MICHAEL MATHESON

Filip Chytil scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and the New York Rangers staved off elimination with a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to become the sixth player in NHL history to reach 200 career playoff points and the Pittsburgh Penguins throttled the New York Rangers 7-2 to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Artemi Panarin and Frank Vatrano each had a goal and two assists and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 in Game 2 on Thursday night to even the best-of-seven first-round series.

Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and the Colorado Avalanche clinched a playoff spot with a 6-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguin.

Tristan Jarry had 26 saves, Danton Heinen and Brian Boyle scored early second-period goals, and the short-handed Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 in the regular-season opener.

The Pittsburgh Penguins say the NHL's COVID-19 protocols may have helped their march to a division title.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are happy but not satisfied after clinching a 15th straight playoff berth.

Tristan Jarry stopped 27 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins jumped into second place in the East Division standings with a 3-2 win over Buffalo, eliminating the Sabres from playoff contention.

Kapanen scored two goals and the Penguins defeated the Flyers 5-2 on Tuesday night. Penguins’ players raised their sticks and saluted the fans in attendance following the win. Following a scoreless first period, Farabee and Kapanen scored 1:07 apart to open the second period. The Flyers will welcome fans back to the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday against Washington. The Penguins scored three goals and outshot the Flyers 13-3 to start the second period.

(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)PITTSBURGH – It was one special day for Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby — from the beginning to the very end. Crosby had two assists in his 1,000th NHL game, and the Penguins beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Saturday night. “Every win is good, but to get it for (Crosby) on his 1,000th game is special,” Letang said. Crosby entered his 1,000th game with the eighth-most points in NHL history through 1,000 games. 87 jersey to recognize their captain before his 1,000th NHL game.

DeSmith figured Ovechkin would try to fire one past him rather than deke his way to the net. DeSmith stayed upright as Ovechkin closed in and felt the familiar smack of rubber hitting him and not the net. “I thought our guys played hard in the second and third against a really good team,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. While Sullivan remains confident Jarry will be fine, he turned to DeSmith to help get Pittsburgh going. Washington went 1 for 4 on the power play, a tap-in goal by Backstrom in the second that gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead.

The 10th-seeded Panthers trail the best-of-five series 2-1 with Game 4 at the NHL's Eastern Conference hub city of Toronto on Friday. Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Brock Nelson, with 1:27 remaining, scored for the Islanders, the East's seventh seed. The Panthers scored first for the second straight game, with Haulas power-play goal 4:02 into the second period. NOTES: The game was Panthers first as the home team since 4-1 win against Montreal at Florida on March 7. The Islanders made no lineup changes from Game 2, while Panthers D Mike Matheson was scratched after picking up four of the Panthers 10 minor penalties this series.

TORONTO, ONT Jordan Eberle scored twice, including the go-ahead goal, and the New York Islanders rallied to a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers and take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five NHL preliminary round playoff series on Tuesday. The Islanders particularly took advantage of the Panthers' undisciplined play by scoring twice on seven power-play chances. Weve got to play with some composure in those pivotal moments, said Panthers first-year coach and three-time Stanley Cup champion Joel Quenneville. Florida is making its first playoff appearance since 2016, when the Panthers were eliminated by the Islanders in six games. Set up in the left circle, Eberle patiently waited for defenseman Brady Keeper to go down and attempt to block the shot.

TORONTO, ONT Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots and the New York Islanders opened their best-of-five playoff series with a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday in the NHLs return following a 4 1/2-month break. Islanders trade deadline addition Jean-Gabriel Pageau opened the scoring re-directing in Derick Brassards centering pass 12 minutes into the game. The Islanders beat Florida for the fifth straight time, dating to the 2018-19 regular season, and continued keeping the high-scoring Panthers in check. NOTES: Panthers Joel Quenneville coached his 216th career playoff game, which ranks second on the all-time list. This is the second playoff meeting after the Islanders eliminated the Panthers in six games of a first-round series in 2016.