Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Where: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees:
Eric Furlatt, Francois St.Laurent
Linesmen:
Derek Amell, David Brisebois
Attendance:
18620
By SportsDirect Inc.
Penguins 4, Red Wings 3 (SO): Jussi Jokinen scored in regulation before netting a fluke goal in the shootout to lift host Pittsburgh over Detroit, which clinched a playoff spot for a record 23rd consecutive season.
Jokinen lost control of the puck and, as he tried to pull it back, it hit the stick of Jonas Gustavsson (21 saves) and popped over the netminder to give the Penguins only their second win in six home games. James Neal scored a pair of power-play goals and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 34 shots before making an acrobatic save on Daniel Alfredsson in the bonus format as Pittsburgh prevailed in defenseman Kris Letang's first game since suffering a stroke on Jan. 29.
Riley Sheahan scored the tying goal with 1:15 left in regulation while Tomas Jurco and blue-liner Jakub Kindl also tallied for Detroit, which is even in points with Columbus for the two wild cards in the Eastern Conference. With the Red Wings and Blue Jackets claiming the final two playoff spots, Washington and New Jersey were eliminated from postseason contention.
Letang, playing his first game in 10 weeks, helped put the Penguins ahead midway through the third by rushing down the right side before unleashing a shot that got behind Gustavsson, leading to an easy tap-in for Jokinen. The Red Wings secured a point - and a playoff berth - when Sheahan tipped in defenseman Niklas Kronwall's shot from the right point to force overtime.
Neal sandwiched his tallies around Kindl's goal to forge a 2-2 tie after two periods, deking Gustavsson with a backhander off a feed from captain Sidney Crosby, who drew four defenders to him. Fleury had no chance on Kindl's blast after Tomas Tatar collided with Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik and crashed into the netminder, but Neal tied it with 3:18 left in the session with a slap shot from the left faceoff circle that deflected off Detroit blue-liner Danny DeKeyser.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Letang, a Norris Trophy finalist last season, received a standing ovation in his return from a 26-game absence. Doctors subsequently discovered a small hole in his heart, but it's uncertain if that contributed to the stroke. ... Alfredsson's assist on Jurco's opening goal gave him 69 points in 67 career games against Pittsburgh. ... Crosby returned to the lineup - along with LW Chris Kunitz and Ds Orpik and Olli Maatta - after a one-game absence and collected his 67th assist and 103rd point - both league highs - while Ds Paul Martin and Matt Niskanen each notched two assists.
Top Game Performances
Detroit |
|
Pittsburgh |
Tomas Jurco 1 |
Points |
James Neal 2 |
Tomas Jurco 1 |
Goals |
James Neal 2 |
Daniel Alfredsson 1 |
Assists |
Paul Martin 2 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
James Neal 2 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Jonas Gustavsson .875 |
Save Percentage |
Marc-Andre Fleury .919 |
Jonas Gustavsson 21 |
Saves |
Marc-Andre Fleury 34 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Detroit
|
37 |
3 |
0-2 |
2-4 |
8 |
20 |
Pittsburgh
|
24 |
4 |
2-4 |
2-2 |
4 |
35 |
Upcoming Games
-
Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Penguins have a W/L % of .627 after a win and .655 after a loss.
-
Detroit will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .474 after a win and .476 after a loss.