madison Capitols in Plymouth.
Also Saturday, the NTDP U17s lost 4-3 in a shootout against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in Cedar Rapids.
Goalie Joey Slavick (Westland) had 26 saves and Kristian Epperson had a goal and an assist for the U17s. They will play Des Moines on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Saturday's NHL games
Edmonton 2, (at) Seattle 1: Leon Draisaitl scored his 30th goal of the season off the league-leading 73rd assist from Connor McDavid, Brett Kulak scored early in the third period for the Oilers.
Stuart Skinner made 24 saves and nearly posted his third shutout of the season as Edmonton won its third straight, kept the pressure on Vegas for second place in the Pacific Division and swept all four games in the season series with Seattle.
Edmonton has won six straight against the Kraken and is 9-2-0 against them since Seattle joined the NHL.
Eeli Tolvanen scored for Seattle and Philipp Grubauer finished with 22 saves.
(At) Toronto 4, N.Y. Rangers 3 (SO): Max Domi scored the deciding goal in the shootout and Toronto beat New York.
John Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander had goals in regulation for Toronto, which has won nine of its last 10 games. Ilya Samsonov stopped 32 shots.
Vincent Trocheck scored twice, and Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and two assists as the Rangers lost for just the second time in 13 games (11-1-1). Artemi Panarin also had two assists and Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves.
(At) Tampa Bay 4, Montreal 3 (SO): Victor Hedman scored in the sixth round of the shootout and Tampa Bay stopped a four-game home losing streak.
Tampa Bay got goals from Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli and Tyler Motte. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves in regulation to tie Tiny Thompson for 49th place in wins with 284. The Lightning tied Detroit for the two wild cards in the Eastern Conference.
NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov picked up an assist and now has 105 points. The Lightning right wing lost an edge and went hard into the boards midway through the second but returned a short time later.
Joel Armia, Jake Evans and Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens, who are 2-7-2 over their last 11 games. Cayden Primeau stopped 30 shots during regulation. Montreal was coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to NHL-leading Florida on Thursday night.
(At) Dallas 3, San Jose 2 (SO): Jamie Benn scored in the seventh round of the shootout to lift Dallas past San Jose.
Jason Robertson and Radek Faksa scored in regulation, and Matt Duchene also scored in the shootout for the Stars, who have points in eight straight games at home (6-0-2). Jake Oettinger made 21 saves through overtime and six in the shootout, including stopping Luke Kunin to end the game.
Ex-Red Wing Filip Zadina and William Eklund scored in regulation, and Anthony Duclair scored in the shootout for the Sharks, who have lost six in a row. Kunin had two assists.
Magnus Chrona made 36 saves through overtime plus five shootout stops in his second career NHL start and first league game played from start to finish.
(At) Calgary 4, Pittsburgh 3: Yegor Sharangovich scored twice, including the tiebreaking goal with 50 seconds left in the third period, as Calgary rallied from two goals down in the third period to beat Pittsburgh.
Nazem Kadri and Blake Coleman also scored in the Flames' season-high fifth straight win. Jacob Markstrom stopped 27 shots and Calgary moved five points behind Los Angeles for the second wild card in the Western Conference.
Jonathan Gruden got his first NHL goal, and Lars Eller and Jeff Carter also scored for Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry had 16 saves.
With Tampa Bay’s win earlier in the night, the Penguins fell 10 points behind the Lightning for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference – though Pittsburgh has five games in hand.
Winnipeg 5, (at) Carolina 3: Sean Monahan scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:13 left and Winnipeg rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period to beat Carolina.
After Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov went 10 feet out in front of his crease to try to clear the puck but failed, Monahan controlled the puck and then shot it into the empty net as Kochetkov tried to scramble back.
Nino Niederreiter added an empty-net goal with 10 seconds left for his second goal of the period. Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele also scored for Winnipeg, which won for the fifth time in six games.
Sebastian Aho, Martin Necas and Teuvo Teravainen scored for Carolina. Andrei Svechnikov had two assists and Kochetkov made 28 saves as the Hurricanes lost for the third time in five games.
(At) Philadephia 4, Ottawa 2: Tyson Foerster scored twice in the span of 45 seconds, Felix Sandstrom made 24 saves in his season debut and Philadelphia beat Ottawa.
Foerster broke a 1-1 deadlock with 47 seconds remaining in the second period, corralling a bouncing puck off a faceoff and fluttering a shot that went over the glove of Ottawa goalie Mads Sogaard. Foerster then scored Philadelphia’s NHL-record fifth penalty shot goal of the season with 2 seconds left.
Joel Farabee and Cam York also scored for the Flyers.
Vladimir Tarasenko and Thomas Chabot scored for Ottawa, which lost its fourth straight game. Sogaard finished with 36 saves.
(At) St. Louis 3, Minnesota 1: Jake Neighbours and Alexey Toropchenko scored as St. Louis snapped a three-game losing streak.
Torey Krug (Livonia) also scored and Jordan Binnington stopped 21 shots to help the Blues win for just the second time in seven games (2-4-1).
Jon Merrill scored and Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves for Minnesota in its third straight loss.
Neighbours gave the Blues a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal with 7:07 left in the second period. It was the Blues’ lone goal in seven power plays.
Krug sealed the with with an empty-netter the length of the ice with 49 seconds remaining.
Columbus 5, (at) Chicago 2: Alexandre Texier opened the scoring in the first minute, Zach Werenski had two assists, and Columbus beat Chicago.
Boone Jenner, Mathieu Olivier and Cole Sillinger scored and Johnny Gaudreau added an empty-netter for the Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 26 shots and picked up his 12th win of the season.
