Philadelphia Flyers @ Pens 4-5 OT - Sunday, March 25, 2018
Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist to help the Penguins pull within three points of first in the Metropolitan Division with a 5-4 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers at PPG Paints Arena. Bryan Rust tipped in a shot from Crosby at 2:25 of overtime for his 13th goal of the season.
"They were [two] important points," Crosby said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't finish it off in regulation, but we did some good things, especially in the second and third. We created a lot and found a way to win in overtime."
Matt Murray made 41 saves for Pittsburgh (43-27-6), which is second in the division behind the Washington Capitals and three points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins swept the season series against the Flyers, 4-0-0.
Petr Mrazek made 19 saves on 21 shots in relief of Alex Lyon for the Flyers (38-25-13), who are three points ahead of the New Jersey Devils for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"We marvel at what [Crosby and Evgeni Malkin] do night in and night out," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "It's a privilege to be a coach for this group of players. I can say this, we don't take a day of it for granted because we know how talented this group is and when we play the game the right way, we're a good hockey team.
"These are some of the best players of their generation. There are nights where I drive home after games and replay the game in my mind, and I marvel at some of the things that these guys do."
Couturier tied it 4-4 with 43 seconds remaining on a rebound after Gostisbehere's one-timer popped out of Murray's glove.
Pittsburgh scored twice in the first 2:37 of the second period to take a 3-2 lead.
Patric Hornqvist tied it at 2-2 with a power-play goal 37 seconds into the period before Malkin put Pittsburgh ahead 3-2 on his 42nd goal of the season. Malkin shot through Andrew MacDonald's legs and Lyon's five-hole at 2:37.
Mrazek replaced Lyon, who made eight saves on 11 shots, after Malkin's goal.
Jordan Weal, who had three points (one goal, two assists), tied the game at 3-3 with a power-play goal at 17:10 of the second. Travis Sanheim gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 5:03 of the first period when he shot past Murray's glove from between the face-off circles. Derick Brassard tied it 1-1 at 9:38 after Conor Sheary sent a flip pass over Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov and forward Valterri Filppula. Brassard, who has six points (two goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak, collected it for a breakaway before shooting over Lyon's blocker at 9:38. Brandon Manning gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead at 11:07 of the first.
* Murray's save on Jakub Voracek at 18:23 of the third period.* Crosby's goal 17 seconds into the third period.* The Penguins swept the season series against the Flyers for the first time since 2006-07 (8-0-0) They scored five goals in each of their four wins against Philadelphia this season. … Hornqvist has seven points (six goals, one assist) in his past eight games. … Couturier has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past seven games. … The Flyers have earned at least one point in five straight games (3-0-2).
"They're a good team. We're a good team. It's a hard playoff-type game and they're going to get their momentum swings and we just try to manage them the best we can." -- Penguins forward Bryan Rust
"I thought we played a good hockey game. As much as we needed two points, and you don't want to take anything less, we'll build on the positives. We got another point. … We just have to keep pushing forward and keep playing well." -- Flyers coach Dave Hakstol
Matt Murray made 41 saves for Pittsburgh (43-27-6), which is second in the division behind the Washington Capitals and three points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins swept the season series against the Flyers, 4-0-0.
Petr Mrazek made 19 saves on 21 shots in relief of Alex Lyon for the Flyers (38-25-13), who are three points ahead of the New Jersey Devils for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"These are some of the best players of their generation. There are nights where I drive home after games and replay the game in my mind, and I marvel at some of the things that these guys do."
Couturier tied it 4-4 with 43 seconds remaining on a rebound after Gostisbehere's one-timer popped out of Murray's glove.
Patric Hornqvist tied it at 2-2 with a power-play goal 37 seconds into the period before Malkin put Pittsburgh ahead 3-2 on his 42nd goal of the season. Malkin shot through Andrew MacDonald's legs and Lyon's five-hole at 2:37.
Mrazek replaced Lyon, who made eight saves on 11 shots, after Malkin's goal.
"They're a good team. We're a good team. It's a hard playoff-type game and they're going to get their momentum swings and we just try to manage them the best we can." -- Penguins forward Bryan Rust "I thought we played a good hockey game. As much as we needed two points, and you don't want to take anything less, we'll build on the positives. We got another point. … We just have to keep pushing forward and keep playing well." -- Flyers coach Dave Hakstol
Pens @ Detroit Red Wings 2-5 - Tuesday, March 27 2018
The Penguins failed to get closer to first place in the Metropolitan Division, losing 5-2 to the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.
