Blackhawks Daily: Penguins Surge Their Way Into A Playoff Spot

Connor Bedard had a great day on Saturday in the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars. He scored a goal while taking third star of the game honors. However, his biggest idol had an even more productive day and his performance is taking the hockey world by storm.

36-year-old Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins is having one of the best seasons of his NHL career in the goal-scoring department. To open up Saturday’s game over the Tampa Bay Lightning, he scored to make it 1-0 This was his 40th goal of the season.

Other Hall of Famers like Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson had big games, which led to the Penguins taking a 4-1 lead into the third period. To fit the game’s theme, Tampa Bay’s Hall of Famers got going in the third period as Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and Victor Hedman all had some points in their effort to come back and tie it up.

At 14:32 of the third period, Michael Bunting made a name for himself in Pittsburgh by scoring a clutch goal to put the Penguins back on top. They held on to win 5-4 which pushed them back into a playoff spot for the first time in a while.

They were sellers at the trade deadline but came back in the standings. It has been a remarkable run by a core who has done it all in this league. Following the game, they needed some help from a few others to stay in that playoff spot.

The New York Islanders won their game over the Nashville Predators so that kept the Penguins in a Wild Card spot rather than being in the third Metropolitan Division spot.

All eyes turned to the Philadelphia Flyers after the Penguins won and it didn’t go well in the City of Brotherly Love. They were beaten badly by the Columbus Blue Jackets who are one of the NHL’s bottom feeders right now. Philly is officially on the outside looking in while the Penguins are above the line.

The New Jersey Devils also took care of their business against the Ottawa Senators. They are a long shot to take this spot from the Penguins but they are only five points back. It would take a miracle but they have a chance.

The Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and Washington Capitals were all idle on Saturday but they will have a chance to grab two points in their games on Sunday.

Whoever makes it into that final Eastern Conference Wild Card spot is going to enter the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league which could be dangerous for whoever they play. In the final few games of the season, there are going to be some intense matchups with a lot on the line as a result of this madness.

Blackhawks In Case You Missed It

• The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of confidence in themselves right now. Postgame chatte hears how March and April are a lot closer to what they expected to be.
• The reboot of Lukas Reichel was on full display Saturday night–especially on the dazzling play he made that led to Andreas Athanasiou’s first goal of the season.
• Amazing plays by Connor Bedard, Lukas Reichel, Petr Mrazek, and Seth Jones amongst others allowed the Blackhawks to stun the Dallas Stars which ended their eight-game winning streak.
• Gavin Hayes and Nick Lardis are going to be very helpful players within this organization. It is only a matter of time before they impact the NHL squad.

Hockey Now Playoff Focus

• Boston Hockey Now: The Boston Bruins have expanded their lead in the Atlantic Divison with their big win over the Florida Panthers.
• Vegas Hockey Now: The Vegas Golden Knights overlooked the Arizona Coyotes and let them get a big win. Arizona is a gritty young team but Vegas should have been able to handle their business against them.
• Colorado Hockey Now: The Colorado Avalanche lost more than just the hockey game on Friday night as Mikko Rantanen went down with an injury.
• Montreal Hockey Now: The Montreal Canadiens may have lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs but some of their young stars sure looked good anyway.