Toonstruck 1 » CHICAGO (AP) The playoff field

for the Western Conference is almost set.Patrik Berglund and St. Louis are going to Colorado to try for the final spot.Berglund scored three times to help the Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Friday night Vegas Golden Knights Hoodies Authentic , setting up a showdown with the Avalanche for the conference’s last wild card.”When you have to win your last game, it’s intense,” Blues coach Mike Yeo said. ”Obviously there’s lot of pressure. I hope our guys embrace that because it’s going to be a fun game.”Carter Hutton made 19 saves as St. Louis stopped a three-game slide that included a 4-3 home loss to Chicago on Wednesday night on Duncan Keith’s power-play goal with 8.5 seconds left. Jaden Schwartz also scored in the third after an ugly turnover by the Blackhawks.St. Louis (44-31-6) moved one point ahead of idle Colorado (42-30-9) heading into their finale Saturday night. The Blues have won three of four against the Avalanche this season.Colorado needs a regulation win to make it to the postseason, while St. Louis takes the spot if it goes to overtime.”Final game, 82 all on the line at Denver,” Hutton said.Erik Gustafsson scored for Chicago, and Jean-Francois Berube made 31 saves. The last-place Blackhawks (33-38-10) finished with an 18-18-5 record at home.Veteran forward Patrick Sharp got the start in what was likely his final game at the United Center. The 36-year-old Sharp, who has 10 goals and 11 assists in his 15th NHL season, said he probably will retire after the finale Saturday night in his native Winnipeg.”It’s never easy, but I’m just ready to take that next step in my life Vegas Golden Knights Hats Authentic , and I’m looking forward to it,” Sharp said.The team honored Sharp with a highlight video in the third period, and he waved his stick and tapped his heart to acknowledge the sustained roar from what was left of the announced crowd of 22,218. With his parents, wife and children watching from the stands, he took another spin around the rink after the game was over and waved as the crowd cheered again.”It was a tough game out there, tough to concentrate with what was going on inside my head,” said Sharp, a key part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams in Chicago. ”But thankful that I was able to do that. The Hawks put that video on for me in the third which was really special. The guys staying on the ice and making me do a lap was something I’ll always remember. So, special night.”Berglund redirected a shot by Joel Edmundson past Berube with 1:43 left in the first period. The Blues carried the 1-0 lead into the third Custom Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys , but Gustafsson whipped a wrist shot by Hutton on the stick side at 8:08.Just 16 seconds later, Berglund swept in from the side and poked home a rebound for his 16th of the season. After Brayden Schenn set up Schwartz’s one-timer at 12:40, Berglund added an empty-netter to complete his second career hat trick.”I think we all played a pretty good game today,” Berglund said. ”It’s good for everybody’s confidence and now we know what we have to do tomorrow.”NOTES: The Blackhawks honored Hall of Fame forward Stan Mikita with ”One More Shift” before the game. The 77-year-old Mikita, who is the franchise’s career leader in games played, points and assists and is second in goals to Bobby Hull, has a brain disorder called Lewy body dementia, so his three grandsons represented him on the ice for the national anthem. … Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews missed his seventh straight game with an upper-body injury. Anthony Duclair (lower body), John Hayden (upper body) and Tomas Jurco (illness) also were scratched, and Chicago went with seven defensemen. … The Blues scratched G Jake Allen Zach Bogosian Jersey Womens , and G Ville Husso was the backup for Hutton. Allen is expected to start against the Avalanche in the finale.UP NEXTBlues: Visit Colorado on Saturday night.Blackhawks: Visit Winnipeg on Saturday night.—Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap— BOSTON (AP) — Patrice Bergeron explained to his teammates they should be thankful anytime they’re able to play.And they should be even more grateful he’s back with them.Bergeron scored two goals to reach 300 for his career, returning to the lineup Saturday after missing 16 games and leading the Boston Bruins past the Nashville Predators 5-2.“When you’re in it for a while, it’s game whatever,” he said. “You don’t appreciate it as much. I told them to be thankful because I’ve been missing it for so long.”He also set up Brad Marchand’s tie-breaking score and finished with two assists to help send Boston to its sixth win in eight games.“This shows why,” said Marchand, who called Bergeron one of the game’s best players. “It’s tough to jump in after five weeks and feel good. He’s an incredible leader and player and showed that again.”David Pastrnak had his team-leading 23rd goal and added two assists. Marchand had two assists and defenseman Charlie McAvoy set up Bergeron’s first goalMaking his third straight start for the Bruins, Jaroslav Halak stopped 28 shots and assisted on Sean Kuraly’s empty-netter.Ryan Johansen and Kyle Turris scored for Nashville, which lost its fourth straight (0-3-1) for the first time this season. Pekka Rinne made 27 saves.“We came in to get a win and go into the break on a good note, and obviously that didn’t happen.” Johansen said. “We’ll take this break for some much-needed rest and get back to what makes us successful.”The Predators completed a winless four-game road trip.“I think right now, where we’re at John Moore Jersey Womens , especially on the road, it’s about those one or two or three extra things in the course of a game that we could clean up,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said.With Ryan Hartman off for tripping, Bergeron sent a pass to Marchand, who one-timed a shot into the net with 8:37 left in the game. Pastrnak completed a 2-on-1 break with Marchand for a goal with 5:51 to go.The Bruins had a two-man, power-play advantage for 65 seconds to start the third period. At the end of the first penalty, Rinne made a pad save on Torey Krug and stuffed Marchand’s rebound bid.But on the ensuing shift, Bergeron scored out of a scramble from just outside the crease, lifting puck over the goalie to make it 2-1 at 1:44 of the period.“He just gives an emotional boost around practice yesterday knowing he’s going to come back in the lineup,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said.Turris fired a shot from the top of right circle that caromed into the net off the left post Chris Wagner Jersey Womens , making it 2-2 with 10:53 left in the third.Sidelined because of a rib injury since mid-November, Bergeron had pushed the Bruins ahead 15:10 of the opening period. McAvoy fired a pass to Bergeron in the slot, where the center cut toward his left, stopped and shifted quickly before flipping a shot under the bar.Boston had a goal overturned midway into the second period. A replay review for goaltender interference prevented the Bruins from going up 2-0.In a second period filled with steady end-to-end play, Nashville tied it at 13:01 when Johansen fired a wrister from the right circle that appeared to hit Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk’s stick and change direction before slipping into the net through a small space between the post next and Halak’s left arm.NOTES: Rinne had a shutout in the teams’ other meeting, 1-0 in Nashville on Nov. 3. . Boston defensemen Zdeno Chara (knee) and Kevan Miller (larynx) both resumed practicing this week but didn’t play. They’re getting close to returning, but Cassidy said they both wouldn’t play Sunday. . Halak entered the day leading the NHL with a .930 save percentage. … Cassidy also said goaltender Tuukka Rask would start Sunday. . The Predators came in 10-1-1 against Eastern Conference teams.UP NEXT:Predators: Off until Dec. 27th when they host Dallas.Bruins: At Carolina on Sunday.