Wednesday's hockey: Crosby, Nedeljkovic spark Penguins' late-season push

Pittsburgh — Sidney Crosby insists he's not a scoreboard watcher.

Not publicly anyway.

Maybe it's because the Pittsburgh Penguins’ longtime captain is too occupied with his team to worry about anyone else. Or maybe it's because Crosby never had much reason to check during Pittsburgh's run to 16 straight playoff berths between 2007 and 2022.

Or maybe it's simply because Crosby doesn't have to check his phone to figure out where the Penguins stand. The evidence is on the countless videoboards that greet players wherever they go inside PPG Paints Arena.

“When I come to the rink, it’s on everywhere,” Crosby said with a smile. “So it’s hard to miss it.”

So is his team's sudden – and unexpected – late-season push.

Two weeks ago the Penguins were nine points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Fourteen days and 12 out of a possible 14 points later, Pittsburgh will take the ice Thursday against Detroit tied with the Red Wings for ninth in the East, just one point back of Washington with four games remaining.

Heady territory for a team that looked as if it was going through the motions in the aftermath of the trade that sent Stanley Cup-winning forward Jake Guentzel to Carolina. The night the move was made, the Penguins were in a daze while getting drilled 6-0 by Washington. The cloud lingered.

“You acknowledge it and you try to push it down, you try not to think about it, but it affects everybody,” former Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic said.

Seven losses over their next nine games followed. It wasn't until Guenztel's return in a Hurricanes uniform that the Penguins appeared to wake up.

A 4-1 win over Carolina in which Pittsburgh skated with a purpose and discipline that's been elusive over the previous five months provided a reminder to the guys in the room that the Penguins could still hang with the league's best when they're not sulking or making the kinds of mistakes that let multi-goal leads evaporate, a common theme during their first 70ish games.

That confidence has surged in lockstep with the emergence of Nedeljkovic. Signed in the offseason to serve as the backup to Tristan Jarry, Nedeljkovic has become a fixture in the lineup during the most important time of the season.

Not that he wants to talk about it. Nedeljkovic, who is 6-0-2 in his past eight starts, shrugs when asked about his impact. Instead, he points to what's going on in front of him.

“We haven’t given up a lot of odd-man rushes," Nedeljkovic said. "We haven’t given up a ton of grade-A chances. We’ve done a good job of keeping things to the outside and then when it matters in the last five, six minutes of the game we’ve really buckled down.”

That hasn't been the case most of the season. The Penguins have been tied going into the third period 16 times this season. They've only won nine of those games, the killer instinct that used to be their trademark during the stretch between 2008-17 when the franchise captured three Stanley Cups and reached the final in another lacking.

The reality is, it's been that way for a while. Pittsburgh hasn't won a playoff series since the second round in 2018. The Penguins missed the postseason for the first time in 17 years last spring and they've spent most of this season looking very much like the NHL's oldest team that they are.

Changes have been made. More are likely coming over the summer. Yet Crosby and longtime teammates Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust (Pontiac) are raging against the dying of the light.

Mike Sullivan, the NHL's second-longest tenured head coach, called the brand of hockey his group is currently playing “inspiring.”

“I always use the phrase when the five guys on the ice have the same heartbeat,” Sullivan said. “I think that’s what it looks like to me right now.”

And because of that, the Penguins have a pulse. One that is quickening as the regular season barrels into its final days.

Pittsburgh is the only one of the four teams who enter play on Thursday within two points of the wild-card spot with a winning record over its past 10 games. The Capitals and Red Wings are treading water. Philadelphia is in a freefall.

Only the Penguins, whose core knows a thing or two about winning in the spring, are playing as if they want to make it to the postseason. Yet they are also well aware of how fickle their odds are. It's a game-by-game proposition at this point. It has been for a while. Their wiggle room is almost nonexistent.

Almost. Then again, having little margin for error beats having none at all. Considering where they were two weeks ago, they'll take it.

“For the last 2-3 weeks here, we’ve been right in it,” said Crosby, who has 40 goals in his 19th season and was voted the NHL's most well-rounded player by his peers on Wednesday. "I think it’s brought out the best in us. We are playing good hockey. I think we believe in our game, we need to continue to do the same thing.”

