PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby fed Erik Karlsson in overtime, his 1,000th NHL assist, and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 6-5 on Thursday night.
It was Crosby’s third point of the game, which at the same time overtook Phil Esposito for 10th place in the history of points, at 1,591.
The Penguins captain is only the 14th skater to reach this impressive milestone, in his 1,269th game.
Joe Sakic, at 1,641 points, is next in line for No. 87, while another Penguins legend, Mario Lemieux, comes in eighth at 1,723, and Steve Yzerman has 1,755.
“He plays his best hockey when the stakes are high, as all the best in the history of our sport have done,” said head coach Mike Sullivan. He is part of this group. ”
” I did not watch [le classement des pointeurs de tous les temps] up close, Crosby said after the game. But to be in the company of these players, it means a lot. I grew up watching these athletes play. ”
By collecting this crucial additional point, Pittsburgh (38-30-12) offered itself a priority point over Detroit, as well as the Washington Capitals, who suffered the defeat in Buffalo, and the Philadelphia Flyers, who beat the New York Rangers.
Authors of a record of 7-0-3 in their last ten outings, Sullivan’s men are currently in the last place giving access to the playoffs in the East.
A month ago, the Pens were 13th in the East. They are now eighth with three games remaining, thanks in large part to Crosby’s brilliance.
“He’s a huge part of everything we do, and a big reason for where we are,” Karlsson agreed. We will need this level of play from him down the stretch to [accéder aux séries]. ”
Bryan Rust, Kris Letang and Jeff Carter scored the other Penguins goals.
In the Wings’ defeat, Lucas Raymond scored a hat trick. He now has 29 goals.
The Red Wings were beaten for the third time in four games, but remain in the race to beat the Penguins, on the other hand.
The Flyers emerge from their languor
Bobby Brink scored the key goal early in the second period and the Philadelphia Flyers ended an eight-game losing streak, winning 4-1 over the New York Rangers.
Cam York, Travis Konecny and Noah Cates also scored for the Flyers, while Samuel Ersson blocked 24 shots.
Ryan Poehling had two assists for the Flyers, one of four clubs fighting for the final playoff spot in the East.
The Flyers will host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.
Artemi Panarin scored for the Rangers. The latter remain at 53 victories, one victory away from establishing an organization record.
The Capitals continue to sink
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 22 shots and the Buffalo Sabers beat the Washington Capitals 4-2.
Alex Tuch, Zach Benson, Jack Quinn and Dylan Cozens, in an empty net, scored the Sabres’ goals.
The Capitals also lost in Buffalo nine days ago, 6-2. The team has won just once in its last seven games.
Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson scored in the loss. Charlie Lindgren allowed three goals on 16 shots.
Benson opened the scoring at the end of the first period.
Tuch doubled the Sabres’ lead with his 22nd goal of the campaign at 12:37 of the middle period.
McMichael responded by scoring 1:59 later for the Capitals.
Wilson found the back of the net with a minute left in the game.
Washington remains hopeful of snatching the last place which gives access to the playoffs in the East.
The Kings officially in the playoffs
The Los Angeles Kings confirmed their place in the playoffs by winning 4-1 over the Calgary Flames at Crypto.com Arena.
Viktor Arvidsson scored two goals and Anze Kopitar had two assists for the Kings (42-26-11), who won four of their most recent games to move three points ahead of Vegas for third place in the section Peaceful.
Cam Talbot made 23 saves. Only Jonathan Huberdeau was able to thwart him for the Flames (35-38-5), who have a record of 2-9-0 in their last eleven outings.
Kevin Fiala and Akil Thomas scored the other goals for Los Angeles. Thomas has produced three goals in his first five games in the NHL.
Section title will have to wait for Dallas
Laurent Brossoit made 24 saves, David Gustafsson scored on his 24th birthday and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Dallas Stars 3-0.
Undefeated for five matches, the Jets prevented the Stars from winning the Central section title.
Nikolaj Ehlers opened the scoring with his 24th goal of the season, late in the first period.
Gustafsson hit the target halfway through the second period and Mark Scheifele completed it into an empty net.
Second in the league in goals scored, the Stars were shut out for the third time this season, the first since a 4-0 loss to the Lightning on December 4.
They were shut out at home for the first time this season.
A walk in the park for the Panthers
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots for his sixth shutout of the season, Sam Reinhart scored his 54th goal of the campaign and the Florida Panthers defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0.
Bobrovsky, who has 44 career shutouts, is tied with Connor Ingram of the Arizona Coyotes and Tristan Jarry of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the most shutouts this season.
Matthew Tkachuk, Evan Rodrigues and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored in the victory. Oliver Ekman-Larsson had two assists.
Jet Greaves stopped 42 shots for the Blue Jackets.
Tkachuk opened the scoring after just 47 seconds of play.
The Panthers scored two goals late in the second period to lead 3-0 after 40 minutes.
Tarasenko scored with a backhand to complete the score.
Cooley handcuffs Kraken players
Devin Cooley frustrated the Seattle Kraken all night by making 49 saves en route to a 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks.
It was Cooley’s fourth NHL start, and the fourth time he faced a minimum of 30 shots.
Fabian Zetterlund scored his 22nd goal of the campaign, while his compatriot William Eklund added two assists to his record.
Luke Kunin and Kyle Burroughs also scored for the Sharks, who are one win shy of 20. They have lost 60 games, including 51 in regulation.
The Kraken (33-32-13) saw a short series of two victories come to an end.
Joey Daccord gave up three on 23 shots. Seattle’s only scorer was Brian Dumoulin, halfway