Philipp Kurashev and Ryan Donato scored for the Blackhawks, and Arvid Soderblom made 26 saves. Chicago has lost six straight (0-4-2).
(At) Nashville 5, Colorado 1: Cody Glass scored three goals for his first career hat trick and Nashville won its eighth straight.
Tommy Novak had a goal and an assist, Ryan O’Reilly also scored for the Predators. Juuse Saros made 25 saves and Ryan McDonagh had two assists.
Nathan MacKinnon scored and Alexandar Georgiev made 31 saves for Colorado, which had its two-game winning streak snapped.
Nashville’s eight-game winning streak is tied for the second-longest in franchise history. The Predators won 10 straight from mid-February through early March 2018.
(At) N.Y. Islanders 5, Boston 1: Kyle Palmieri scored three times in the first period for his third career hat trick and New York got its third straight win.
Palmieri, who completed the natural hat trick just 12:19 in, had his first three-goal game with the Islanders and added an assist. Anders Lee had a goal and an assist, Brock Nelson also scored, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Bo Horvat each added two assists and Ilya Sorokin finished with 24 saves.
Marc McLaughlin scored the lone goal for Boston and Linus Ullmark made 22 saves as the Bruins fell for the fourth time in five games (1-1-3).
(At) Buffalo 7, Vegas 2: Dylan Cozens capped Buffalo’s five-goal surge by scoring his second short-handed goal of the game with 2:48 left, and the Sabres got their fifth win in six games.
Zemgus Girgensons scored the go-ahead goal with 5:14 left in the second period as the Sabres rallied after squandering a 2-0 lead. Jeff Skinner, Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Owen Power (Michigan) each had a goal and two assists, and Kyle Okposo also scored for Buffalo.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 22 shots to improve to 7-2 in his past nine starts while allowing just 18 goals.
Brendan Brisson (Michigan) and William Karlsson scored for Vegas, which dropped to 2-6-1 in its past nine. Logan Thompson finished with 28 saves, and has gone 1-3-1 in his past five while giving up a combined 18 goals.
Playoff tracker
Atlantic
▶ Bruins (86)
▶ Panthers (84)
▶ Maple Leafs (78)
Metropolitan
▶ Rangers (84)
▶ Hurricanes (78)
▶ Flyers (71)
Wild card
▶ Red Wings (72)
▶ Lightning (72)
(Top two wild-card teams make the playoffs)
▶ Islanders (66)
▶ Capitals (65)
▶ Devils (64)
▶ Pittsburgh (62)
▶ Sabres (62)
Pettersson signs 8-year extension with Canucks
Four-time All-Star Elias Pettersson agreed to an eight-year contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks, the team announced Saturday.
Terms of the deal, which kicks in next season, were not disclosed.
“I’m super excited, this is where I wanted to be,” Pettersson said at a news conference.
The star center referenced the impact president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin have had in helping assure him his future is in Vancouver.
“I always wanted to play for a good team and I wanted to see where this team was heading and ever since Jim and Patrik have come in, obviously getting to know them and seeing the direction we’re going in as an organization, I’ve liked everything I’ve seen,” he said.
The 25-year-old Swede has 29 goals and 46 assists in 62 games this season, good for second on the team in points behind J.T. Miller.
“It was an exciting time when Elias hinted he wanted to stay here," Allvin said. "There was never any doubt that he never wanted to stay here, from my view of it, I think it was more about the trust and vision he wanted to see here.”
Capitals put Kuznetsov on waivers
The Washington Capitals put Evgeny Kuznetsov on waivers on Saturday, a surprising move that came hours after the mercurial center was cleared by the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program to resume practicing.
Kuznetsov spent the past month receiving care in the program. General manager Brian MacLellan said waiving the 31-year-old Russian is a means to an end to give Kuznetsov the change of scenery he’s been wanting.
“It’s about a fresh start for Kuzy,” MacLellan said. "He’s been looking for a change in an environment, and I think this might set the wheels in motion for that to be accomplished.”
With one year left on his contract and $8 million owed to him, Kuznetsov would seem unlikely to be claimed by another team. MacLellan expects Kuznetsov to be assigned to Hershey of the American Hockey League if he clears at 2 p.m. Sunday.
It's unclear if Kuznetsov would report. A message sent to his agent seeking comment was not immediately returned.
“We have a history here that’s gone on for a while, and I think it’s frustrating on both sides,” MacLellan said. "It’s just an opportunity for our side, too, to start fresh and try to get him an opportunity to continue his career.”
Michigan-area hockey this week
Saturday
▶ Florida 4, Red Wings 0
▶ Rockford 5, Grand Rapids 4 (OT)
▶ Wisconsin 4, Michigan State 1
▶ Michigan 6, Minnesota 5 (OT)
▶ North Dakota 3, Western Michigan 0
▶ Michigan Tech 6, St. Thomas 0
▶ Northern Michigan 1, Bowling Green 0
▶ Madison 5, NTDP U18s 0
▶ Cedar Rapids 4, NTDP U17's 3 (SO)
Friday
▶ Grand Rapids 4, Iowa 3
▶ Michigan State 5, Wisconsin 2
▶ Minnesota 6, Michigan 2
▶ North Dakota 5, Western Michigan 3
▶ St. Thomas 2, Michigan Tech 0
▶ Northern Michigan 4, Bowling Green 1
▶ Lake Superior State 4, Ferris State 1
▶ Waterloo 7, NTDP U18s 4
▶ Cedar Rapids 6, NTDP U17s 3
Thursday
▶ N.Y. Islanders 5, Red Wings 3
Wednesday
▶ Grand Rapids 3, Iowa 2 (OT)
Tuesday
▶ Red Wings 8, Capitals 3