"We didn't play with the urgency it takes to win games in this league," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "If you aren't willing to make that commitment, you can get beat, no matter who you are playing."
Pittsburgh (43-28-6) remained five points behind the Washington Capitals. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang scored for the Penguins, who have alternated wins and losses in the past 10 games (5-3-2).
"We need to start playing like every game is the most important game of the season," Letang said. "Right now, we're not playing with the same urgency against teams below us in the standings as we are with the teams around us."
Darren Helm had a goal and two assists, Luke Glendening scored twice, and Niklas Kronwall and Frans Nielsen scored for Detroit (28-38-11), which had lost 13 of its past 14 games (1-12-1) and has been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention.
Joe Hicketts had two assists for the Red Wings in his second NHL game, and Jimmy Howard made 22 saves. The Penguins took a 1-0 lead 38 seconds into the first period, with Crosby's one-timer finishing a 2-on-1 with Jake Guentzel against Hicketts.
"Everyone in this room knows what he's been going through with his body and how he battles through it thanks to his work ethic," Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said of Kronwall. "It was nice to see him get rewarded."
Hicketts saved a goal at 23 seconds of the second period, when the defenseman knocked aside Crosby's stick as he was about to score into an open net.
"I think I was a little star-struck starting the game against him," Hicketts, 21, said. "He's the best player in the world for a reason, but as the game went on, I kind of figured out a better way to play him."
Detroit scored twice in 41 seconds to take a 3-1 lead. Nielsen put the Red Wings ahead with a power-play goal at 14:28 of the second period, one-timing Martin Frk's pass. Hicketts got his first NHL point with an assist. Glendening scored at 15:09, tipping Nick Jensen's slap shot between Murray's legs.
Helm made it 4-1 at 6:21 of the third period, one-timing Dylan Larkin's shot. Letang made it 4-2 with 3:16 left, and Glendening scored into an empty net at 18:32 for the 5-2 final.
* Kronwall's goal at 16:43 of the first period.
* Howard's save on Crosby at 7:48 of the second period.* Hicketts' denial of Crosby's shot 23 seconds into the second period.* Penguins forward Derick Brassard left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury. Sullivan did not have an update on his condition after the game. ... The Penguins became the first visiting team to lose twice at Little Caesars Arena. They lost 4-1 to the Red Wings on Dec. 31. ... Larkin had two assists and has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games. ... Kronwall has 80 goals and 320 assists in 869 NHL games.
"We had offensive-zone time in the first two periods but we weren't getting anything through to the net. When a team is defending as hard as Detroit, you have to make the sacrifices to get inside the dots and make plays. We have to get together as a group and find a way to do that." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
"I have a few milestone pucks, but I don't know where most of them are. A lot of them are for things that only matter to me, like the game from the day my daughter was born." -- Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall on keeping the puck from his 400th NHL point
Pens @ New Jersey 4-3 OT - Thursday, March 29, 2018Pittsburgh (43-28-6) remained five points behind the Washington Capitals. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang scored for the Penguins, who have alternated wins and losses in the past 10 games (5-3-2).
"We need to start playing like every game is the most important game of the season," Letang said. "Right now, we're not playing with the same urgency against teams below us in the standings as we are with the teams around us."
Darren Helm had a goal and two assists, Luke Glendening scored twice, and Niklas Kronwall and Frans Nielsen scored for Detroit (28-38-11), which had lost 13 of its past 14 games (1-12-1) and has been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention.
Hicketts saved a goal at 23 seconds of the second period, when the defenseman knocked aside Crosby's stick as he was about to score into an open net.
"I think I was a little star-struck starting the game against him," Hicketts, 21, said. "He's the best player in the world for a reason, but as the game went on, I kind of figured out a better way to play him."
Detroit scored twice in 41 seconds to take a 3-1 lead. Nielsen put the Red Wings ahead with a power-play goal at 14:28 of the second period, one-timing Martin Frk's pass. Hicketts got his first NHL point with an assist. Glendening scored at 15:09, tipping Nick Jensen's slap shot between Murray's legs.
