Columbus 5, Pittsburgh 3
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 4, 2015
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Referees:
Greg Kimmerly, Brian Pochmara
Linesmen:
Tim Nowak, Shandor Alphonso
Attendance:
18513
By SportsDirect Inc.
Blue Jackets 5, Penguins 3: Nick Foligno recorded his first career hat trick as Columbus rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat visiting Pittsburgh for its franchise-record ninth consecutive victory.
Foligno reached 30 goals for the first time in his career, Scott Hartnell and Matt Calvert also scored and Brandon Dubinsky notched three assists for the Blue Jackets. Marko Dano set up two goals and Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 33 shots for his 12th win in his last 13 decisions.
Captain Sidney Crosby recorded a goal to extend his point streak to five games while Brandon Sutter and defenseman Ben Lovejoy also tallied for the Penguins, who dropped to 3-7-1 in their last 11 contests. Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves for Eastern Conference wild card-leading Pittsburgh, which is even in points with Boston and trails Washington by two for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Crosby scored from just above the crease after receiving a tap-pass from Patric Hornqvist 8:21 into the game to open the scoring and Sutter doubled the advantage at 11:07 of the second from the bottom of the left faceoff circle. Foligno converted a nifty pass from Dubinsky with 3:35 left in the session and Calvert tied it just 2:03 later by knocking in his own rebound.
Foligno snapped the tie by flipping the rebound of Dubinsky’s shot past Fleury 6:46 into the third and Hartnell tapped in a loose puck during a scramble less than three minutes later to increase the lead to 4-2. Lovejoy answered with a slap shot at 10:10, but Foligno capped his hat trick with an empty-net tally in the final minute to seal it.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Pittsburgh C Evgeni Malkin missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury but reportedly could play Sunday at Philadelphia. … Dano has registered 11 points in his last 11 games. … Penguins D Ian Cole notched a pair of assists for his first multi-point performance of the season. … Columbus C Ryan Johansen saw his nine-game point streak come to an end.
Top Game Performances
| Pittsburgh |
|
Columbus |
|
Ian Cole 2 |
Points |
Nick Foligno 3 |
|
Sidney Crosby 1 |
Goals |
Nick Foligno 3 |
|
Ian Cole 2 |
Assists |
Brandon Dubinsky 3 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Marc-Andre Fleury .882 |
Save Percentage |
Sergei Bobrovsky .917 |
|
Marc-Andre Fleury 30 |
Saves |
Sergei Bobrovsky 33 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Pittsburgh
|
36 |
3 |
0-3 |
3-3 |
6 |
31 |
| Columbus
|
35 |
5 |
0-3 |
3-3 |
6 |
36 |
Upcoming Games
-
Columbus will play their next game on the road against NY Rangers. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .615 after a win and .385 after a loss.
-
Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Penguins have a W/L % of .535 after a win and .543 after a loss.
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