Wednesday's NHL games

Jordan Kyrou scored twice and Robert Thomas had a goal and an assist, and the St. Louis Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Zack Bolduc had a goal and an assist, Torey Krug (Livonia) also scored and Brayden Schenn had two assists for St. Louis. Joel Hofer made 18 saves as the Blues improved to 8-1-1 in their last 10 home games against the Blackhawks.

St. Louis preserved its slim playoff hopes. The Blues began the day trailing Vegas, which has a game in hand, by five points for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Philipp Kurashev and Landon Slaggert scored for the Blackhawks. Ex-Red Wing Petr Mrazek was pulled after giving up three goals on three shots over the first 4:37. Arvid Soderblom came on and finished with 21 saves.

(At) Edmonton 5, Vegas 1: Zach Hyman (Michigan) and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and an assist as Edmonton beat Vegas despite the absence of star forward Connor McDavid.

Cody Ceci, Mattias Ekholm and Dylan Holloway also scored while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan McLeod each had two assists for Edmonton, which won its third straight. Stuart Skinner stopped 17 shots.

The Oilers hit 100 points in the standings in a third consecutive season for the second time in franchise history. They hit the century mark six times in a row from 1981-87.

McDavid missed the game with a lower-body injury but is considered day-to-day. The Oilers’ captain is stuck at 99 assists on the season, needing only one to become just the fourth player in NHL history to hit 100.

Arizona 4, (at) Vancouver 3 (OT): Logan Cooley scored 3:50 into overtime and Arizona beat Vancouver.

Dylan Guenther – who turned 21 on Wednesday – helped out on the play and finished with a goal and three assists for the Coyotes. Vladislav Kolyachonok had a goal and an assist, Josh Brown also scored, and Connor Ingram finished with 23 saves.

Elias Pettersson, Conor Garland and J.T. Miller scored for the Pacific Division-leading Canucks, and Quinn Hughes (Michigan) had three assists. Arturs Silovs made 14 saves.

Vancouver saw its lead over Edmonton in the division shrink to four points. Edmonton has two games in hand and will host the Canucks on Saturday.

McDavid tops NHLPA player poll

New York — NHL players still think Edmonton's Connor McDavid is the best skater, Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy is the top goaltender and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby the most well-rounded player in the league, according to the union's annual survey released Wednesday.

McDavid, Vasilevskiy, Crosby and Colorado defenseman Cale Makar were among the top answers by 639 members who responded as part of the seventh edition of the NHL Players Association survey. Players also gave Montreal and Edmonton the top marks for having the best ice in the league, while defending champion Vegas and current Stanley Cup favorite Carolina are the toughest buildings to play in.

A three-time MVP and the reigning winner of the Hart Trophy, McDavid has been voted the best skater or forward in every version of the survey since 2018-19. He's a four-time winner of the Lester B. Pearson as the most outstanding player in a season as voted by his peers.

Vasilevskiy, a two-time Cup winner, has been considered the goalie players would most choose to win one game dating to 2020 when he surpassed Montreal's Carey Price for that spot. Lightning teammates Nikita Kucherov (best playmaker) and Victor Hedman (most difficult player to face in their own end) were also No. 1 choices.

Canadian star Marie-Philip Poulin of Montreal was chosen the top player to watch in the inaugural season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League. She was followed closely by American Hilary Knight, who's captain of PWHL Boston.

Italy was the global destination players would most like to see host NHL games. That comes on the heels of an agreement to send NHL players to Milan for the 2026 Olympics.

On the lighter side, Boston's David Pastrnak was a narrow winner over Toronto's Auston Matthews for the best style.

Caps' Carlson playing big minutes at age 34

John Carlson has played more hockey than anyone in the NHL this season not named Drew Doughty, and that volume has not gone unnoticed around the league.

"He's playing a lot of minutes," Detroit winger Patrick Kane said. “As time goes on, you don’t get any younger, but he seems to be keeping his endurance and stamina up and obviously capability for the team, as well.”

