GLENDALE Buccaneers Authentic Jerseys , Ariz. — The Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes will end the NHL regular season the way they began it, by playing each other. What’s interesting is how that first game back on Oct. 5 set the stage for both teams’ seasons to follow.

The Coyotes, in their first game under new coach Rick Tocchet, led 4-1 at the Honda Center following Christian Fischer’s goal at 13:50 of the second period, only to give up four consecutive Ducks goals and lose 5-4, with Rickard Rakell scoring the game-winning goal at 16:30 of the third period.

Arizona (29-40-12) went on to lose its next 10 games, going 0-10-1 to start the season, and never recovered despite a respectable second-half surge in which it has gone 20-13-7 this calendar year. The Coyotes still haven’t reached the postseason since 2011-12.

Anaheim (43-25-13) took that first game and built its sixth consecutive playoff season, with its opponent and its playoff seeding to be determined by its final regular-season game Saturday night at Gila River Arena.

The Ducks moved into third place in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings, by beating the Dallas Stars 5-3 Friday night behind right wing Jakob Silfverberg’s goal and two assists.

They trail second-place San Jose by only one point, so if the Ducks beat Arizona and the Sharks lose Saturday to the Minnesota Wild, Anaheim will claim second place and home ice for the first round of the playoffs. However, should the Ducks lose and the Kings beat the Stars at the Staples Center Jimmy Howard Jersey , Anaheim would fall back to being a wild-card team.

“It’s a long season, and we worked hard to make it,” Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin said. “Now that we’ve made it, we need to take the next step and we’re going to need everybody going. … Everybody in here is hungry for more. Now we’ve got to take that next step.”

The Ducks will head into the postseason as one of those teams no opponent really wants to play. They’ve won four in a row and are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games, 16-5-2 in their last 23 games and 24-10-4 since their bye. They’re 2-1 against the Coyotes.

“We felt if we played the right way and gave ourselves a chance, this group was capable of putting together a longer string of wins and qualify for the playoffs,” coach Randy Carlyle said. “Now the goal changes.”

And it all began with that momentum-shifting win at the Honda Center six months ago.

That’s not to say the Coyotes will go into the offseason without any significant positives.

Goaltender Antti Raanta proved to be a true No. 1 goalie once he was fully healthy — he is 21-16-6 with a shiny 2.24 goals-against average — and was rewarded this week with a $12.75 million, three-year contract extension.

Reliable backup goalie Darcy Kuemper also is locked up for multiple seasons, giving the Coyotes strength at a position that was remarkably weak when Raanta was hurt at the start of the season – contributing to the terrible start.

Clayton Keller, the 19-year-old center, started strong with 11 goals in his first 16 games and is finishing strong, too, with five goals and 12 assists in his last 14 games – giving him 23 goals and 65 points for the season.

Center Derek Stepan (56 points) had a solid season in his first year with Arizona, especially from a leadership standpoint. Oliver Ekman-Larsson recovered from a slow start to have a typical season for one of the Western Conference’s best two-way defensemen.

Defenseman Kevin Connauton has scored 10 of his 11 goals since Feb. 1.

Still http://www.dallascowboysteamonline.com/rod-smith-jersey , the Coyotes’ 4-3 loss Thursday at Vancouver was another defeat that summed up their season, despite their 6-3-1 record in their last 10 games. They led 3-1 in the third period, but didn’t get a shot off the entire period and went on to lose in overtime on Daniel Sedin’s second goal of the game, set up by brother Henrik in the soon-to-retire twins’ final game on home ice.

“I’m embarrassed for us we couldn’t get a shot on net,” Tocchet said. “A couple of guys showed up, but that was about it.”

Now, for the sixth consecutive season, the Coyotes won’t show up in the playoffs. And, for a sixth consecutive season, the Ducks will. And the roots of both streaks go back to that Oct. 5 game.

WASHINGTON — With their first Stanley Cup playoff berth since 2012 safely in hand, the New Jersey Devils have one game left to see if they can improve their position when they visit the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.

The Devils (44-28-9) clinched a playoff spot by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 on Thursday night at the Prudential Center.

“We did it. We didn’t rely on anyone. It’s a sense of accomplishment,” Devils forward Brian Boyle told nhl.com. “The battling for playoff positioning and trying to clinch, it’s all part of the fun of it. Emotions rise, tensions rise Aaron Burbridge Jersey , you work hard and you get rewarded. We did it together.”

The Devils will finish with at least 97 points — 99 if they defeat the Capitals — far above the 70 points by last season’s club that finished at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division.

With one game remaining, the Devils are in position to clinch the first wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They can finish as high as third in the Metropolitan Division or as low as the second wild-card spot.

Against the Leafs, New Jersey fell behind 1-0 in the first period, but Pavel Zacha and Miles Wood scored in the second period. Keith Kincaid finished with 31 saves, including 12 in the third period.

The Devils also earned this spot, going 10-2-1 in their past 13 games.

“It’s a credit to a lot of guys in here for just coming up big when the pressure is on,” forward Taylor Hall told nhl.com. “That’s what I’m proud of, how we’ve played through the stretch here.”

Washington’s playoff position is set, though their opponent is not. The Metropolitan Division winner will draw the top wild-card team, which may not be decided until Sunday when the Florida Panthers face the Boston Bruins.

The Capitals (48-26-7), the two-time defending Presidents’ Trophy winners, watched the Nashville Predators secure this season’s trophy with a 4-3 win over the Capitals on Thursday night at Capital One Arena.

“But I like the way we’re playing,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz told The Washington Post after the Capitals lost for just the second time since March 20. “We’re playing with lots of speed, we’re playing with lots of pace Corey Perry Jersey , and that was a good test.”

Evgeny Kuznetsov scored twice for Washington and Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading 47th goal, meaning he will need a hat trick Saturday night to reach 50 goals for the eighth time.

“Right now, our focus is not on 50, our focus is on the playoffs,” Ovechkin told nhl.com. “And being in shape. We didn’t get hurt. That’s the most important thing.”

Kuznetsov, who added an assist, posted his 82nd point of the season and became the 16th player in franchise history to reach 80 and the first player other than Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom to do it since Alexander Semin in the 2009-10 season.

Kuznetsov’s 27 goals this season are a personal season high.

Phillip Grubauer made 25 saves for Washington. Braden Holtby will likely start against the Devils, and the wait will begin for Trotz to reveal his playoff goaltending plans.

In Holtby’s last three starts, he is 2-1-0 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.
http://www.officialusafootballs.com/new-york-giants