Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 Toronto Maple Leafs
The Pittsburgh Penguins improved to 12-13-4 after a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs (16-9-2) at home. However, the scoreline is a bit misleading, with the Penguins' final two goals coming at the end when the Leafs pulled their goaltender.
It took the hosts four minutes and 39 seconds in the first period to go in front courtesy of a goal from Richard Rakell, his 11th of the year. The lead seldom lasted long, as just two minutes later, Mitchell Marner (10) drew the Leafs level. In what was an even contest for most of the game, Pittsburgh went back in front through Bryan Rust with 5:45 to go in the opening stanza.
Toronto came out in the second period in search of another leveller, which did not take long to happen. Two and a half minutes into the period, William Nylander (17) scored the team's second goal of the game to tie things up again. The rest of the period did not have any more goals, but the game was quite evenly matched.
The game's winner came five and a half minutes into the third period through Michael Bunting (6) on a power play. Falling behind once more, the Leafs tried to get another goal to tie the game up once more, but unfortunately, it never came. In the final minute of the game, Pittsburgh got empty net goals from Blake Lizotte (6) and Kris Letang (5) to seal the win.
The Leafs are two points behind the Florida Panthers in the Atlantic Division, with this latest defeat being their second on the spin. They will return to action on Tuesday when head to New Jersey to face the Devils. For the Penguins, it is a fifth win in six, as they are now level with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Next for them is another home match, also on Tuesday, as the Colorado Avalanche pay them a visit.
Montreal Canadiens 2-4 Washington Capitals
In Montreal, the Washington Capitals (19-6-2) got past the Montreal Canadiens (10-14-3) 4-2. They had to come from behind though, as the Habs went up by two goals in the first period through Alex Newhook (6) and Cole Caufield. The latter leads his team with 17 goals in the year.
It was a struggle for the Caps to turn things around, but they started off the second period perfectly, as Pierre Luc Dubois (4) got the team's first goal just 33 seconds into the period. That was the Caps' only goal of the period, although they had just eight shots in the 20 minutes.
Things changed in the third period, as Tom Wilson levelled the score at the 7:10 mark, before putting his side ahead with 8:11 to play. The two goals put Wilson on 11 for the year. Dylan Strome (9) capped off the scoring with 6:11 left in the game to give Washington their sixth win in their last seven.
The Canadiens remain bottom of the Eastern Conference, as their two-game winning streak comes to and end. As for the Capitals, they now lead the conference outright, two points ahead of the Devils.
Across some of the other games to take place during what was a very busy Saturday, the Los Angeles Kings (16-8-3) got past the Minnesota Wild (18-5-4) by a 4-1 scoreline, the Ottawa Senators (12-12-2) topped the Nasvhille Predators (7-15-6), and the Winnipeg Jets (20-8-0) defeated the Chicago Blackhawks (8-17-2) 4-2.