Helm made it 4-1 at 6:21 of the third period, one-timing Dylan Larkin's shot. Letang made it 4-2 with 3:16 left, and Glendening scored into an empty net at 18:32 for the 5-2 final.
* Kronwall's goal at 16:43 of the first period.
* Howard's save on Crosby at 7:48 of the second period.* Hicketts' denial of Crosby's shot 23 seconds into the second period.* Penguins forward Derick Brassard left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury. Sullivan did not have an update on his condition after the game. ... The Penguins became the first visiting team to lose twice at Little Caesars Arena. They lost 4-1 to the Red Wings on Dec. 31. ... Larkin had two assists and has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games. ... Kronwall has 80 goals and 320 assists in 869 NHL games.
"We had offensive-zone time in the first two periods but we weren't getting anything through to the net. When a team is defending as hard as Detroit, you have to make the sacrifices to get inside the dots and make plays. We have to get together as a group and find a way to do that." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan"I have a few milestone pucks, but I don't know where most of them are. A lot of them are for things that only matter to me, like the game from the day my daughter was born." -- Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall on keeping the puck from his 400th NHL point
Sidney Crosby scored 19 seconds into overtime to move the Penguins within five points of first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 4-3 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.
Patric Hornqvist and Kris Letang each had a goal and an assist, Conor Sheary scored, and Matt Murray made 28 saves for the Penguins (44-28-6), who hold second place, one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Washington Capitals are first in the division. Blake Coleman, Kyle Palmieri and Taylor Hall scored, and Keith Kinkaid made 31 saves for the Devils (40-28-9), who hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Florida Panthers, who have one game in hand.
Pittsburgh's win was its first against New Jersey in four games this season (1-2-1). Crosby collected a pass from Letang at the Devils blue line, skated into the left circle and hit the far post before batting the rebound out of midair past Kinkaid, who lost his first game in four straight starts.
"I just tried to stay with it. It's fortunate it came back to me since I saw it go off the post," Crosby said.
It was Crosby's fifth goal during a five-game goal streak, and his third overtime goal of the season. Crosby passed Evgeni Malkin with his 13th regular-season overtime goal in his NHL career, most in Penguins history.
"[Crosby's] goal was incredible," Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. "You don't expect him to score that one after he hit the post, and he does. It kind of leaves you in awe. We see it a lot, but every time he does it and does something special it's crazy to see. It just speaks to what an incredible player he is."
Hornqvist scored off a shot from the point that hit the left post and then the back of Kinkaid's left pad before crossing the line at 11:26 of the third period to pull the Penguins into a 3-3 tie.
"That's a good team over there," Palmieri said. "They know how to win at this time of year. We'll take the point and reset and shore some things up.
"[Crosby] has shown a couple of times over the last week or so he has some good hand-eye. It's a tough bounce for us that he got into a position to make that kind of play. It's a skill play from one of the most skilled players in the game."
The Penguins took a 2-1 lead at 6:59 of the second when Letang scored off a slap shot from the right circle. Hall extended his point streak to six games (three goals, seven assists) when he pulled the Devils into a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal at 14:41. Sheary scored off a snap shot at the left post after taking a pass from Hornqvist to give the Penguins a 1-1 tie at 12:44 of the first period. The goal came 25 seconds after Palmieri had given the Devils a 1-0 lead after taking a pass from Nico Hischier and beating Murray between the pads for his fourth goal in three games.
* Crosby's goal 19 seconds into overtime.* Murray save on Hall 4:40 into the first period.* Hornqvist's goal at 11:26 of the third period.* Crosby has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in his past 11 games. ... The Penguins were 0-for-7 on the power play against the Devils in their four games. ... Hischier (18 goals, 32 assists) had an assist to become the seventh rookie in franchise history to reach 50 points in a season, and first since Adam Henrique in 2011-12 (16-35-51). ... Hischier and Will Butcher, who had an assist, are the first pair of rookies in franchise history to each score at least 40 points. Butcher (3-37-40) is the fourth defenseman to do so and first since Scott Niedermayer in 1992-93 (11-29-40). 
