INDIANAPOLIS — Lance Stephenson scored nine of his playoff career-high 23 points during a late 11-2 run Saturday night, leading the Indiana Pacers past the New York Knicks, 106-99 and into the Eastern Conference finals for theDETROIT – The Florida Panthers are inching toward their first division title – one point at a time.
Tomas Fleischmann scored in the first period and Scott Clemmensen made 31 saves, helping the Panthers hold off Detroit for 65 minutes before losing 2-1 in a shootout. The Red Wings came away with the victory, but Florida secured a valuable point to move three ahead of second-place Washington in the Southeast Division.
“Nothing’s been given to us this year, and that’s the fun part of it,” Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. “This is what we’ve been playing for – to be a big part of the conversation as we move down the stretch.”
Detroit’s Jiri Hudler scored with 14:30 remaining in the third period and again in the shootout. Pavel Datsyuk also scored in the shootout for Detroit, and Kris Versteeg missed high on Florida’s last attempt.
The Panthers play at Washington on Thursday night but might not have to win that game to take the division. Florida also leads ninth-place Buffalo by five points in the conference standings.
Five of Florida’s last six games have gone at least to overtime, and the Panthers have an NHL-high 17 losses in overtimes or shootouts.
Detroit moved a point ahead of Nashville and two ahead of Chicago in the race for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.
SENATORS 5, ISLANDERS 1: In Uniondale, N.Y., Kyle Turris scored twice and had a pair of assists, Milan Michalek added a goal and Ottawa clinched a playoff berth.
FLYERS 6, PENGUINS 4: In Pittsburgh, Jakub Voracek scored twice in the third period to break open a tight game and lift Philadelphia.
BRUINS 2, RANGERS 1: In New York, Dennis Seidenberg and Patrice Bergeron scored second-period goals, and Tim Thomas made 33 saves for Boston, which clinched the Northeast Division title.
WILD 5, BLACKHAWKS 4, SO: In Chicago, Devin Setoguchi and Erik Christensen scored in a shootout to help lead Minnesota to its third straight victory.
OILERS 2, DUCKS 1: In Anaheim, Calif., Teemu Hartikainen gave Edmonton an early lead with his first two goals of the season.
