NHL: Islanders, Sharks, Blues all confirm play-off places

The New York Islanders confirmed their involvement in the post-season despite suffering a 4-3 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes.

St Louis Blues' Andy McDonald scores against the Colorado Avalanche.

The New York Islanders booked their place in the play-offs despite suffering a 4-3 shoot-out defeat against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Carolina's Riley Nash and Jeff Skinner scored in the shoot-out to deny the Islanders victory, but, with the Winnipeg Jets losing, a point for getting to overtime was enough for a place in the postseason.

Josh Bailey, Brad Boyes and John Tavares scored for New York, while Jordan Staal, Patrick Dwyer and Alexander Semin were on target for the Hurricanes.

Winnipeg lost 5-3 to Washington, a result which also saw the Capitals claim the South-east title.

Matt Hendricks, Jason Chimera, Nicklas Backstrom, Mathieu Perreault and Alex Ovechkin - with his league-leading 31st goal - scored for the Capitals.

The St Louis Blues and the San Jose Sharks also sealed their postseason berths with wins.

Chris Stewart claimed both his 100th career goal and his 100th assist as the Blues beat the Colorado Avalanches 3-1, while third-period goals from Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture saw the Sharks rally to beat the Dallas Stars 3-2.

The New York Rangers could not join them in the play-offs as they were beaten 3-2 by the Florida Panthers.

Third-period goals from Marcel Goc and Drew Shore put the game out of the reach of the Rangers.

The Philadelphia Flyers beat Boston 5-2 and the New Jersey Devils were 3-2 winners over Montreal, leaving the Bruins and Canadiens level on 59 points at the top of the North-east.

The Buffalo Sabres saw off the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2, the Minnesota Wild edged out the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 and the Nashville Predators claimed a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames.