John Tavares doesn't foresee a more forgiving atmosphere for his second trip back to Long Island on Monday night.

"I'm sure it will be somewhat similar," Tavares told NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "It is what it is. Just going to go out there and try to play well and help the Maple Leafs."

Tavares made his initial return as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 28, and Islanders fans didn't let him out of their crosshairs for a second. The New York faithful threw toy snakes on the ice during warmup, serenaded their former captain with "We don't need you" chants throughout the game, and booed relentlessly every time he touched the puck.

The Islanders went on to win the much-anticipated contest 6-1. Personal reasons aside, Tavares, who's scored a career-high 45 goals this season, knows his club can't repeat the performance.

"(The reception) was going to happen at some point and obviously, going back, it was going to happen again," Tavares said. "It's just part of it. Just try to go back and hopefully we can play better than we have."

Toronto's won just three of its last 10 games and carries a minus-11 goal differential in that span. However, a single point Monday would clinch a third consecutive playoff berth for the Maple Leafs.

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The Calgary Flames have clinched the top spot in the Western Conference for the first time since 1989-90 with a 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

Calgary is now guaranteed home-ice advantage throughout the Western Conference playoff rounds.

Everything came together perfectly for the Flames this season. The club has enjoyed breakout campaigns from third-year forward Matthew Tkachuk and newcomer Elias Lindholm while also getting career years from Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, and veteran defenseman Mark Giordano.

Calgary's victory over the Sharks was the team's 49th triumph on the season, surpassing the 1987-88 team for the second-most wins in franchise history.

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The Canadian Women's Hockey League will discontinue operations effective May 1, 2019, due to financial concerns, the league announced Sunday.

"Unfortunately the business model that has been the foundation of the League is not sustainable financially," the release states.

The CWHL is comprised of six teams, with four based in Canada (Toronto, Markham, Montreal, and Calgary), one in the United States (Worcester), and one in China (Shenzhen).

It was founded in 2007 by players and members of the community.

The National Women's Hockey League, which contains five teams - all in the United States - is now the lone professional women's hockey league in North America.

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The New York Islanders are headed to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016, punching their ticket with an emphatic 5-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.

Few expected the club to compete this year after New York underwent a series of drastic changes in the offseason. The team brought in Barry Trotz as head coach, Lou Lamoriello as general manager, and lost longtime captain and franchise center John Tavares in free agency.

Despite their summer makeover, the Islanders have seen a 17-point improvement in the standings compared to last season. With four games left to go, they're locked in a race with the Pittsburgh Penguins for home-ice advantage in the first round.

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The Detroit Red Wings are expected to ink head coach Jeff Blashill to a two-year contract extension, with an official announcement likely coming Tuesday, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Blashill is in his fourth season behind the Red Wings' bench. He's guided Detroit to a 30-38-10 record this season and is 134-143-47 during his tenure.

This will be the third consecutive campaign that the Red Wings will miss the playoffs. Detroit was dispatched by the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the first round of the postseason in Blashill's first season at the helm.

He signed a four-year deal upon being promoted from Grand Rapids - the club's AHL affiliate - when Mike Babcock left to join the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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