Sharks clinch playoff berth, win in OT

SAN JOSE --The San Jose Sharks clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs an hour and a half before they ended their six-game losing streak with a 5-4 overtime victory against the New York Rangers at SAP Center on Tuesday.
San Jose clinched midway through the second period of its game when the Los Angeles Kings lost 2-1 to the Edmonton Oilers.
By earning a point, New York also qualified for the postseason Tuesday.

WATCH: All Rangers vs. Sharks highlights
The Sharks (93 points) are tied with the Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division, two points behind the Anaheim Ducks.
"We're not throwing any parades for clinching the playoffs," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. "It's an accomplishment. You want one of those 16 spots. Then it all starts again."

The Rangers (97 points) hold the first wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They are 11 points ahead of the Boston Bruins, who are in the second wild card.
"We didn't [play] a perfect game, but we got in the playoffs," New York captain Ryan McDonagh said. "We weren't very consistent. But the big picture, we gave ourselves an opportunity to compete for the best trophy in sports."
Brent Burns ended a 16-game goal drought when he scored on the power play with 1:50 left in overtime, beating goalie Henrik Lundqvist with a slap shot from the left faceoff circle. It was Burns' NHL career-high 28th goal, breaking the Sharks record for defensemen he set last season.
Chris Tierney scored twice, Jannik Hansen and Melker Karlsson each had a goal, and Martin Jones made 24 saves for the Sharks (43-26-7).
After New York scored three straight goals to take the lead, Tierney tied the game 4-4 when he got a pass from Hansen and scored from close range with 2:15 remaining.

J.T. Miller scored twice, Derek Stepan and Jesper Fast each had a goal for the Rangers (46-27-4).
Lundqvist made 30 saves in his second straight start after missing eight games with a hip injury.
"I'm extremely disappointed right now," Lundqvist said. "I'm glad we're in (the playoffs), but I want to get the job done."
Hansen gave San Jose a 1-0 lead when he scored on a rebound at 1:44 of the first period. It was his first goal since being traded to the Sharks from the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 28.
The Rangers tied it 1-1 when Miller scored on a snap shot from the right circle at 13:30 of the first period.

Karlsson scored a shorthanded goal with 1:59 left in the first period to put San Jose ahead 2-1.
Tierney extended San Jose's lead to 3-1 at 11:38 of the second period with an unassisted goal from the low slot.
Stepan cut the Sharks lead to 3-2 with a power-play goal with 23 seconds left in the second, taking a cross-ice pass from Mats Zuccarello below the left circle and beating Jones to the short side.
The Rangers tied it 3-3 when Fast redirected Brady Skjei's point shot past Jones at 1:24 of the third period.
Miller scored his second goal of the game on a 4-on-3 power play at 4:34 to give New York a 4-3 lead.

Goal of the game

Karlsson tracked down a loose puck along the right-wing boards in the San Jose zone, skated it to the top of the left circle on a 2-on-1 rush with Tierney, and beat Lundqvist to the short side with a wrist shot.

Save of the game

Jones made a stick save of Stepan's elevated shot from the slot on a breakaway with 10:01 left in the first period.

Unsung performance of the game

Rangers forward Michael Grabner had a game-high six shots on goal, a plus-1 rating, one hit and one takeaway in 15:02.

Highlight of the game

Joe Pavelski passed to Burns in the left circle, and his one-timer beat Lundqvist past his glove to the far side to win it.

They said it

"Tonight's game, for 39 minutes we didn't show up. We didn't make a play. We didn't defend or execute. After our power-play goal in the third, we started to play. We were able to come back. At the end of the night, we got a point. It's hard to get into the playoffs. It's a testament to how hard these players have worked this season." -- Rangers coach Alain Vigneault

"Sometimes you've just got to look and take a deep breath and reassess yourself. We kind of did that. We played a couple games on that six-game stretch where we weren't good. Played a few where we definitely could have won. Take a deep breath, know where we're at, try to figure it out together." -- Sharks captain Joe Pavelski on ending their six-game losing streak

Need to know

Sharks center Logan Couture missed the game after being hit in the mouth by a deflected puck at the end of the second period against the Nashville Predators on Saturday. ... San Jose forward Micheal Haley served his one-game suspension for roughing Predators forward Calle Jarnkrok. … The Rangers have made the playoffs seven straight seasons, 11 out of 12.

What's next

Rangers: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday (7 p.m. ET; SN, MSG 2, ROOT, NHL.TV)
Sharks: At the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, CSN-CA, NHL.TV)