Blues, Wild secure final playoff spots in West, eliminating Flames

The St. Louis Blues beat the Utah Hockey Club, and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Anaheim Ducks in overtime on Tuesday night as both teams secured the final playoff spots in the Western Conference.

The Wild will play the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round, while the Blues take on the Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets.

The Calgary Flames were eliminated from postseason contention and will miss the playoffs for the third straight campaign.

Minnesota's Joel Eriksson Ek scored with 22 seconds left to tie things up against the Ducks. The Wild clinched the first wild-card spot as soon as the game went to overtime, but Matt Boldy put the cherry on top with his game-winning goal in the extra frame.

Marc-Andre Fleury entered the contest for overtime, replacing starter Filip Gustavsson once the Wild had clinched. The veteran made five saves in what could be his final NHL appearance.

Minnesota returns to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus.

The Blues thrashed Utah 6-1 to secure their spot. Jordan Kyrou tallied two goals, and Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and two assists. Star forward Robert Thomas exited the contest early with a lower-body injury, but head coach Jim Montgomery said postgame that Thomas left for precautionary reasons and "should be fine," according to beat reporter Lou Korac.

St. Louis is back in the postseason for the first time since 2022.