The Pittsburgh Penguins scored early and often in Sunday’s 6-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.
Evgeni Malkin got the party started with his power play goal at the 9:14 mark of the first period before Matt Cullen extended the lead to 2-0 just 38 seconds later. Malkin added another goal in the second period.
Pittsburgh also got some welcomed production from their lesser known forwards. Bryan Rust (one goal, two assists), Nick Bonino (one goal, one assist) and Scott Wilson (goal) did their part.
The win (combined with Detroit’s loss to Chicago) allows Pittsburgh to move ahead of the Red Wings and into the first Wild Card spot. The Penguins are five points clear of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Here’s an updated look at the Wild Card standings:
This game also had some rough stuff, as Jordin Tootoo landed a few good shots on Tom Sestito.
As if the embarrassing loss wasn’t enough, the Devils were dealt another blow on Sunday night. According to head coach John Hynes, goaltender Cory Schneider has been diagnosed with an MCL spain. He’ll be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Hynes said Schneider had a Grade 1 MCL sprain and will be reevaluated in 2 weeks
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) March 7, 2016
The Devils aren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but it would take a heck of a run for them to sneak in.