The Toronto Maple Leafs summarized the NHL playoff format Thursday by clinching a postseason spot on a night when they lost by six goals.
'We have a playoff place locked up, but I don't know if that's good,' Toronto coach Dan Maloney said after the New York Islanders routed the Maple Leafs 7-1.'The guys have a tendency to let up, but it gives me a chance to try new things and to rest the guys who are hurt. I'm very grateful to be in the playoffs, no matter how we played tonight.'
Toronto, with a 23-43-6 record, became a Norris Division representative only because Detroit is worse. The Red Wings fell to 15-51-6 Thursday with a 3-2 overtime loss to St. Louis.
The top four teams in each of the four divisions qualify for the playoffs. Only five of the league's 21 teams go home.
Mike Bossy provided the Islanders with three power-play goals and Pat LaFontaine scored twice. New York, with five victories in its past six games, converted 4 of 5 power-play opportunities.
'We've been working on it a lot and watching films,' said Bossy, who raised his goal total to 56. 'We've been correcting the things we haven't been doing well the past couple of weeks. It's really helped.'
A pair of Islander left wings snapped 21-game stretches without a goal when Clark Gillies scored in the opening period while Greg Gilbert scored in the final period. Defenseman Denis Potvin had a strong game with four assists.
'We've been playing a lot better the last while,' Islanders coach Al Arbour said. 'We're playing sound defensively and the offense is beginning to pick up. We just have to keep the balance going. Hopefully, we can make a lot of noise in the playoffs.'
Elsewhere, Philadelphia whipped Pittsburgh 5-1 and Boston beat Los Angeles 6-3. Blues 3, Red Wings 2 At Detroit, defenseman Lee Norwood scored his fifth goal of the season at 2:49 of overtime to lift the Blues. Norwood fired a shot from behind the faceoff circle to hand the Red Wings their fourth straight defeat. St. Louis ended a four-game losing streak. Flyers 5, Penguins 1 At Philadelphia, Tim Kerr scored two power-play goals to inflict Pittsburgh with its 21st straight loss in the Spectrum. Kerr, adding to his record for most power-play goals in a season, scored his 30th and 31st, and 49th and 50th overall. Bruins 6, Kings 3 At Boston, Ken Linseman tied a Bruins season-high with five points to more than offset a milestone performance by Marcel Dionne of Los Angeles. Dionne moved past Phil Esposito into second place on the all-time NHL scoring list with his 1,591st career point.