A decade since playing with Kane for the U.S. at the Sochi Olympics, Carlson recently passed the 1,000-games milestoneand is still shouldering a heavy workload at age 34.

While Washington's longtime No. 1 defenseman isn't quite sure how he has been able to log so many minutes for so long – “I don't know, I think you just do it” – more than a half-dozen of his teammates from the 2014 Games believe Carlson's durability and longevity are a credit to his smarts and the ability to do everything on the ice, from scoring and setting up goals to preventing them by opponents while not letting all the shifts take a toll.

“His brain is just elite at how he plays the game offensively, defensively, so I think he’s able to be super efficient,” said winger James van Riemsdyk, now with Boston. “His physical tools kind of speak for themselves, but you don’t play that long and that high of a level, especially at this age, unless you have a really good hockey sense."

Carlson is averaging nearly 26 minutes of ice time a game for the Capitals, who lean on him in all situations as they're trying to return to the playoffs. Veteran Max Pacioretty, who got to know Carlson in Sochi and is teammates with him again, compared him to Hall of Famer and seven-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom of the Red Wings.

“He doesn’t expend useless energy," Pacioretty said. "He knows when to use it, kind of when to be a little bit more reserved, and I think that’s a skill that so few people have.”

Retired defenseman Brooks Orpik knows all about needing to pace oneself throughout a long season, as Carlson has over his 15 years in the NHL, skating more than 26,600 shifts comprising 23,700 minutes of ice time. And Orpik thinks his 2018 Stanley Cup-winning teammate has gotten better about picking his spots.

“He has the ability to be physical when he has to be; he probably is a little bit more in the playoffs than he is regular season,” Orpik said. “It's impossible to play that way with the minutes he’s playing, so I think he’s gotten smarter as he’s gotten older, too, which is kind of learning when to kind of go at it a little bit harder and then when to maybe conserve his energy."

While Carlson is known more for his offense – 670 points in 1,005 regular-season games – his defensive acumen is often underappreciated, given how many tough matchups the Natick, Massachusetts, native by way of New Jersey has been tasked with throughout his career. Ryan Callahan felt more than a few shoves in front of the net from Carlson over the years, especially in Capitals-New York Rangers playoff series.

“He definitely had some snarl to his game,” said Callahan, now an ESPN analyst. “As a teammate, when you see an offensive guy, a defenseman like that who puts up those points but also has that little bit of a bite to his game, it drags the rest of the guys to have that compete and have that bite.”

With that bite, Callahan pointed out, also comes Carlson being a reliable player whose consistency makes him predictable and easy to work with. Watching some highlights recently, Bruins defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk notices his former teammate “making these typical big-time John Carlson plays” to keep the Caps in the playoff race.

“There's no moment too big for him,” Shattenkirk said. “Nothing seems to faze him. That usually comes with experience, but he seemed to have that from the start.”

T.J. Oshie, who has played with him since 2015 after sharing the Sochi Olympic experience, saw that from afar when he was with St. Louis in previous years and thought Carlson had the ability to be a “mainstay” in Washington. He has been, skating nearly 30 minutes – including the final 4:38 – in a crucial victory at Detroit on Tuesday.

"He doesn’t seem like he’s slowing down all that much," Orpik said, “even at this age.”

Salt Lake City seeks potential NHL team

Preparations are being made behind the scenes and in the public eye in case an NHL team is in Salt Lake City sooner than later, perhaps as early as this fall.

After prospective owner Ryan Smith earlier this week solicited suggestionsfor a team name, word emerged Wednesday that the league has been working on contingency plans in case the Arizona Coyotes move this summer.

The NHL has been working on two schedule drafts for next season in case the team is in Arizona or playing under a different name in Utah, according to a person familiar with the planning. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no decisions have been made.

The schedule for next season is usually released in late June, after the Stanley Cup is handed out, around the draft and before free agency opens July 1. Commissioner Gary Bettman, when asked last month about the schedule and the possible contingency plans, said only, “We still have some time.”

While the NHL, Coyotes and Smith Entertainment Group declined comment on the dual-schedule report, other machinations are underway to prepare for possible relocation. According to multiple published reports, the league sent a memo to owners updating them on the situation while cautioning there are moving parts and nothing is done.

