First call: Crowded playoff picture puts more pressure on Penguins

In “First Call” Friday, we look at the jam-packed NHL Eastern Conference. The NBA may lower its age restriction. And Pitt hoops needs some time to recover.

It's getting dicey

With their 4-0 loss at home to San Jose, the Penguins failed to pick up any points Thursday.

Carolina had no such problem. The Hurricanes beat Florida, 4-3. Justin Williams had the game winner, his 17th goal of the season.

.@JustinWilliams leads by example ? pic.twitter.com/d30jtOs2RZ

— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) February 22, 2019

Montreal won, too, smacking the Flyers, 5-1. So that means Montreal has 73 points and holds the top wild-card spot. The Hurricanes have vaulted in front of Columbus into the second wild-card spot with 70 points. The Blue Jackets have 69 points, on the outside looking in.

The Penguins are occupying the Metropolitan Division’s last automatic slot with 71 points. They next face the Flyers in the outdoor game at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Baby brawler

You wouldn’t know it by looking at this photo, but 10 minutes before the picture was snapped, this baby beat the snot out of Tom Wilson.

Welcome to the VGK family, Kamilla Sofia Reaves ? #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/onc8KtfYDe

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 21, 2019

Yes, that’s the newborn daughter of former Penguins-turned-Golden Knights enforcer Ryan Reaves. Her name is Kamilla Sofia Reaves. And I’m already intimidated.

There’s not much fighting in women’s hockey. But in about 20 years, if there is, I know who I’m betting on.

Deflated Dome

The Carrier Dome was supposed to host a college basketball celebration Saturday. It was slated to be a highly anticipated day on the sports calendar. The biggest on-campus crowd in NCAA basketball history is expected to witness a rematch of the best game of the year.

The Orange upset top-ranked Duke, 95-91, in overtime Jan. 14. The rematch has been much ballyhooed for weeks. But a lot of the emotion has been sapped.

First, there’s the Zion Williamson angle. College basketball’s top player is day-to-day with a knee sprain, thanks to his shoe exploding Wednesday.

Zion's shoe: destroyed ? pic.twitter.com/LqQ2te0Jay

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 21, 2019

So he may not play.

Then there is the tragic situation surrounding Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. He struck and killed a pedestrian with his car on I-690 after the team’s win over Louisville on Wednesday.

Boeheim is said to have swerved to avoid a car that had been in a weather-related wreck and hit two pedestrians that were trying to escape to safety. One of those victims died.

To this point, no charges have been filed. An investigation is ongoing. Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner said, “It was an accident in the truest sense of the word.”

According to Syracuse.com, he also said neither Boeheim nor the other motorists appeared to have done anything wrong.

It’s unclear if Boeheim will coach in the game. ESPN has pulled out of broadcasting College Gameday live from the Dome on Saturday morning.

No shock here

Given the Williamson situation, the timing of this news shouldn’t come as a surprise. The NBA has submitted a proposal to the National Basketball Players Association to lower the draft entry age from 19 to 18.

As a result, standout freshmen such as Williamson may not have to play a year of college basketball — for free — and risk injury before turning pro.

The NBPA is expected to review the proposal Monday. The league hopes to have the new rule in place by the 2022 draft.

Campus calendar

The Pitt basketball team is off until Wednesday against Clemson. That’s good. They need some time to regroup after 10 straight losses.

Duquesne is in action, though, visiting George Mason at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Dukes are 8-5. This is a crucial stretch of games for them to close out the regular season. After the Patriots, Keith Dambrot’s bunch has St. Bonaventure, UMass, Saint Louis and Dayton.

All of those teams — except last place UMass — are tied with Duquesne in the Atlantic 10 or just a game in front of the sixth-place Dukes.

Robert Morris’ basketball team enters the weekend 9-6 after a 62-49 victory against LIU-Brooklyn on Thursday night. That’s good for a second-place tie in the NEC. The Colonials are two back of conference-leading St. Francis (Pa). Andy Toole’s players host St. Francis (Brooklyn) at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Terriers are a game behind RMU.

As for the Colonials hockey club, they visit RIT for a weekend series Friday and Saturday. Derek Schooley’s group would a love a sweep after splitting at Holy Cross last week. The Colonials haven’t had a road sweep since beating the Crusaders twice in a row during the Atlantic hockey playoffs last year.