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Penguins clinch playoff spot, win 5-0 vs Isles

With their 11th win in their last 12 games, the Penguins have clinched a playoff spot for the 10th consecutive season.

By kikkerlaika
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

After the announcement that Marc-Andre Fleury is out with a concussion, the Penguins started the back-to-back strong with a 5-0 win against the Islanders. They will face the Flyers tomorrow at 5pm.

The Highlights

Oskar Sundqvist opened the scoring with his first NHL goal. It was shorthanded with a beautiful feed from Islanders' goalie J.F. Berube.

The game started getting chippy, first with a fight between Ian Cole and Matt Martin after Martin boarded Justin Schultz. Then Letang and Kulemin almost exchanged more than just words. The Penguins didn't continue down that path, and instead put their effort into scoring goals.

Hornqvist extended the lead to 2-0 in the second period. It was on the powerplay, with a tip-in on a great shot from Justin Schultz. Penguins now with powerplay goals in back-to-back games for the first time since 12/31 & 1/2.

The goal also was assisted by Crosby, giving him 600 career assists. Only two Penguins have reached that milestone before him (Lemieux & Jagr), and among active players, only 7 have more:

Before the second period ended, Matt Cullen made it 3-0, his 14th goal of the season. The 39-year old continues to be extremely valuable to the Penguins, and is a big reason for why the Penguins can finally say they have forward depth again.

Phil! Kessel made it 4-0 in the third period. His hot streak has been a big reason for why the Penguins have won so many of their games, and his scoring has been especially important with Malkin out.

And Tom Kuhnhackl made it 5-0, giving him seven points in his last 7 games.

Matt Murray gets his first career shutout, and the Penguins get an X before their name in the standings.

Tweet Of The Game

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