The Montreal Canadiens clinched the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference on Wednesday night, locking up a first-round meeting with the Washington Capitals.

Montreal secured its place after beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2, though it needed only one point to seal the deal. Defenseman Kaiden Guhle led the way with his first career two-goal game.

It’s been a remarkable run for Montreal, which was in last place in the Eastern Conference in mid-December. But the Canadiens have gone 29-15-8 in their past 52 contests to turn things around.

Montreal hasn’t made the playoffs since its stunning run to the Stanley Cup Final in COVID-19-shortened 2021. The club finished in last place of the Atlantic Division in each of the next three campaigns.

Playoff-bound Carolina rested several key players. The Hurricanes will face New Jersey in the first round.

Red Wings 5, Devils 2: Dylan Larkin scored — giving him at least 30 goals for the fourth straight season — and added an assist and Alex Lyon made 28 saves as Detroit downed New Jersey.

Jonatan Berggren, J.T. Compher, Alex DeBrincat and Marco Kasper also scored for the Red Wings who won their third straight. Detroit will miss the playoffs for a ninth straight season.

The Devils finished with 42 wins and 91 points for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Predators 5, Stars 1: Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and two assists and Nashville closed a disappointing season with a victory over playoff-bound Dallas.

Jordan Oesterle and Jonathan Marchessault each had a goal and an assist, and Jakub Vrana and Justin Barron also scored for Nashville. Juuse Saros made 29 saves.

The Stars concluded the regular season on an 0-5-2 slide after not losing more than two straight this season prior to the current stretch.

The Stars will face the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Golden Knights 4, Canucks 1: Victor Olofsson had a goal and an assist as Vegas defeated Vancouver for its 50th win of the season.

Pavel Dorofeyev, Jack Eichel and Cole Schwindt also scored, and Akira Schmid made 16 saves for the Pacific Division-winning Golden Knights in their regular-season finale.

Vegas will face Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs.

Oilers 3, Sharks 2: Ty Emberson had a goal and an assist, Stuart Skinner stopped 16 shots for the shutout and Edmonton finished the regular season with a win.

The Oilers will face the Kings in the first round of the playoffs.

Penguins’ Letang has surgery: Defenseman Kris Letang’ will miss Pittsburgh’s finale tonight after undergoing a procedure to close a small hole in his heart.

Letang, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, has missed time earlier in his career due to strokes related to a hole in his heart.

The team said the expected timeline for Letang to make a full recovery is 4-6 weeks.