Malkin is dragging Pittsburgh into the playoffs! He played the best game of the year and beat an NHL legend.
Dmitry Storozhev April 3, 2024, 07:55 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The Penguins took advantage of Washington’s miss and moved closer to the eight in the East Cup.
In Newark, two teams met that, in theory, still had a chance to make the playoffs, although they were a decent distance from the eight in the Cup: the Devils, who scored 76 points after 74 games, received their neighbors from the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Division, which for the same number of games scored one more point. The “Penguins” and the “Devils” separated themselves from the wild cards by five and six points respectively: the victory in the head-to-head confrontation and the defeat of Washington in the parallel match increased the rivals’ chances of clinging to the coveted place. The Capitals kept their end of the “deal”: they lost badly to Buffalo. Therefore, the Prudential Center determined who would pursue Ovechkin and Co.
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Pittsburgh took an early lead thanks to the efforts of a player who was expected to be the Penguins’ X-factor in the fight for a playoff spot this year: Erik Karlsson made his ninth shot of the season, taking advantage of a poor defensive effort . by the Demons. » move the puck out of your zone.
However, at the end of the second period, the Penguins’ position turned out to be much worse: New Jersey recovered at the end of the opening third, and in the second they were able to take the lead and even double the lead. 3:1 at the end of 40 minutes.
The team’s Russian forward Evgeniy Malkin helped the guests restore balance. Gino received a “plus” for his presence on the ice during Karlsson’s goal, and midway through the final twenty minutes he participated in two consecutive Pittsburgh goals. First, he helped Sidney Crosby score on the power play (Malkin could have completed Brian Rust’s pass himself, but he didn’t actually hit the puck) and a minute later he still turned on the red light behind the Devils’ goal , kicking without realizing it. album after the release of Jake Sant. Ivani.
The assist was Evgeniy’s 794th in the NHL; By this measure, he surpassed Montreal legend Guy Lefleur and ranked 35th in league history. The next milestone is Jari Kurri, who Malkin is only separated by three assists.
After this, Pittsburgh’s mood improved significantly: the Penguins, right at the end of regulation time, were able to score again and snatch the victory from the Devils, who had apparently stopped playing. In 51 seconds, three goals were scored in the Devils’ goal: Rickard Rakell and Malkin himself scored while Jake Allen was present, who today missed 5 of 20 shots on goal, and once again Sidney Crosby took advantage of a goalkeeper substitution ” New Jersey” for the sixth outfielder.
You can watch the video on the official NHL website. Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP.
Malkin had his best game in at least 2024, scoring more than two points in a game for the second time this season. To his three points score he added “+4”: Evgeniy leads the team at the most important moment of the season. He helped make playoff access more realistic for Pittsburgh: with seven games left in the regular season, just three points separate it from Washington.
At the same time, the Penguins still have to play with direct competitors for the wild card: they will face the Capitals, Detroit and the Islanders. It seems that nothing has been decided yet in this race.