If a sale to Smith happens soon, it would come after months of speculation after the owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz announced in January not only his interest in having an NHL club in Salt Lake City but the ability to make that happen immediately. Smith's group asked at the time for the initiation of an expansion process, something multiple groups in Atlanta are also eager for.

The timing, while preparations are underway for Salt Lake City to host the 2034 Winter Olympics, coincided with continued uncertainty surrounding the Coyotes, who are playing a second season in a 5,000-seat arena and are still looking for a long-term home.

NHL Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh has repeatedly expressed frustration over the Coyotes’ current situation as the second tenant in a building on Arizona State's campus in Tempe. Bettman has said owner Alex Meruelo is working on it.

“It’s hard work, and he’s committed to it,” Bettman told The Associated Press last month. “I think people are craving certainty. And we are, too, but this isn’t a 60-minute game where the light goes on and the game’s over.”

The Coyotes last week said they're committed to winning an auction for a plot of land in Phoenix that would house a 17,000-seat arena and entertainment district. The Arizona State Land Department set the auction for June 27 with a starting bid of $68.5 million.

An arena already exists in downtown Salt Lake City, and the Jazz ownership plan calls for using the Delta Center as a temporary home for a hockey team until a new building is constructed. That group has been talking to the league since 2022.

“During conversations over the course of the past two years, we have been impressed by Ryan and Ashley Smith’s commitment to their community and their passion and vision for Utah, not only as a hockey market but as a preeminent sports and entertainment destination,” the NHL said in a statement in January. “Utah is a promising market, and we look forward to continuing our discussions.”

One plan, according to Daily Faceoff, which first reported the schedule contingency, involves Meruelo selling to Smith for $1 billion or more with the ability to bring the Coyotes back as an expansion team once an arena is built.

The NHL has said it has no current plans to expand beyond 32 teams, despite speculation over potential additions in Salt Lake City, Atlanta and Houston.

Playoff tracker

Atlantic

▶ Bruins (107)

▶ Panthers (104)

▶ Maple Leafs (101)

Metropolitan

▶ Rangers (110)

▶ Hurricanes (107)

▶ Islanders (87)

Wild card

▶ Lightning (95)

▶ Capitals (85)

(Top two wild-card teams make the playoffs)

(Not including Wednesday's games)

▶ Penguins (84)

▶ Red Wings (84)

▶ Flyers (83)

▶ Sabres (79)

▶ Devils (79)

If playoffs started Wednesday

Eastern Conference playoff matchups

▶ (1M) Rangers vs. Capitals (WC2)

▶ (A2) Panthers vs. Maple Leafs (A3)

▶ (1A) Bruins vs. Lightning (WC1)

▶ (2M) Hurricanes vs. (3M) Islanders

Remaining games in wild-card race

Islanders (87)

▶ Home (2): Canadiens, Penguins

▶ Away (1): Devils

Capitals (85 points)

▶ Home (2): Lightning, Bruins

▶ Away (2): Sabres, Flyers

Red Wings (84)

▶ Home (1): Canadiens

▶ Away (3): Penguins, Leafs, Canadiens

Penguins (84)

▶ Home (3): Wings, Bruins, Predators

▶ Away (1): Islanders

Flyers (83 points)

▶ Home (2): Devils, Capitals

▶ Away (1): Rangers

Michigan-area hockey this week

Thursday

▶ Red Wings at Pittsburgh, 7 (BSD/950)

▶ Michigan vs. Boston College in Minnesota, 8:30 (ESPNU)

Friday

▶ Rockford at Grand Rapids, 7 (AHL/96.1)

▶ NTDP U17s at Youngstown, 7

Saturday

▶ Red Wings at Toronto, 7 (BSD/CBC/97.1)

▶ Grand Rapids at Chicago, 8 (AHL/106.9/1300)

▶ Youngstown at NTDP U17s, 7

Sunday

▶ Grand Rapids at Chicago, 4 (AHL/96.1)

Tuesday

▶ Washington 2, Detroit 1