NHL: two very big points for the Penguins

BETTING À DAY

The Pittsburgh Penguins made sure they stayed in the playoff picture by muzzling the Nashville Predators 2-0 Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.

Thanks in their victory over the Montreal Canadiens, the Florida Panthers momentarily grabbed second place among the teams drafted in the East. The “Pens” remedied this by adding the victory to their record, regaining a one-point lead over the Panthers while having a game in hand.

If he has often been criticized for his inconsistency this season, Tristan Jarry responded to the duel of the day. The British Columbian goaltender signed a 114th victory in his 200th career game by repelling each of the 28 attempts of the “Preds”.

California forward Jason Zucker opened the scoring in the second period. He took advantage of the great patience of his teammate Brian Dumoulin, who drew two opposing players before serving him a perfect pass.

Jake Guentzel is on fire, these days, and it was he who sealed the outcome of the match in the third period. He redirected a precise relay from Rickard Rakell into the back of the net on a massive attack, scoring a 10th goal in his last 13 games.

The Tennessee team was thus unable to get closer to the Jets of Winnipeg and the last place giving access to the spring ball in the West.

The loss of the Predators also formalized the participation of the Vegas Golden Knights in the playoffs.

The Bruins President

At TD Garden, the Boston Bruins secured the Presidents' Trophy by defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 in overtime.

David Pastrnak ー who else ー carried the fatal blow to the surprising visitors in overtime. He scored his 53rd goal of the campaign by beating Michael Hutchinson at top speed on a breakaway.

The Jackets, who are among the most serious contenders for the Connor Bedard derby, have managed to complicate the task of the “Oursons”. They even led on the scoreboard for half the game, thanks to Jack Roslovic's net in the first period.

Well positioned in front of the net, Tyler Bertuzzi tied the game by redirecting a perfect pass from Pavel Zacha. It's only his second goal in 14 games with the mighty Bruins.

A preview of the playoffs?

At the Prudential Center, the Devils of New Jersey edged the New York Rangers 2-1 in a game that could serve as a preview for the first round of the playoffs.

Indeed, if the post-season tournament begins on Friday , the two neighboring teams would cross swords in the first round. And one thing is certain, this confrontation promises.

Timo Meier scored the winning goal at the end of the first period. He accepted a throw from Jack Hughes and fired a hard one-timer on the power play.

Erik Haula had opened the scoring moments earlier.

Chris Kreider replied for the Blueshirts, who have otherwise been frustrated 24 times by Vitek Vanecek.