Since entering the National Hockey League in the 2000-2001 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets have made the playoffs three times.
So it was only fitting that a team that rarely plays past the middle of April earned a playoff spot Sunday by beating the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Sunday with two goals coming on penalty shots.
That's right. Two goals came on penalty shots. It marked the third time in NHL history that a team scored two goals on penalty shots, with Lukas Sedlak and Brandon Dubinsky doing the honors.
The first time came in 1982 when Thomas Gradin and Ivan Hlinka of the Vancouver Canucks scored against the Detroit Red Wings. In 1999, San Jose's Ryan Clowe and Joe Thornton did it against the Washington Capitals.
How uncommon are penalty shots? To put it in perspective, in the 2015-2016 season, there were 59 penalty shots taken with 17 converted into goals.
Sedlak's goal came when he was taken down by Devils defenseman Andy Greene on a breakaway at the 6:32 mark of the first period. Sedlak skated to the edge of the right circle, cut toward the middle and beat Cory Schneider with a low shot to the left corner of the net.
Dubinsky's penalty shot came at the 6:28 mark of the second period after Josh Anderson was taken down on a breakaway by New Jersey's Dalton Pout. Anderson was hurt on the play, so Dubinsky, who was on the ice at the time of the penalty, was allowed to take the shot.
He beat Schneider high to the left corner of the net in a similar move made by Sedlak.
While the circumstances were unusual for earning a playoff spot, Blue Jackets coach Jon Tortorella was glad to see his team earn a playoff spot.
"It gives us an opportunity to talk about it," Tortorella said of clinching. "We are in. To me, it's the start of a road. You work that hard throughout the year, the amount of games you have to play; it gives you an opportunity to start your journey that you want to be on."
Whatever it takes to get into the playoffs.
Apology too late
After Gonzaga's 79-73 victory over Northwestern Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament, the NCAA said officials erred by not calling basket interference and goaltending on Gonzaga's Zach Collins with 4:54 left in the game when Collins stuck his hand through the basket to reject Derek Pardon's shot.
There was no call and Northwestern Coach Chris Collins was given a technical foul after he charged onto the court to argue the point.
The incident occurred when Northwestern had cut Gonzaga's 22-point lead to five. After the technical, Northwestern never got any closer than six.
Collins was not impressed by the apology. "I appreciate the apology. It makes me feel great," Collins said sarcastically after the game.
Collins added, "If I see a guy from another team put his hand through the rim and block a shot going through the basket, I'm going to react to it if the play isn't called," he said. "I'm a human being, too. I think all of you would. A guy puts his hand through the rim and blocks the shot. To me, that's a goaltend."
"I mean, it would have been a three-point game. We had all the momentum. The guy puts his hand through the rim. It's a very easy call, in my opinion. But it's an honest mistake. Referees are human beings. They're here for a reason -- because they're outstanding officials. They made the calls. We have to live with them."
And Northwestern's next game won't come until November.
Sports on 03/20/2017