This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Pittsburgh • Sidney Crosby scored a pair of highlight-reel goals and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied past the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory.

Crosby beat Eddie Lack with a slick backhander in the first and added a redirect from his knees in the second to extend his points streak to 10 consecutive games as Pittsburgh strengthened its grip on seventh in the crowded Eastern Conference playoff race. Phil Kessel had a goal and an assist and Nick Bonino picked up his fifth of the year. Rookie Matt Murray shook off a slow start to finish with 31 saves.

Phillip Di Giuseppe and Riley Nash scored for the Hurricanes. Lack made 44 stops for the Hurricanes, but their postseason hopes took a significant hit after letting an early two-goal lead get away. Carolina is winless in its past three and sits five points behind surging Philadelphia in the race for the two wild-card spots in the East.

With a trip across the state to take on the streaking Flyers awaiting on Saturday, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan opted to rest Marc-Andre Fleury and give the start to Murray, who hadn't played since March 6. The wispy 21-year-old received little help from his teammates in the opening minutes, as Carolina wasted little time taking control.

Di Giuseppe took advantage of a turnover by Pittsburgh's Chris Kunitz to float a shot between Murray's legs 42 seconds into the game and Nash doubled it less than five minutes later when Jeff Skinner set up behind the net and hit Nash in the slot. Nash's wrist shot zipped by Murray's right leg and the Penguins appeared in serious trouble.

Devils 7, Wild 4 • In Newark, N.J., Devante Smith-Pelly, Mike Sislo and Adam Henrique scored two goals apiece and New Jersey had its best offensive performance of the season in its victory over Minnesota.

Panthers 4, Maple Leafs 1 • At Toronto, Jussi Jokinen scored two strange goals to help lift Florida to a win over the Maple Leafs. Jokinen wasn't attempting to score on either goal against the Maple Leafs, with two passing attempts pinging off Toronto sticks and beating Jonathan Bernier, who made his third straight start in goal.

Predators 4, Islanders 2 • In Nashville, Tenn., James Neal and Ryan Johansen each scored a goal and added an assist to lead Nashville over New York. Ryan Ellis and Austin Watson also scored for Nashville.

Red Wings 3, Blue Jackets 1 • In Columbus, Ohio, Henrik Zetterberg and Darren Helm scored in the third period to lead Detroit over Columbus. —

NHL standings

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Florida 71 40 22 9 89 202 172

Boston 71 39 24 8 86 215 191

Tampa Bay 70 40 25 5 85 191 167

Detroit 71 35 25 11 81 179 187

Ottawa 71 33 30 8 74 205 220

Montreal 71 33 32 6 72 191 200

Buffalo 71 28 33 10 66 169 193

Toronto 70 24 35 11 59 165 206

Metropolitan Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

x-Wshington 69 50 14 5 105 221 161

N.Y. Rangers 70 40 23 7 87 199 182

N.Y. Islanders 69 38 22 9 85 196 174

Pittsburgh 70 38 24 8 84 194 176

Philadelphia 69 34 23 12 80 181 185

New Jersey 71 34 30 7 75 161 182

Carolina 71 31 27 13 75 173 192

Columbus 70 28 34 8 64 181 218

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Dallas 71 41 21 9 91 229 208

St. Louis 72 41 22 9 91 191 185

Chicago 71 41 24 6 88 197 176

Nashville 71 36 22 13 85 196 181

Colorado 71 36 31 4 76 191 199

Minnesota 71 32 28 11 75 188 182

Winnipeg 70 29 36 5 63 182 209

Pacific Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Los Angeles 69 42 22 5 89 190 156

Anaheim 69 38 22 9 85 175 162

San Jose 69 39 24 6 84 206 181

Arizona 69 30 32 7 67 185 211

Vancouver 69 27 30 12 66 167 200

Calgary 70 30 35 5 65 193 218

Edmonton 73 28 38 7 63 177 216

NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.

x-clinched playoff spot

Thursday's games

New Jersey 7, Minnesota 4

Pittsburgh 4, Carolina 2

Detroit 3, Columbus 1

Florida 4, Toronto 1

Nashville 4, N.Y. Islanders 2

Tampa Bay at Dallas, late

San Jose at Arizona, late

N.Y. Rangers at Los Angeles, late

Friday's games

Ottawa at Buffalo, 5 p.m.

Nashville at Washington, 5 p.m.

Chicago at Winnipeg, 6 p.m.

Colorado at Calgary, 7 p.m.

Vancouver at Edmonton, 7 p.m.

Boston at Anaheim, 8 p.m.