Islanders clinch playoff berth; Capitals remain in second East wild-card spot

The New York Islanders clinched their fifth playoff appearance in the last six seasons with a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils Monday night at the Prudential Center.

The Islanders have 92 points with one game remaining and will finish third in the Metropolitan Division and claim the playoff spot that goes with it.

Goalie Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves, Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist and Anders Lee added two assists for New York.

If the Stanley Cup Playoffs were to begin today, the Islanders would play the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.

The Washington Capitals remained in the Eastern Conference's final wild-card playoff position with a 2-0 win over the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena as Charlie Lindgren made 16 saves for the shutout. 

John Carlson and Nic Dowd scored for the Capitals, who have 89 points and travel to Philadelphia to play the Flyers in the final game of the regular season for both teams on Tuesday night. 

Philadelphia is 11th in the Eastern Conference, behind the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, with 87 points.

The Red Wings stayed alive in the playoff chase by rallying from a three-goal deficit to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 in overtime on Monday night at Detroit's Little Caesars Arena.

Lucas Raymond tied the game at 4-4 with 1:17 left in regulation as Detroit goalie Alex Lyon pulled for the extra attacker. Raymond also got the game-winner with 25 seconds remaining in the overtime period, giving him 31 goals for the season.

The Red Wings also have 89 points but trail the Capitals 31-27 in regulation wins, which is the first tiebreaker. Detroit ends the season Tuesday night against the Canadiens in Montreal.

The Penguins kept pace and remained in contention with a 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators at Pittsburgh's PPG Paints Arena. Sidney Crosby and Erik Karlsson each had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, which has 88 points with one game left, Wednesday night at the Islanders.

Whichever team claims the final wild-card spot will play the New York Rangers, the Eastern Conference's top seed and Presidents' Trophy winner, in the first round.