Malkin reaches 20 goals for the 15th time as Penguins edge Columbus 3-2
PITTSBURGH >> Evgeni Malkin scored twice to reach the 20-goal plateau for the 15th time and Pittsburgh extended their mastery over Columbus with a 3-2 win on Thursday night.
The Russian became the 31st player in league history to score 20 goals in 15 seasons, doing it with a pair of power-play blasts — one from the right circle, one from the left circle — that erased one-goal deficits.
Drew O’Conner’s 12th goal 35 seconds into the third period put Pittsburgh in front to stay. Sidney Crosby had two assists for the Penguins to boost his career total to 995, 11th on the NHL’s career list. The longtime captain also has nine points in Pittsburgh’s last three games.
Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 17 shots for the Penguins, who improved to 21-3-2 in their last 26 meetings with the Blue Jackets.
ISLANDERS 3, PANTHERS 2>>
Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period to help lift the New York Islanders past Florida.
Ryan Pulock and Mathew Barzal also scored and Casey Cizikas had two assists for New York, which had lost six of its last seven and dropped in the Eastern Conference wild-card standings.
Aleksander Barkov became the first player in Panthers history to reach 700 points with the franchise with his secondperiod goal. Vladimir Tarasenko and Aleksander Barkov also scored and Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves for Florida, which has lost eight of nine and missed out on a chance to earn a postseason berth.
The Panthers could still clinch a spot Thursday night if the Detroit Red Wings loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Florida sits two points behind Boston with one game in hand for the top seed in the Atlantic Division. SENATORS 2, BLACKHAWKS 0 >> Claude Giroux and Parker Kelly scored, and Ottawa beat Chicago for their fourth consecutive victory.
Anton Forsberg made 19 saves in his second shutout of the season and No. 5 for his career.
It was Ottawa’s first win against Chicago since Dec. 20, 2016, snapping an 11game skid.
Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek made 32 saves. The last-place Blackhawks had won two straight games.
Fans piled near the glass during warmups to see Chicago rookie Connor Bedard, but the 18-year-old center was kept off the scoresheet. MAPLE LEAFS 5, CAPITALS 1>> Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice to give him six goals in seven games, Joseph Woll made 24 saves in a bounce-back performance and Toronto beat Washington.
Mark Giordano scored following a long injury absence, and Conner Dewar and Bobby McMann added goals to help Toronto improve to 41-22-9.
Nic Dowd replied for Washington, and Charlie Lindgren stopped 43 shots. The Capitals dropped to 3627-9 as they fight for a playoff spot.