Pens Skate Past Devils, Clinch Playoff Berth

Pittsburgh got a shutout from Marc-Andre Fleury and clinched a playoff berth with a 2-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils. The Penguins now have a four-point lead over the Devils for the Atlantic Division title with five and six games left to play, respectively. Pittsburgh is also one point behind Montreal for first place in the conference, reports the Associated Press.

With only those handful of games remaining in the season, New Jersey picked the wrong time to match their season-high winless streak at four; the Devils are 0-3-1 during the stretch. Tied with Ottawa for fourth place in the East, they still own a tie-breaker over the Senators that would earn them the home-ice advantage in a first-round playoff series. Ryan Malone and Marian Hossa scored for the Penguins. (More hockey stories.)