PENGUINS, RED WINGS RALLY FOR CRUCIAL WINS IN EASTERN PLAYOFF RACE

Down 1-0 to their cross-state rivals, the Penguins scored four unanswered goals en route to their fifth straight win. Sidney Crosby (0-2—2) extended his point streak to 11 games (6-12—18) and ranks third in the NHL with 31-43—74 this season. Marc-Andre Fleury (16 saves) picked up his fourth straight win. At 39-24-8 (86 points), the Penguins leapfrogged the Islanders (38-23-9, 85 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Trailing the Panthers 3-1, the Red Wings scored four unanswered goals to pick up their fourth victory in their last six contests (4-2-0). Pavel Datsyuk (2-0—2) registered his third multi-goal game of the season (also Feb. 14 vs. BOS: 2-1—3 and Feb. 8 vs. FLA: 2-0—2). Dylan Larkin (1-1—2) recorded his seventh multi-point game of the campaign and ranks fourth among all rookies with 21-22—43 this season. At 36-25-11 (83 points), the Red Wings increased their lead to three points over the Flyers (34-24-12, 80 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

TODAY’S CLINCHING SCENARIOS
The Capitals will clinch the Metropolitan Division title and the No. 1 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference if they defeat the Penguins in any fashion.

The Stars (idle) will clinch a playoff berth if the Wild lose to the Blackhawks in regulation.

MILESTONES & MUSINGS

• Sharks forward Patrick Marleau (0-1—1) skated in the 1,400th game of his NHL career (all w/ SJS) and became the fourth active player to reach the milestone, joining Jaromir Jagr, Jarome Iginla and Shane Doan. Marleau also became the ninth player in NHL history to play in as many games with one franchise.
• Stars head coach Lindy Ruff coached his 1,402nd career regular-season game, passing Ron Wilson (1,401) for sole possession of fifth place on the NHL’s all-time list.
• Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella coached his 1,000th career regular-season game, becoming the 26th head coach in NHL history to reach the milestone.
• Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko scored the 100th goal of his NHL career, becoming the fourth player from the 2010 NHL Draft class to reach the milestone (Tyler Seguin, Jeff Skinner, Taylor Hall). Tarasenko leads the Blues with 34 goals and 63 points.
• Blue Jackets defenseman Fedor Tyutin (800) and Bruins forward Matt Beleskey (400) each skated in milestone games.
• Maple Leafs forward Frederik Gauthier, a first-round selection (21st overall) in the 2013 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut (10:56 TOI).

SATURDAY’S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
Pittsburgh 4, PHILADELPHIA 1
MINNESOTA 3, Carolina 2 (SO)
SAN JOSE 4, NY Rangers 1
TORONTO 4, Buffalo 1
OTTAWA 5, Montreal 0
Detroit Red Wings 5, FLORIDA 3
COLUMBUS 6, New Jersey 3
DALLAS 3, NY Islanders 0
St. Louis 3, VANCOUVER 0
Tampa Bay 2, ARIZONA 0
LOS ANGELES 2, Boston 1

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Anaheim @ Winnipeg, 3:00 p.m.
Columbus @ New Jersey, 5:00 p.m.
Washington @ Pittsburgh, 6:00 p.m.
Calgary @ Montreal, 7:00 p.m.
Minnesota @ Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Colorado @ Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.
Arizona @ San Jose, 10:00 p.m.