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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
WASHINGTON (AP) -- On the last day of the regular season, the
Buffalo Sabres did just enough to slip into the NHL playoffs. Coach
Lindy Ruff gets to chew another day.
|  | | Stu Barnes, left, scored Buffalo's biggest goal of the season. |
"I beat the heck out of a piece of gum all game long," Ruff said after Sunday's 1-1 tie with the Washington Capitals. "We said it probably was going to come down to the last game, but it turned out to be the last period -- the last few minutes. But we got the
job done."
The result gave the defending Eastern Conference champions the
eighth and final seed in the conference and eliminated the Carolina
Hurricanes. The Capitals will have the No. 2 seed.
Needing a win or a tie to clinch a playoff berth, Buffalo took
the lead on Stu Barnes' goal 2:48 into the third period.
Washington's Richard Zednik tied it with 14:24 to play.
Dominik Hasek made 17 saves for the Sabres, including a super
glove save on Brendan Witt in the first period. Olaf Kolzig was
also solid, making 24 saves for the Caps.
Because each team gets a point if the game is tied after
regulation, the extra period became essentially meaningless, making
for a wild five minutes that worked both goaltenders hard.
"Somebody said, 'Just let them come down and score and let's
get out of here,' which isn't bad thinking," Ruff said. "But
check with them -- maybe we can score. It looks better that way."
The Capitals, who clinched the Southeast Division title on
Saturday without taking the ice, entered the day with a chance to
finish atop the conference standings for the first time in
franchise history. But they needed to win and they needed the
Philadelphia Flyers to lose -- and neither happened.
"It's hard," coach Ron Wilson said. "The adrenaline's going,
but how I felt yesterday was incredible elation for the kind of
season that we had, rebounding from where we were last year, from
where we were at the beginning of the season, coming together and
see our team succeed like this where it hasn't before."
Washington will now renew a very familiar rivalry with the
seventh-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the
playoffs. The Caps and Pens met in the postseason in 1991, 1992,
1994, 1995 and 1996. The Penguins won four of the five series, even
though Washington won the opening game each time.
"It's been a couple of years since the last time," said
defenseman Calle Johansson, one of the few players who has been
with the Capitals through all five series. "It's going to be
interesting."
Buffalo will oppose the Flyers, who clinched the top seed with a
4-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Barnes broke the scoreless tie with his 20th goal of the season
after Chris Gratton intercepted Andrei Nikolishin's attempt to
clear the puck along the boards. Gratton fed Barnes in the slot for
the easy point-blank goal. Content with the tie, the Sabres did
have another shot on goal the entire period.
The Capitals tied it when Zednik picked off Maxim Afinogenov's
pass just outside Buffalo's blue line. Zednik skated into the
offensive zone and had his slapshot deflected by Rhett Warrener,
changing its direction enough to throw off Hasek. The puck flew
over the goalkeeper's left shoulder for Zednik's 19th goal of the
season.
"One goal difference and you could be out," Hasek said. "But fortunately we played very focused today. They scored a very lucky goal."
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Buffalo Clubhouse
Washington Clubhouse
Flyers clinch Eastern title, home ice until finals
Hurricanes blow by Thrashers but fall point short of playoffs
RECAPS
Buffalo 1
Washington 1
NY Islanders 3
Florida 2
Carolina 2
Atlanta 1
Los Angeles 4
Anaheim 3
Chicago 3
St. Louis 1
Colorado 3
Detroit 2
Phoenix 2
Dallas 2
Boston 3
Pittsburgh 1
Ottawa 5
Tampa Bay 2
Vancouver 5
San Jose 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 The Buffalo Sabres clinch the last playoff spot in the East.
avi: 924 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Lindy Ruff says today's point is the best in Sabres history.
wav: 42 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Michael Peca says Buffalo wanted to earn a playoff spot.
wav: 156 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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