Patrik Laine was phenomenal. Auston Matthews was a little bit better - and a little bit luckier.

Matthews was held scoreless in a very costly final-game loss for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but there's no taking away from his spectacular rookie season. He finishes with a rookie-best 40 goals - four more than Laine and tied for second-most in the NHL - and 29 assists. Matthews' 69 points were tops among all freshman, and he's only 19 years old.

Laine played 73 games for the Winnipeg Jets to Matthews' 82, as the American was able to stay healthy all season. Laine's 0.88 points-points-per game average ends up slightly higher than Matthews' 0.84.

Here are the top rookie scorers, with Matthews surrounded by his teammates.

*Some player stats are not updated to include Sunday's action

Matthews set Maple Leafs records for goals and points, wowing on a regular basis under the microscope in Toronto. Only Sidney Crosby scored more goals. Matthews is also the only player to record a shot on goal in each of the 82 games he played in. Fair to say his first overall selection was justified.

And with Toronto securing a surprise playoff berth, its first in a full season since 2004, Matthews is the favorite to win the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. But there isn't much between Matthews and Laine, and the Finnish sniper winning the Calder shouldn't come as a surprise, if it does end up happening. In the end, they're both deserving.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs fell flat in their opportunity to climb up the standings Sunday night, falling to the Columbus Blue Jackets by a final score of 3-2 in regulation - ultimately setting up a first-round meeting with the Washington Captials next week.

With the result, the Ottawa Senators will face the Boston Bruins.

Toronto needed just one point to jump into the third seed in the Atlantic Division, and looked to be in the driver's seat early, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on two goals from James van Riemsdyk. However, the Blue Jackets roared back with three goals in the second period, the dagger coming on a shorthanded tally from Cam Atkinson.

Both Toronto and Boston finished the regular season with 95 points, but by virtue of regulation and overtime wins (ROW), the Bruins' 42 outweigh the Leafs' 39.

Toronto posted a record of 1-1-1 versus the Presidents' Trophy winning Capitals during the regular season.

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In an age where NHL teams earn points for losing, the 2016-17 Colorado Avalanche have proven to be the most inept.

Since the adoption of the shootout coming out of the 2004-05 lockout, no team has finished with fewer than the 48 points amassed over 82 games by the Avalanche this season.

If we include the lockout-shortened 2013 season, Colorado's .296 point percentage also ranks dead last, a feat sealed by Sunday's loss to St. Louis that dropped their record to 22-56-4.

The next worst seasons were recorded by the Buffalo Sabres in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and it's no secret those rosters were not built to succeed, with a view to securing the best available talent through the draft.

Colorado, however, appeared to have aspirations of at least challenging for a playoff spot this year, even after head coach Patrick Roy decided to walk away and was replaced with Jared Bednar, who had won an AHL championship with the Lake Erie Monsters last season.

Now, the long-term futures of core players like Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene are up in the air after much trade talk prior to this year's deadline, while president and general manager Joe Sakic will look to build around Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Jost, and Mikko Rantanen, with the latter's 21 goals as a rookie serving as a lone bright spot.

The Avalanche did score more goals than those Buffalo teams, but also allowed more, meaning there's much to be done in the offseason to bring this team back to competitiveness.

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DETROIT - Riley Sheahan had two goals and Henrik Zetterberg scored in his 1,000th NHL game, helping the Detroit Red Wings beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 Sunday in a party-like atmosphere for the final game at Joe Louis Arena.

Zetterberg put Detroit up 3-0 midway through the second period following Sheahan's and Tomas Tatar's goals in the first. Sheahan didn't have a goal in his first 79 games this year but scored his second of the game with 2:33 left to bring fans to their feet, where they stayed for the game.

Jimmy Howard stopped 24 shots for the Red Wings, who failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1990 to end a postseason streak that tied for the third longest in league history.

Cory Schneider made 31 saves for the Devils, who haven't earned a spot in the postseason since advancing to the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals.

New Jersey's John Moore scored early in the third and teammate Taylor Hall had a goal overturned later in the period.

It didn't look or sound as if nothing was at stake for the former NHL powers in the regular season finale for both teams.

Fans were fired up hours before the puck dropped and didn't stop cheering even when the final horn sounded.

The Red Wings rolled out a red carpet for current and former players leading into the arena, and thousands of people showed up.

Fans arriving early enough pressed up against a red velvet rope to get autographs and take selfies with Zetterberg and former favorites such as Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom and tough-guy, fan-favorite Darren McCarty. Those who didn't get there in time for a prime location settled for being perched up on adjacent steps that climb up to the arena and standing on both sides of Steve Yzerman Drive on a sunny, windy and warm afternoon.

