The Pittsburgh Penguins could kill two birds with one stone by winning against the Chicago Blackhawks. A victory would have allowed the Pens to overtake the Islanders for the last place giving access to the playoffs, in addition to mathematically eliminating the Sabers from the race.
Unfortunately, Sidney Crosby and his gang lost 5-2 to Luke Richardson’s men.
“It’s true that we knew it was going to be played out in the last game or two and we had the opportunity tonight to control our own destiny and it didn’t work out,” Crosby said. , visibly disappointed.
The Penguins have been in the playoffs for the past 16 seasons, which is the longest active streak in any major league in North America.
Connor Murphy and Buddy Robinson gave the visitors a two-goal lead, before Evgeni Malkin pulled one back with 15 minutes remaining in third.
Then, Tristan Jarry was tottering and allowed Andreas Anthanasiou to cheat him, while the latter was behind the goal line. It’s a 19e this season for the Hawks’ No. 89. The hosts never recovered, and Tyler Johnson made it 4-1 into an empty net. Two insignificant goals were then scored.
“I think in the third period we got frustrated and imploded giving chances,” Kris Letang said. It’s hard to swallow. »
Crosby will have tried everything, he who finished the match with 8 shots on goal, including several quality scoring chances and 23 minutes of playing time. Petr Mrazek signed the victory with 38 saves.
The Penguins will not be able to participate in the playoffs if the New York Islanders win Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens. The Penguins would also be out of the picture if the New York team loses in overtime.
Pittsburgh has 90 points in the standings with one game left, one less than the Islanders, as they travel to Ohio on Thursday to face the Columbus Blue Jackets.
End of hopes for the Sabers
Already the chances of seeing the Sabers participate in the 2023 spring ball were slim, they become null after their 6-2 loss suffered at the hands of the Devils on Tuesday night.
Buffalo is eliminated in the regular season for the 12th straight season, the longest active streak in the NHL. The defeats of the Sabers and Penguins thus confirm the Panthers’ place in the playoffs.
Tomas Tatar was excellent in the game. He reached the 20-goal mark for the fifth time in his career with two goals, in addition to adding an assist.
Luke Hughes was playing his first game in the NHL. He ends the evening with 11:15 of time in use and a differential of -1. His brother Jack Hughes scored his 43e of the season, bringing his total points to 97 which allowed him to break a team record that belonged to Patrik Elias since the 2000-01 season.
Jesper Boqvist, Jonas Siegenthaler and Miles Wood also scored for the Devils, who tied their team record of 51 wins.
Jeff Skinner and Mattias Samuelsson replied for the Sabers
Quebecer Devon Levi was in net for the Sabers. He gave up four times on 28 shots.
Tippett crowns Flyers comeback
Owen Tippett’s second goal of the game at 4:44 of overtime secured a 4-3 win for the Philadelphia Flyers over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Every Flyers player on the ice in overtime was involved in the game-changing goal, with Ivan Provorov and Cam York setting up Tippett’s goal.
The Flyers came from a two-goal deficit before saving themselves with the extra point. Trailing 0-2 in the first, Joel Farabee and James van Riemsdyk tied the game within 34 seconds of the first period.
Van Riemsdyk’s goal was his 300th career NHL goal.
Farabee’s goal allowed him to establish a personal career high with 39 points (15-24).
Goaltender Carter Hart made 28 saves.
Liam Foudy and Trey Fix-Wolansky had put the Blue Jackets ahead in first. Sean Kuraly got the other one.
The Hurricanes will start the playoffs at home
True to form, the Carolina Hurricanes took the lead early in the game en route to a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
The Hurricanes have 111 points, one more than the New Jersey Devils. A win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday would confirm the Hurricanes’ division title for the third straight year.
The victory secures Carolina home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
For the 48th time this season, the Canes scored the first goal of the game when Stefan Noesen netted his 13th of the season.
Jordan Martinook added to the Hurricanes lead at 7:50 of the first, which ended 2-0.
At 5:05 of the second period, Robert Hagg scored his first of the season on assists from Quebecers Joe Veleno and David Perron for the Red Wings’ only goal.
Midway through the period, Brent Burns made it 3-1.
Then with 42 seconds left on the clock, Jesperi Kotkaniemi got his 17th with a goal in an empty net. The former Montreal Canadiens also picked up an assist in the win.