The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 6-5 in overtime last night at PPG Paints Arena, and have moved back into a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Erik Karlsson scored the game-winning goal just over 90 second into the extra period on a feed from captain Sidney Crosby.
Crosby had a goal and two assists in the game to reach 1,000 career assists, the 14th player in the NHL to do so. He also passed Phil Esposito to become the league’s 10th all-time leading scorer. He is just the seventh player to record a grand in assists with one team. Mario Lemieux is one of those seven.
The victory moved to the Penguins into the final Eastern Conference Wild Card spot, one point in front of Detroit, Washington and Philadelphia.
The Penguins, Capitals and Red Wings have three games remaining in their regular season. The Flyers have two games remaining. The Penguins currently control their playoff scenario after being nine points out of a playoff spot two weeks ago. Since then, the Pens have won five of six games. The lone loss also gained them a point when they lost to Toronto in overtime.
The Penguins host the Boston Bruins for a nationally televised game Saturday night. Face-off is 8pm. Pre-game on WISR begins at 7:30pm.
The Pens host Nashville Monday, then travel to New York for their final regular-season game next Wednesday against the Islanders.
Last night, the Buffalo Sabres helped the Penguins cause by defeating Washington 4-2. The Flyers defeated the New York Rangers 4-1.
The New York Islanders maintained control of third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 3-2 victory in overtime over Montreal. The Islanders are three points in front of the Penguins. They also have three games remaining in their regular season.