"Our team is at its best when we're aggressive; our best defense is when we have the puck or are pursuing the puck. Defense doesn't take place just in your own zone. I think when you look at the way our team is built, that's how we're built to play. The game plan for our team is to play an in-your-face game." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
"It's hard not to scoreboard watch and look at what other teams are doing, but this time of year it's best to just focus on what you're doing as a team and try to get as many points as you can. The last thing you want to do is rely on teams to lose for you. You want to do your own work." -- Devils forward Taylor Hall
"I just tried to stay with it. It's fortunate it came back to me since I saw it go off the post," Crosby said.
"[Crosby's] goal was incredible," Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. "You don't expect him to score that one after he hit the post, and he does. It kind of leaves you in awe. We see it a lot, but every time he does it and does something special it's crazy to see. It just speaks to what an incredible player he is."
Hornqvist scored off a shot from the point that hit the left post and then the back of Kinkaid's left pad before crossing the line at 11:26 of the third period to pull the Penguins into a 3-3 tie.
"[Crosby] has shown a couple of times over the last week or so he has some good hand-eye. It's a tough bounce for us that he got into a position to make that kind of play. It's a skill play from one of the most skilled players in the game."
The Penguins took a 2-1 lead at 6:59 of the second when Letang scored off a slap shot from the right circle. Hall extended his point streak to six games (three goals, seven assists) when he pulled the Devils into a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal at 14:41. Sheary scored off a snap shot at the left post after taking a pass from Hornqvist to give the Penguins a 1-1 tie at 12:44 of the first period. The goal came 25 seconds after Palmieri had given the Devils a 1-0 lead after taking a pass from Nico Hischier and beating Murray between the pads for his fourth goal in three games.
* Crosby's goal 19 seconds into overtime.* Murray save on Hall 4:40 into the first period.* Hornqvist's goal at 11:26 of the third period.* Crosby has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in his past 11 games. ... The Penguins were 0-for-7 on the power play against the Devils in their four games. ... Hischier (18 goals, 32 assists) had an assist to become the seventh rookie in franchise history to reach 50 points in a season, and first since Adam Henrique in 2011-12 (16-35-51). ... Hischier and Will Butcher, who had an assist, are the first pair of rookies in franchise history to each score at least 40 points. Butcher (3-37-40) is the fourth defenseman to do so and first since Scott Niedermayer in 1992-93 (11-29-40). "Our team is at its best when we're aggressive; our best defense is when we have the puck or are pursuing the puck. Defense doesn't take place just in your own zone. I think when you look at the way our team is built, that's how we're built to play. The game plan for our team is to play an in-your-face game." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan"It's hard not to scoreboard watch and look at what other teams are doing, but this time of year it's best to just focus on what you're doing as a team and try to get as many points as you can. The last thing you want to do is rely on teams to lose for you. You want to do your own work." -- Devils forward Taylor Hall
Montreal Canadiens @ Pens 2-5 - Saturday, March 31, 2018
The Penguins clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 5-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens at PPG Paints Arena. Pittsburgh (45-28-6) is second in the Metropolitan Division, three points behind the Washington Capitals, two ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets and four ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Capitals have a game in hand on the Penguins and Blue Jackets. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions clinched a berth for the 12th straight season, the longest active streak in the NHL.
"I do think [clinching] is special because I think it's hard to make the playoffs in this league," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "There are a lot of good teams. You can look across the League and see how tight the races are and how many teams are still in it. So, the fact that we're able to clinch and solidify a playoff spot is a credit to our players.
"They're playing extremely hard. They knew going into tonight's game that if we won, we were going to earn that spot. That was our No. 1 priority."
Matt Murray made 24 saves to extend his streak without a regulation loss at home to 10 games (9-0-1), the longest of his NHL career.
Antti Niemi made 28 saves for the Canadiens (28-38-12), who lost to the Penguins for the third time in 17 days. Pittsburgh won 5-3 at Bell Centre on March 15 and 5-3 at PPG Paints Arena on March 21.
"They scored a couple on the power play and they were able to get those pucks," Niemi said. "They have a couple different plays. The last time in our home game (March 15), I got beat on a one-timer. You just have to stay ready for everything."
"If you don't make the playoffs, you can't win the Stanley Cup," Hornqvist said. "That's the first step in this room, to make the playoffs and now we just have to make sure we get better every single time that we come to the rink."
