Sidney Crosby opened the scoring with a highlight-reel one-handed goal and Nick Bonino scored the go-ahead goal with 5:29 remaining in the third period to help the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 and clinch a berth in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, their 11th consecutive postseason appearance and 32nd in franchise history.
* At 46-17-9 (101 points), the Penguins eclipsed the 100-point mark for the second straight season and third time in the last four seasons.
* Crosby has scored in three consecutive games (6-1-7) and leads the NHL with 41 goals in 66 games.
TUESDAY'S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
Ottawa 3, BOSTON 2
Pittsburgh 3, BUFFALO 1
NEW JERSEY 3, NY Rangers 2 (OT)
WASHINGTON 4, Calgary 2
Detroit 2, MONTREAL 1 (OT)
Arizona 5, TAMPA BAY 3
Carolina 4, FLORIDA 3
WINNIPEG 3, Philadelphia 2
MINNESOTA 3, San Jose 2
Vancouver 5, CHICAGO 4 (OT)
St. Louis 4, COLORADO 2
HOLTBY JOINS ELITE COMPANY IN CAPITALS VICTORY
Braden Holtby made 29 saves while Alex Ovechkin (1-2-3) and Nick Backstrom (0-3-3) each had three points to help the League-leading Washington Capitals (47-17-8, 102 points) extend their point streak to four games (3-0-1).
* Holtby played in his 300th regular-season NHL game and improved to 186-71-31 with a 2.31 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and 31 shutouts. His 186 wins are the second-most by an NHL goaltender through his first 300 games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau:
Most wins through first 300 games, NHL history
193 - Ken Dryden
186 - Braden Holtby
177 - Andy Moog
177 - Chris Osgood
* Backstrom has seven assists in his past two games (0-7-7) and his 57 assists this season are tied for the League lead with Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.
OTHER PLAYOFF HOPEFULS SECURE WINS
The Minnesota Wild (44-22-6, 94 points), Ottawa Senators (40-24-8, 88 points) and St. Louis Blues (39-28-5, 83 points) each secured wins to improve their chances of clinching a playoff berth:
* Devan Dubnyk made 21 saves to help the Wild snap a five-game slide (0-5-0) and reinforce their hold on second place in the Central Division. Dubnyk improved to 37-18-3 with a 2.17 GAA, .927 save percentage and five shutouts and matched the single-season Wild record for wins by a goaltender, set by Niklas Backstrom in 2008-09.
* Kyle Turris (2-0-2) had his second multigoal game of the season as the Senators snapped a four-game slide (0-2-2). The Senators reached the 40-win mark for the first time since 2014-15 and increased their lead to six points on the Boston Bruins (38-29-6, 82 points) for second place in the Atlantic Division.
* Patrik Berglund (2-0-2) had his fourth multigoal game of the season as the Blues moved to 8-1-0 in their past nine games, including three consecutive wins. They moved ahead of the Nashville Predators (36-25-11, 83 points) to reclaim third place in the Central Division.
LOOSE PUCKS
Anthony Mantha scored a highlight-reel goal in the final minute of overtime to guide the Detroit Red Wings to victory. … The Carolina Hurricanes overcame three one-goal deficits to extend their point streak to eight games (5-0-3). … Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele each had a goal and two assists to lead the Winnipeg Jets to their third consecutive win. … Daniel Sedin (1-1-2) scored his 15th regular-season NHL overtime goal as the Vancouver Canucks snapped a six-game losing streak (0-4-2). … Capitals forward T.J. Oshie (1-0-1) reached the 30-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career. … Victor Hedman (15-45-60) scored to become the third Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman ever to reach the 60-point mark in a season. … Arizona Coyotes forward Christian Fischer (1-0-1) has scored three goals through the first four games of his NHL career (3-0-3). … Elias Lindholm (3-6-9 in 8 GP), Jonathan Toews (3-3-6 in 5 GP) and Pavel Zacha (0-5-5 in 5 GP) each extended point streaks. … Jets defenseman Nelson Nogier made his NHL debut. … The Columbus Blue Jackets signed forwards Markus Hannikainen and Lukas Sedlak as well as defenseman Scott Harrington to two-year contract extensions. … New Jersey Devils forward John Quenneville (1-1-2) scored the first goal of his NHL career in his sixth game and assisted on Joseph Blandisi's overtime goal.
SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY'S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Toronto @ Columbus, 7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports, FS-O, NHL.TV
NY Islanders @ NY Rangers, 8 p.m., NBCSN, NHL.TV
Edmonton @ Anaheim, 10 p.m., PRIME, SNW, NHL.TV
BATTLE OF NEW YORK FEATURED ON RIVALRY NIGHT
The New York Rangers (45-24-4, 94 points) host the New York Islanders (33-26-12, 78 points) on NBCSN's Wednesday Night Rivalry. The Rangers occupy the first wild card from the Eastern Conference and look to snap a six-game slide at Madison Square Garden (0-4-2). Meanwhile, the Islanders are three points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs (33-23-15, 81 points) for the final wild card from the East.
- NHL Public Relations
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