Panthers’ Win Puts Pittsburgh Playoff Streak in Jeopardy

Good morning and happy Wednesday, March 5th.

Thanks to our readers who participated in yesterday’s poll. Results were fairly mixed with the Colorado Avalanche barely edging out the Dallas Stars for your favorite to win the Central Division, with the Minnesota Wild only receiving two votes. 🫢

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The Washington Capitals’ playoff streak was halted at eight seasons Tuesday night. Could the Pittsburgh Penguins’ run of 16 consecutive playoff appearances be next?

The Florida Panthers downed the Buffalo Sabres 2-1, while the Penguins were being upended 5-1 by the New Jersey Devils. That leaves the Panthers tied with the New York Islanders for the two Eastern Conference wild-card berths. That means the Penguins are in danger of having their streak come to end.

Thanks to a four-game winning streak, the Panthers now have 87 points. The Islanders also have 87 and the Penguins are at 86. All three teams have four games remaining.

Goalie Alex Lyon was the Panthers’ unlikely hero, posting 39 saves to subdue a Sabres team that came into the game with a five-game points streak. Lyon is only playing because No. 1 goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is sidelined by an illness. The former Yale goalie Lyon has been in net throughout the winning streak.

Buffalo goalie Devon Levi was making his second NHL start and managed to make 34 saves.

The Panthers are trying to qualify for the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. Three is the team record. That puts the Penguins’ streak in perspective.

Florida plays three of its last four at home. The Panthers’ final opponents are Ottawa, Washington, Toronto and Carolina. The Penguins play two at home (Minnesota and Chicago) and two on the road (Detroit and Columbus).

The Islanders play Tampa Bay, Philadelphia and Montreal at home and Washington on the road.

🟡🔵 Cody Glass scores in OT, Nashville beats Vegas 3-2 to keep playoff hopes alive. It wasn’t the prettiest goal of the 24-year-old forward’s NHL career but one of the most meaningful as Glass’s cross crease pass attempt deflected in off Brayden McNabb’s skate 3:30 into overtime. Preds’ rookie Tommy Novak scored two first period goals and assisted on the OT winner while Kevin Lankinen registered 30 saves and a .938 save percentage to preserve Nashville’s playoff hopes. The Predators currently sit three points back of the final Western Conference wild card held by the Winnipeg Jets.

🏔️ Nathan MacKinnon wins it in OT, Avalanche clinch playoff berth with 4-3 win over the Sharks. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native had himself a night, scoring twice, including the overtime winner, and assisting on another to reach the 100-point mark for the first time in his illustrious NHL career — his previous high was 99 points in the 2018-19 season. Mikko Rantanen and Devon Toews each collected two assists while Alexandar Georgiev made 28 saves as the Colorado Avalanche leapfrogged the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars for 1st place in the Central Division, with a game in hand on both teams.

Who holds the all-time record for most NHL points by a Saskatchewan-born player? Bonus: name the top five.

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• Mercer gets 1st hat trick, Devils cruise past Penguins

• Aston-Reese scores twice, Leafs edge Blue Jackets

• Merilainen makes 34 saves in NHL debut, but Senators fall to Hurricanes in OT

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• Capitals eliminated, hampered by injuries to Backstrom, others

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• 🎩 Dawson Mercer scores 1st career hat trick vs. Pens

• 🤢 Thomas Novak roofs sick backhand

• 🧱 Devon Levi makes two big saves, including sprawling pad save

• 🚨 Elias Pettersson shows off soft mitts with behind-the-back toe-drag goal

• 🚪 Brady Tkachuk chips in perfect back-door feed from Debrincat

• Create energy with this high tempo “staggered pass & follow drill”

• Warm up your hands with continuous figure-8’s from KB Dangles

Gordie Howe holds the record for most NHL points scored by a Saskatchewan-born player with 1,850 points. The rest of the top five:

• Bryan Trottier (1,425 points)

• Patrick Marleau (1,197 points)

• Bernie Federko (1,130 points)

• Theoren Fleury (1,088 points)