In what was a must-win game for both of the teams on the ice Friday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins sure came ready to play.
And they got contributions from everywhere in their lineup - including a big boost from a somewhat unexpected source.
On a bobblehead night for Pittsburgh Penguins' legend Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh ousted the Columbus Blue Jackets, 6-3, with six goals from six different players. Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic was solid as well, stopping 45 of 48 Columbus shots and shutting down their attack off the rush with several key saves.
But he wasn't the biggest story of the night.
To open the scoring, Evgeni Malkin capitalized just over five minutes into the contest, as he poked in a redirected pass from Connor Dewar and Philip Tomasino from along the goal line. That goal got the Penguins off to a good start.
And the big catalyst for the rest of the evening happened minutes later. Nearing the midway point of the period, Penguins forward Boko Imama and Columbus forward Mathieu Olivier dropped the gloves for their second boxing match of the season.
They made great theater out of it, too, as both players threw down the gloves in dramatic fashion, had a slow-burn squaring-off as they approached, and exchanged punches back-and-forth throughout the fight, which was eventually broken up by the referees.
Both teams seemed to build off that momentum, as Noel Acciari scored a garbage goal about two minutes later, Columbus forward Boone Jenner scored 16 seconds after Acciari, and Rickard Rakell put home his 32nd of the season 46 seconds after Jenner.
Less than two minutes into the second period, Justin Danforth added a Columbus goal to make it 3-2. But Imama struck again - this time, in the goal column.
He took a feed in the slot from Danton Heinen, and he found the upper-left corner of the net for his first goal of the season and just the second of his NHL career to make it 4-2. Imama didn't even realize he scored at first, and he threw up both his arms in elation when he realized it went in.
WE'RE LOKO FOR BOKO 😜 pic.twitter.com/YULX0jLxM2
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 22, 2025
"I mean, 'Hayesy', he's the one patrolling the line, and he pretty much told us what he wanted to happen," Imama said. "I just kind of followed his direction, and he was right. The puck just came out - perfect pass from 'Heino' - and all I had to do was to put it on target, and it went in."
Later in the period, Sidney Crosby made a ridiculous redirection on a Matt Grzelcyk shot-pass to make the score 5-2. The goal was Crosby's second on the night, which puts him just four points shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky's point-per-game seasons record at 20.
Columbus did get some momentum at the beginning of the third period, as Kent Johnson put one home just three minutes and 45 seconds into the period. However, Nedeljkovic and the Penguins were able to shut it down, with Bryan Rust potting an empty-netter with less than two minutes to go to seal it off at 6-3.
The Penguins got contributions from everywhere. But Imama was the catalyst for all of it, and it couldn't have happened for a better guy in the room.
"He's a terrific person," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "He brings so much positive energy to the rink every day. It's hard not to smile when you're around him. He's just an enthusiastic person, he loves hockey, he loves being at the rink, loves being part of the team... and he loves being a Penguin."
They're trying to make the most of the opportunity here that's in front of them. That energy is contagious amongst the group. It's inspiring.
Here are some thoughts and observations from this one:
- Imama's fight brought some energy to an otherwise slow game. And the crowd went absolutely nuts both when he fought and when he scored his goal.
He's someone I'd like to see stick around. He shouldn't be an everyday player - younger, more future-oriented guys guys should get some opportunities next season instead - but he's completely fine to have around as a 13th or 14th forward.
His roster spot isn't one that should be blocking any younger guys, anyway.
- Malkin's line seems to have found some chemistry late in the season. Him and Tomasino have been working pretty well together, but I think the addition of Dewar has brought some much-needed forechecking prowess to that line.
Dewar goes to the dirty areas, is good along the wall, and brings energy to the line. Tomasino and Malkin - although both very skilled - play a lot on the perimeter, so it's always good to have that hardline, north-south guy to complement them.
Really good work by Dewar leading up to the Malkin goal. And Malkin really seems to have his gallop right now, too. This was a good game for them.
- Leading off of that, Tomasino continues to look pretty good next to 71.
I'll keep saying it: He needs to stay put on that line. He's found a different level on it.
- It was a bit strange seeing Kris Letang play on his off-side Friday.
And you could tell it was a bit strange for him, too.
He didn't play a bad game. There were just a few times he was a bit out-of-position and - likely, out of reaction - committed a little to far to the right side.
All in all, he didn't look all that out-of-place. And he and Conor Timmins seemed to mesh well together.
- I was just about to say that Grzelcyk had quieted down a bit offensively since the Mar. 7 trade deadline. And then he went and made that pass on Crosby's goal.
Grzelcyk shot it from the blue line and Crosby tipped it in for his 25th of the season 🫣 pic.twitter.com/NWWE6bapF6
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 22, 2025
Well, the other half of what I was going to say still stands: Even though he had been relatively quiet, I don't think that's a bad thing. He's cleaned up many of the glaring defensive zone mistakes that were present in his game for most of the season. They still happen, but they're not nearly as loud, and they're not nearly as frequent.
Don't be surprised if the Penguins offer Grzelcyk an extension to stay for another season or two. The coaching staff is happy with the work he's put in this season to find his game again, and he's been effective on the power play, in transition, and in the attacking zone. They like him quite a bit.
- What else can you say about 87?
Honestly, it's pretty incredible that we're talking about the two greatest players of a generation - Crosby and Alex Ovechkin - breaking what were long thought to be "unbreakable" Wayne Gretzky NHL records, but here we are.
Ovechkin needs just six more goals for the goal record. Crosby needs just four more points for the point-per-game seasons record.
Enjoy this, folks. This is truly one of the greatest times in history to be a hockey fan.
Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!