Although Crosby had an assist on defenseman Erik Karlsson’s goal that opened the scoring 3:11 into the first period, he remained two goals away from joining Ovechkin as the only active players to reach 600 goals.
And Ovechkin saw his five-game goal and point streaks (six goals, five assists) end, leaving him with 861 goals, 34 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894. Blomqvist deserves a chunk of the credit for that.
In his first time playing against Ovechkin, the 22-year-old stopped all five of his shots on goal, including a point-blank chance from the right side to keep the scored tied 2-2 at 9:05 of the third period.
“It was pretty cool,” Blomqvist said. “Obviously, the first time playing against him. Just a great player, so really cool.”
Blomqvist gave the Penguins more to think about with goalie Tristan Jarry expected to return from his American Hockey League conditioning assignment with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the coming days. That would mean carrying three goalies, including Blomqvist, Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic, if Blomqvist – the only one of the three who doesn’t require waivers to be assigned to the AHL – isn’t sent down.
Sullivan acknowledged it will be a difficult decision.
“They’re always tough,” Sullivan said. "These guys are all terrific people. They care a lot. They want to play. So, it will be our job to try to put the guy in there that’s going to give us the best chance to win, but we have faith in all these guys. They’re all quality goaltenders.”
Blomqvist was part of the solution Friday, along with Malkin, who had a goal and an assist; Rust, who provided a boost in his return from a lower-body injury; and Karlsson, who also had a goal and an assist. Sullivan talked before the game about how the coaches have been challenging Karlsson, who was traded to Pittsburgh by the San Jose Sharks in 2023 after winning the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman for the third time, to elevate his play at both ends of the ice.
Karlsson struggled in compiling a minus-3 rating against the Hurricanes on Thursday but rebounded against the Capitals by scoring the Penguins’ first goal and setting up Michael Bunting’s redirection goal that made it 2-0 at 6:59 of the first period.
“He played extremely well and has that ability to make an impact,” Sullivan said. “Early in the game, I thought he was really noticeable just with his skating. He’s a one-man breakout. He’s so good on the offensive blue line. He made some really nice plays. …That’s the impact that he can have with our team.”