Carl Hagelin made it 3-1 when his shot went off Niemi's back and in from below the goal line at 14:36 before Jonathan Drouin shot over Murray's glove on a power play to cut it to 3-2 with 11 seconds remaining in the first. Phil Kessel made it 4-2 when he redirected a pass from Sidney Crosby off Petry and through Niemi on a power play at 7:18 of the third period, and Sheahan made it 5-2 with another power-play goal at 9:07. Pittsburgh was 3 for 5 on the power play.
"At the end of the day, our penalty kill gives up three goals," Montreal coach Claude Julien said. "If we're not going to do a job right, we're not going to pay a price, that's what's going to end up happening. We had a couple breakaways there. We had a chance to get ourselves back in the game and we weren't able to finish. It's the story of this season here. The chances are there. The lack of finish … dictates what you saw tonight."
* Hagelin's goal at 14:36 of the first period.* Murray's save on Paul Byron at 8:23 of the third period.* Drouin's goal at 19:49 of the first period.* Kessel sustained an undisclosed injury shortly after Pittsburgh's fifth goal. Sullivan did not update his status and expects to have more information Sunday. Kessel has played 689 consecutive games since he sat out the first 12 of the 2009-10 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs after shoulder surgery. That is the third-longest active streak in the NHL, behind Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle (710) and Toronto forward Patrick Marleau (703), and the ninth-longest in League history. … Canadiens defenseman David Schlemko, returning after missing 12 games with an upper-body injury, had two hits and two blocked shots in 17:17.
"We'll use these last couple games to try and fine-tune these little things and try to be ready to go for when the playoffs start." -- Penguins goalie Matt Murray
"Let's keep going. We have some young guys still coming in, call-ups and all that stuff. So, [we] can't throw those four games in the garbage and just wait to go home. You want to play hockey hard. You want to play the right way and there's still something you can grab from those four games." -- Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin
"They're playing extremely hard. They knew going into tonight's game that if we won, we were going to earn that spot. That was our No. 1 priority."
Matt Murray made 24 saves to extend his streak without a regulation loss at home to 10 games (9-0-1), the longest of his NHL career.
Antti Niemi made 28 saves for the Canadiens (28-38-12), who lost to the Penguins for the third time in 17 days. Pittsburgh won 5-3 at Bell Centre on March 15 and 5-3 at PPG Paints Arena on March 21.
"They scored a couple on the power play and they were able to get those pucks," Niemi said. "They have a couple different plays. The last time in our home game (March 15), I got beat on a one-timer. You just have to stay ready for everything."
Carl Hagelin made it 3-1 when his shot went off Niemi's back and in from below the goal line at 14:36 before Jonathan Drouin shot over Murray's glove on a power play to cut it to 3-2 with 11 seconds remaining in the first. Phil Kessel made it 4-2 when he redirected a pass from Sidney Crosby off Petry and through Niemi on a power play at 7:18 of the third period, and Sheahan made it 5-2 with another power-play goal at 9:07. Pittsburgh was 3 for 5 on the power play.
"At the end of the day, our penalty kill gives up three goals," Montreal coach Claude Julien said. "If we're not going to do a job right, we're not going to pay a price, that's what's going to end up happening. We had a couple breakaways there. We had a chance to get ourselves back in the game and we weren't able to finish. It's the story of this season here. The chances are there. The lack of finish … dictates what you saw tonight."
* Hagelin's goal at 14:36 of the first period.* Murray's save on Paul Byron at 8:23 of the third period.* Drouin's goal at 19:49 of the first period.* Kessel sustained an undisclosed injury shortly after Pittsburgh's fifth goal. Sullivan did not update his status and expects to have more information Sunday. Kessel has played 689 consecutive games since he sat out the first 12 of the 2009-10 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs after shoulder surgery. That is the third-longest active streak in the NHL, behind Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle (710) and Toronto forward Patrick Marleau (703), and the ninth-longest in League history. … Canadiens defenseman David Schlemko, returning after missing 12 games with an upper-body injury, had two hits and two blocked shots in 17:17."We'll use these last couple games to try and fine-tune these little things and try to be ready to go for when the playoffs start." -- Penguins goalie Matt Murray"Let's keep going. We have some young guys still coming in, call-ups and all that stuff. So, [we] can't throw those four games in the garbage and just wait to go home. You want to play hockey hard. You want to play the right way and there's still something you can grab from those four games." -- Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin
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