Buddy Robinson broke a third-period tie and Andreas Athanasiou scored 26 seconds later to lift the visiting Chicago Blackhawks to a stunning 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
The Penguins (40-31-10, 90 points) had control of their playoff destiny prior to the defeat. Now they sit one point behind the New York Islanders (41-31-9, 91 points) in the battle for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
Pittsburgh, looking to extend its streak to 17 straight years in the postseason, conclude the season Thursday on the road against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Islanders finish with a Wednesday home game against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Florida Panthers (42-31-8, 92 points) have clinched one of the East’s two wild-card berths.
The Blackhawks (26-49-6, 58 points) pulled out of last place overall in the NHL, a position that would give them the best shot at winning the draft lottery for the top pick.
Connor Murphy, Tyler Johnson and MacKenzie Entwistle also scored for the Blackhawks, who had lost three in a row and 11 of 12.
Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek stopped 38 shots.
Evgeni Malkin and Danton Heinen scored and Jeff Petry had two assists for the Penguins, who had won two in a row.
Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry made 22 saves.
On the Blackhawks’ first shot of the second period, Murphy made it 1-0 at 8:04. Austin Wagner, from near the bottom of the right circle, fed Murphy at the right point. Murphy’s one-timer went through traffic, off the near post and behind Jarry.
Pittsburgh tied on its 33rd shot, at 5:28 of the third. On a power play, Rickard Rakell sent a pass from the right point. Malkin, with Murphy draped on his back, tipped the puck past Mrazek’s left skate.
At 10:22, Robinson made it 2-1. The puck hit him in the side and landed at his feet in the slot. He swept it over Jarry’s glove for his first goal of the season.
Athanasiou followed at 10:48 to increase it to 3-1. He swooped in on Jarry, who stopped his shot as the puck went toward the end boards. Athanasiou got his rebound and banked the puck in off Jarry.
Johnson added an empty-netter with 1:24 left, and Heinen scored on rebound with Jarry pulled with 37.4 seconds left.
Entwistle logged another empty-net goal with 23 seconds remaining.
–Field Level Media
