Friday’s “First Call” is dedicated entirely to a wild night in the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference.
And there was a lot of impact on the Penguins.
Some of it helped. Some of it didn’t.
First and foremost, the Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres for the first time this year, topping them 4-2 on the road. Patric Hornqvist was the engine with two goals.
UPDATED: Patric Hornqvist has points in eight of his last nine games against the Sabres (*7G*-6A), which includes *four* multi-point efforts. His points-per-game average against Buffalo is his highest vs. any one team. pic.twitter.com/VPoQwDZqbR
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 6, 2020
That makes 13 points in his last nine games against the Sabres. It also gives the Penguins two straight wins after six consecutive losses. And it improves the Penguins’ point total to 84.
That’s good for sole possession of third place in the Metro, the last automatic qualifying berth in the division. They are three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals, who woke up Friday tied for first place with 87 points after a crazy Thursday evening.
The Capitals lost to the New York Rangers, 6-5, in overtime. New York’s Mika Zibanejad stunned the crowd at Madison Square Garden, scoring five of the goals.
Including the game-winner.
Do we believe it? YES WE DO.@MikaZibanejad scores No. 5 of the night in @EASPORTSNHL OT. pic.twitter.com/GgQqPtRsQ9
— NHL (@NHL) March 6, 2020
Zibanejad is the first player since Winnipeg Jets star Patrick Laine in November 2018 to net five goals. Prior to Laine, the most recent player to do that was Johan Franzen of the Detroit Red Wings in 2011.
And that’s not it when it comes to some pretty impressive numbers surrounding Zibanejad’s big night.
Context on Mika Zibanejad's FIVE GOALS for the @NYRangers :
1st Rangers player to score 4+ goals since 2011
2nd player in NHL history to score 5 goals with an OT winner
3rd player in Rangers history with a 5-goal game
4th player in NHL history to score a goal in all 4 periods pic.twitter.com/kQpmAZx2zS
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 6, 2020
While the Capitals were getting one point in an overtime loss, the Flyers were pulling into a first-place tie thanks to two points via a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. They now have a 40-27-7 record, identical to the Capitals.
Philly got four goals from four goal scorers, including Michael Raffl.
All gas. No brakes. #CARvsPHI | #NowOrNever pic.twitter.com/1mD5B9PDQa
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 6, 2020
The Flyers have won eight in a row. And life has no meaning anymore.
Meanwhile, that Rangers win and the Carolina loss mean that the Rangers are now the last team out of the playoffs in ninth place with 76 points. The Hurricanes fall to 10th with 75, having dropped four straight.
Columbus and the Islanders still hold the wild-card spots. The Blue Jackets are in seventh place with 79 points. They were idle Thursday. The Islanders blew a chance to catch or pass them by losing 4-3 in regulation to the Ottawa Senators, thanks in part to Mikkel Boedker.
Backhander on the PK and we're tied again.
GOAL: Boedker (2) SHG
ASSIST: Tierney (26) pic.twitter.com/Mo7r9l86z1— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 6, 2020
The Islanders have lost five in a row, three in regulation.
Meanwhile in the Atlantic Division, the Boston Bruins won a fourth straight game. They beat the Florida Panthers, 2-1, and now have an NHL-best 98 points. The Tampa Bay Lightning kept pace, blanking the Montreal Canadiens behind a 32-save shutout from Andrei Vasilevskiy.
A splendid 32/32 for Andrei Vasilevskiy's @pepsi shutout. pic.twitter.com/NF3t2AvQWr
— NHL (@NHL) March 6, 2020
The Bolts have 89 points in second place. As for the third-place Toronto Maple Leafs, they have 79 points after losing 1-0 in a shootout against the Los Angeles Kings.
So here is your up-to-date playoff picture, with the Capitals holding the tiebreaker over Philadelphia by virtue of one extra ROW (regulation plus overtime wins).
Metropolitan Division
1. Capitals (87 points)
2. Flyers (87 points)
3. Penguins (84 points)
Atlantic Division
1. Bruins (98 points)
2. Lightning (89 points)
3. Maple Leafs (79 points)
Wild-card race
7. Blue Jackets (79 points)
8. Islanders (78 points)
9. Rangers (76 points)
10. Hurricanes (75 points)
The Penguins host the Capitals at 1 p.m. Saturday and the Hurricanes at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