''We missed the playoffs and we still have this kind of support from the fans,'' defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. ''It gives me goosebumps.''

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who was among the 20,000-plus people in the arena, also seemed to be touched by the aura.

''What an amazing atmosphere here for the last game, typical of a crowd at The Joe,'' Bettman wrote in an email during the game. ''The end of one era. And, we look forward to the beginning of another at Little Caesars Arena.''

The Red Wings, who have played at Joe Louis Arena since the 1979-80 season, will move to a new facility nearby next season that they will share with the Pistons near the home of the Lions and Tigers.

After the game, Detroit's players skated to center ice and raised their sticks. The fans, in turn, pointed commemorative sticks they were given toward the banner-filled rafters that recognize 11 Stanley Cup titles and retired jerseys of some of the game's greats, such as Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman.

A postgame celebration was planned later in the evening on the ice, and it appeared that most of the fans planned to stick around.

NOTES: The Red Wings (four) and Devils (three) combined to win seven Stanley Cups between 1995, when New Jersey swept Detroit, and 2008. ... Sheahan avoided the dubious distinction of being the first NHL forward to be held scoreless with at least 100 shots in a season.

UP NEXT

Devils: The front office, coaching staff and players have to figure out how to bring the once-proud franchise back to respectability after finishing eighth in a division for the first time and having an Eastern Conference-low 70 points.

Red Wings: A new arena will not fix the team's problems. Detroit needs more talent to surround Zetterberg, who was its best player this season even though he's 36.

---

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

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Roberto Luongo thought he had a friend in Sergio Garcia.

After Garcia won the 81st Masters in a playoff Sunday, finally earning the major title that's eluded him throughout his career, the Florida Panthers goalie lamented the loss of the Spaniard from an, uh, exclusive group:

Luongo came ever-so close to winning a Stanley Cup with Vancouver in 2011. He won 15 of the 16 games required, but the Canucks ultimately lost Game 7 of the final to the Boston Bruins.

At least Mr. Luongo has all that Olympic and international gold.

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Finally, Vladimir Sobotka has come back to St. Louis.

In his first game with the Blues in almost three years, the Russian forward found the back of the net, banging a Jori Lehtera pass into the Colorado Avalanche net.

Sobotka returned from his KHL hiatus earlier this week, signing a three-year contract extension that will kick in next season.

In the meantime, he could prove to be a valuable and unexpected contributor in the postseason.

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Tragic.

Both the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning won their final games of the season Sunday, giving each 94 points, meaning both teams end up missing the playoffs by a single point.

The Islanders finished the season with six straight wins, going 7-3 over their final 10 games. Tampa Bay won three in a row to close out its season, and the Lightning finished even hotter, at 8-1-1 in their final 10 games.

The Toronto Maple Leafs rendered Sunday's Isles and Lightning games meaningless after clinching the Eastern Conference's and NHL's final playoff spot Saturday night.

One point. Each game, each shootout loss, they all matter.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning's season didn't end the way the club wanted it to, but Victor Hedman deserves some love.

With a goal and an assist Sunday in Game 82, a 4-2 Lightning win over the Buffalo Sabres, Hedman put the finishing touches on a career season that saw him score 16 goals and record 56 assists in 79 games. Only Brent Burns had more than Hedman's 72 points, finishing with 76.

Hedman's two-point effort gave him one more point than Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson, who was limited by injury late in the season. Karlsson finished with 71 points in 77 games.

The Lightning ended up missing the playoffs by one point, so Hedman's not going to be celebrating, but it was a remarkable season for the 26-year-old. His previous career high in points was 55, in 2013-14, and he bested that mark in helpers alone.

It's too bad NHLers aren't going to the 2018 Olympics, because a Hedman-Karlsson one-two punch on the blue line would have been something for Sweden.

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James van Riemsdyk is ready for the playoffs.

After getting Toronto on the board in the first, the Maple Leafs winger took his sweet time on a 2-on-1 with linemate Mitch Marner, and fired his second goal of the game - and third in two nights - past Joonas Korpisalo.

The tally was his 62nd point of the season, establishing a new career high, while also aiding Toronto's chances at meeting Ottawa in the first round.

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Still got it.

Playing in his 1,000th career game as well as Joe Louis Arena's swan song, Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg found the back of the net, accepting a sweet Gustav Nyquist pass and depositing the puck past New Jersey's Cory Schneider.

Related: Red Wings honor Zetterberg ahead of captain's 1,000th game

The goal was Zetterberg's 17th this season, 326th of his career, and 193rd at the Joe during the regular season.

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