Crosby makes history in win over Islanders

To put Sidney Crosby’s rookie season into perspective, consider this: Only Wayne Gretzky had a season this good at so young an age, and he wasn’t playing in the NHL.

Crosby became the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season, setting up three goals Monday night in a 6-1 Pittsburgh victory over the New York Islanders that may prevent the Penguins from finishing as the league’s worst team for the second season in a row.

Crosby’s three-point night gave him 62 assists, to go with 38 goals, and tied Mario Lemieux (1984-85) for the team rookie scoring record of 100 points.

Capitals 6, Thrashers 4: Rookie sensation Alex Ovechkin scored the tying goal and assisted on the go-ahead goal, leading Washington past visiting Atlanta, eliminating the Thrashers from playoff contention.

Ovechkin reached 52 goals and 105 points; both totals rank third in NHL history for a rookie.

Kings 4, Sharks 0: Luc Robitaille went scoreless in the final game of his 19 NHL seasons, but visiting Los Angeles sent the top goal-scorer in franchise history into retirement with a season-ending victory over San Jose.

Mighty Ducks 4, Flames 3: Teemu Selanne capped a remarkable comeback season with his 40th goal on a power play midway through the third period, leading host Anaheim to a victory over Calgary in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Anaheim will be embarking on its fourth playoff run in the franchise’s 12-year history.

Oilers 4, Avalanche 2: Jarret Stoll scored a short-handed, tiebreaking goal in the third period to help host Edmonton clinch the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a victory over Colorado.

Jaroslav Spacek added an empty-netter in the final second, and Rem Murray and Raffi Torres also scored as Edmonton won its second striaght to close the regular season. The Oilers open the playoffs at Detroit this weekend.

Red Wings 3, Stars 2: Tomas Holmstrom’s power-play goal with 44.3 seconds remaining capped host Detroit’s three-goal third period, rallying the Red Wings to a victory over Dallas.

Niklas Kronwall and Andreas Lilja also scored and Henrik Zetterberg added two assists for Detroit, which trailed 2-0 before stretching its winning streak to eight games.