Phil Kessel scores OT goal in milestone game

KESSEL LEADS PENGUINS TO OT VICTORY IN MILESTONE GAME

* The Penguins, who own the best home record in the League, improved to 22-3-2 (46 points) at PPG Paints Arena.
* Matt Murray made 28 saves to improve to 15-2-2 in 20 career regular-season home games, including 11-1-1 this season (2.39 GAA, .928 SV%, 1 SO).

FRIDAY'S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps
PITTSBURGH 4, Columbus 3 (OT)
DETROIT 5, NY Islanders 4
FLORIDA 2, Anaheim 1
Calgary 4, NEW JERSEY 3 (OT)
CAROLINA 2, Edmonton 1

WILD CARD RACE TIGHTENS IN EAST

The Florida Panthers (23-19-10, 56 points), Carolina Hurricanes (23-20-7, 53 points) and Detroit Red Wings (21-21-9, 51 points) all earned victories to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race, where 11 teams are separated by 10 points:
* Jonathan Huberdeau scored the game-winning goal in his season debut and Aleksander Barkov earned an assist in his return from a 15-game absence as Florida picked up its third straight victory.
* Sebastian Aho, who posted a career-high 3-1-4 on Tuesday vs. the Philadelphia Flyers, scored his second consecutive game-winning goal to lead the Hurricanes to back-to-back wins on the heels of a five-game losing streak.
* Each team tied the game twice before Danny DeKeyserscored the game-winning goal with 28.9 seconds left in regulation to help the Red Wings end a five-game slide (0-2-3). DeKeyser's decisive tally came less than two minutes after New York Islanders forward Jason Chimera, who was skating in his 1,000th NHL game, knotted the score at 4-4.

LOOSE PUCKS

Connor McDavid scored his 18th goal of the season to become the first player to hit the 60-point plateau (18-42-60). … Panthers goaltender James Reimer earned his 100th NHL victory in his first start following the birth of his daughter. … Islanders defenseman Dennis Seidenberg skated in his 800th game. … The NHL will take fans behind the scenes with NHL All-Star Access presented by Honda. The 30-minute production will premiere Monday on NBCSN in the U.S. and on Sportsnet and Sportsnet NOW in Canada. …The Colorado Avalanche and Philadelphia Flyers celebrated Hockey Is For Everyone month with local initiatives, while the Panthers celebrated Pride Night at BB&T Center.

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY'S ACTION

All Times Eastern
Washington @ Montreal, 1 p.m., SN, RDS, CSN-DC
Los Angeles @ Philadelphia, 1 p.m., NHLN, CSN-PH, FS-W
Winnipeg @ Colorado, 3 p.m., ALT, TSN3
Toronto @ Boston, 7 p.m., CBC, CITY, NESN
Ottawa @ Buffalo, 7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports, MSG-B
Anaheim @ Tampa Bay, 7 p.m., SUN, PRIME
Carolina @ NY Islanders, 7 p.m., MSG+, FS-CR
New Jersey @ Columbus, 7 p.m., FS-O, MSG
Pittsburgh @ St. Louis, 8 p.m., FS-MW, ROOT
Detroit @ Nashville, 8 p.m., FS-TN, FS-D
Chicago @ Dallas, 8 p.m., NHLN, FS-SW, WGN
Minnesota @ Vancouver, 10 p.m., CBC, SN, FS-N
Arizona @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., CSN-CA, FS-A

#

DIVISION LEADERS HIGHLIGHT FOUR-GAME HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA SLATE

Four of the 13 games Saturday will be featured on national broadcasts in Canada. The Metropolitan and Atlantic Divisions' top teams face off in a matinee when the Washington Capitals (34-11-6, 74 points) visit the Montreal Canadiens (30-15-7, 67 points). Atlantic Division rivals then face off as the Toronto Maple Leafs (23-17-9, 55 points) visit the Boston Bruins (26-22-6, 58 points) and the Ottawa Senators (27-16-6, 60 points) visit the Buffalo Sabres (20-20-10, 50 points). The broadcast concludes with the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Wild (33-12-5, 71 points) looking to add to their League-best 37 road points when they take on the Vancouver Canucks (23-22-6, 52 points).