National Hockey League
Pittsburgh 5, Columbus 4
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, April 5, 2018
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Referees: Marc Joannette, Tim Peel
Linesmen: Ryan Daisy, Brian Murphy
Attendance: 19157
Phil Kessel scored his second goal of the night 1:06 into overtime to send the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins past the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 on Thursday night.

Kessel increased his season goal tally to 33 and trails only Penguins leading scorer Evgeni Malkin. Patric Hornqvist (28th goal), Conor Sheary (18) and Kris Letang (9) also scored as Pittsburgh bounced back from a 3-1 loss to Washington on Sunday to win for the fourth time in six games.

Cam Atkinson (24), Zach Werenski (16), Boone Jenner (13) and Matt Calvert (9) each had a goal for Columbus, which had won three of its last four and 13 of 15 games since early March.

Pittsburgh moved one point ahead of Columbus and New Jersey for the second spot in the Metropolitan Division with one game remaining for each team.

Penguins goaltender Matt Murray made 26 saves. Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had 38 stops.

Werenski scored on a backhander in the slot 5:11 into the opening period to put Columbus ahead 1-0. The goal gave Werenski a share of the Blue Jackets' franchise record for most goals in a season by a defenseman.

Kessel's power-play goal on a wrister with 9:34 left put Pittsburgh on the board, but the tie was short-lived as Calvert's backhander just over two minutes later restored the Blue Jackets' one-goal advantage.

Hornqvist answered for the Pens with 4:25 to go in the first, batting in a loose puck out of midair.

Jenner's close-range tally on a power play 6:35 into the second accounted for the only scoring of the middle period.

Letang's power-play wrister pulled the Penguins into a 3-all tie 2:58 into the third. With 11:35 remaining, Atkinson scored to give the Blue Jackets a one-goal advantage before Sheary's strike with 7:44 to play.

Kessel's game-winner in OT was unassisted.

Pierre-Luc Dubois had a pair of assists to bump his season point total to 48, establishing a new Blue Jackets record for points in a rookie campaign.

Pittsburgh closes the regular season at home Friday against Ottawa. Columbus visits Nashville on Saturday for its regular-season finale.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   Columbus
Phil Kessel 3 Points Pierre-Luc Dubois 2
Phil Kessel 2 Goals Cam Atkinson 1
Justin Schultz 2 Assists Pierre-Luc Dubois 2
Phil Kessel 1 Power Play Goals Boone Jenner 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Matt Murray .867 Save Percentage Sergei Bobrovsky .884
Matt Murray 26 Saves Sergei Bobrovsky 38
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 43 5 2-3 2-3 6 37
Columbus 30 4 1-3 1-3 6 38
Upcoming Games
  • Columbus will play their next game on the road against Nashville. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .565 after a win and .543 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Ottawa. The Penguins have a W/L % of .489 after a win and .667 after a loss.