The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-2 last night and have ended a three-year playoff drought.
The victory clinched a Stanley Cup Playoff spot for the Penguins for the first time since the 2021-2022 season. Combining last night’s victory with the Philadelphia Flyers losing 6-3 to the Detroit Red Wings, the Pens have also clinched second place in the Metropolitan Division, and home-ice advantage to open the playoffs.
Bryan Rust opened the scoring with his 29th goal of the season in the first period. After New Jersey tied the game mid-way through the second period, the Pens scored twice within 10 seconds and re-took the lead. They added two more goals in the third period.
After suffering an eye injury after being struck by a puck while on the bench last weekend, Stuart Skinner returned to goal for the Penguins, and stopped 19 of 21 shots.
Last night’s win boosted the Penguins point-total to 98 this season.
Heading into the final week of regular-season play, the Flyers have 92 points and hold a one point lead over the New York Islanders, a two point lead over Columbus, and lead Washington by three points for third place, and the final playoff position in the division.
The Penguins host the Washington Capitals for their final regular season game at PPG Paints Arena Saturday at 3pm. WISR pre-game begins at 2:30pm.
The game is being nationally televised on ABC.
The Pens visit Washington Sunday for another 3pm face-off. WISR pre-game is again at 2:30pm.
The Penguins complete their regular season Tuesday night in St. Louis.
The Buffalo Sabres have won back-to-back games this week, and have taken a two point lead over Montreal for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Canadiens defeated Tampa Bay 2-1 last night, knocking the Lightning to four points behind the division lead. Cole Caufield scored his 50th goal of the season for Montreal last night, becoming the first Canadiens player to reach that goal plateau since the 1989-1990 season.
The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Calgary Flames 3-1 last night, and clinched the President’s Trophy for the best regular-season record in the NHL. With four games remaining, the Avalanche had a shot at earning 120 points in a season for the first time in team history. There have only been 12 NHL teams to reach that mark. Colorado has won the President’s Trophy for the fourth time, tying them with Boston and the New York Rangers for second-most in NHL history, behind Detroit, who have done it six times.