PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Jeff Carter with the hat trick, plus one as the Pens beat Buffalo 8-4 Thursday night. The win put the Pens two points ahead of the Caps for first in the MassMutual Division, but Washington has three more games to play. So do the Bruins who also won on Thursday and are four points back of the Penguins.
"I don't know what happened out there," Carter said of his first NHL four-goal game. "The puck kind of followed me all night. I was lucky to get the first one in and it kind of snowballed from there."
"It's hard to score goals in this league, never mind four in a game," said head coach Mike Sullivan. "It doesn't happen very often. It's a huge accomplishment."
Carter scored the first three Pens goals of the game in what was a back-and-forth contest until Brian Dumoulin and Jared McCann scored 59 seconds apart in the second period to build a 5-3 lead and it wouldn't be close after that.
"There are just some nights like that where everything seems to happen the right way and end up in the back of the net," forward Frederick Gaudreau said. "It was awesome to see Jeff end up with a four-goal night. This guy played so many games in the NHL and is a big veteran and it's his first four goal game."
"Tonight was pretty incredible what he did out there," said defenseman Kris Letang. "Shows how pure of a goal scorer he is. I had a chance to play against him for 15 years. I know what he does well."
"He's a guy with a lot of speed, really intelligent with the puck and has a certain IQ to find areas on the ice to score goals. It's good to have him on our side."
"We couldn't be happier with how well he's fit into the group here, both on and off-the-ice," Sullivan said. "He's a great compliment to the core guys we have. He gives us some size down the middle. Now to have a player of his stature that can contribute offensively, but can also be solid defensively. It's such a bonus for our team."
McCann would have a 3-point night, same for Gaudreau with a trio of assists. Kasperi Kapanen and Sidney Crosby also scored.
Big night for Gaudreau too
A NHL career-high for Gaudreau as well with those three points in a game
"It's just been a long way back to the NHL, so to have a night like that for sure feels good," Gaudreau said.
"He's been awesome," Carter said. "Just a real consistent, steady player. If you look back to the first goal, it doesn't happen without his wall play. Pretty lucky to play with him."
"We knew right away when he came to our team we were getting a good player," Letang said. "We saw him play in 2017 in the playoffs for Nashville. He's a special player. Can fit anywhere on your lineup, brings tons of speed and he's got a lot of skill. He brings a great attitude in the room, everybody likes to spend time with him."
Crosby MVP/Players' Player Award winner
It's the ninth time as team MVP and third as Players' Player Award winner. Mario Lemieux is the only Pens player to win more MVP awards with a dozen.
Third time Crosby has won the Players' Player Award, also winning in the 2017-18 season and 2018-19 season. Marc-Andre Fleury won the award for three straight seasons and Brooks Orpik four times before him.
Crosby has won every team award except for Defensive Player of the Year, which was last awarded in 2016 to Letang.
Up Next
The regular season finale hosting Buffalo at 3p on Saturday.
"We play our last game before some of the teams in our division play their last game, so we won't know going into the game if it's of any significance or not," Sullivan said. "At this point we believe it will be, so we have a lot to play for still."
