04/04/26 06:57:00
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04/04 18:55 CDT Malkin collects 14th career hat trick, Penguins rout Panthers
9-4 to end Florida's bid for a 3-peat
Malkin collects 14th career hat trick, Penguins rout Panthers 9-4 to end
Florida's bid for a 3-peat
PITTSBURGH (AP) --- Evgeni Malkin collected his 14th career hat trick and added
an assist to become the 23rd player in NHL history to reach 1,400 career
points, and the Pittsburgh Penguins routed the Florida Panthers 9-4 on Saturday
to eliminate the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions from playoff
contention.
The Panthers began the season hoping to become the first team since the New
York Islanders of the early 1980s to win three straight championships. It never
came close to happening as injuries and shaky play in net sent them tumbling to
the bottom of the standings early in the season, a hole from which they never
fully recovered.
While Florida will miss the playoffs for the first time in four years,
Pittsburgh is inching toward a return to the postseason after three straight
absences.
The Penguins strengthened their hold on second in the Metropolitan Division by
blitzing the Panthers during the first half of the second period, pouring in
four goals in less than 10 minutes.
Anthony Mantha broke a 2-2 tie with his 31st goal of the season just 1:51 into
the second. Malkin then beat Sergei Bobrovsky twice in less than 3 minutes to
create more than enough breathing room.
Erik Karlsson had a goal and three assists for Pittsburgh. Noel Acciari and
Elmer Soderblom added a goal and an assist. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
picked up a pair of assists to move past Hall of Famer and childhood idol Steve
Yzerman and into seventh place on the NHL's all-time scoring list (1,756).
Artur Silovs stopped 19 shots for the Penguins and had little work to do after
Pittsburgh chased Bobrovsky following Soderblom's third goal in 15 games since
being acquired in a trade with Detroit.
Up next
The teams meet again on Sunday at PPG Paints Arena in a rare back-to-back at
the same venue.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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