Tommy Novak and Egor Chinakhov scored nine seconds apart for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who clinched a playoff spot Thursday with a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J.
Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson also scored for the Penguins (41-22-16, 98 points). Chinakhov and Sidney Crosby also had a pair of assists, while Malkin and Karlsson both added a helper as well.
Stuart Skinner, who missed Sunday’s game against Florida due to an eye injury, stopped 19 shots in the victory.
Paul Cotter and Jack Hughes got goals for the Devils (40-36-3, 83 points), with Dougie Hamilton, Brian Halonen, Jonas Siegenthaler and Connor Brown assisting.
Jake Allen made 25 saves on 29 shots.
Novak and Chinakhov’s goals broke open a 1-1 game midway through the second period, securing the Penguins’ first postseason berth since 2022.
New Jersey put the pressure on Pittsburgh early, as Skinner was forced to make five saves in the first five minutes, but the Penguins struck first on their first chance.
Rust scored with 15:07 left in the first on a play set up by Kris Letang, who kept the Devils from clearing the puck out of their zone. Letang fed Chinakhov, who entered the slot before finding Rust for his 29th.
The Devils evened the score with 10:09 left in the second period as Hamilton found Cotter behind the Penguins’ defense for a breakaway.
Less than two minutes later, Novak ended a 12-game dry spell with his 16th of the season, set up by Karlsson and Malkin.
Crosby won the ensuing faceoff, and Ryan Shea flipped the puck into the Devils zone. Chinakhov chased it down and backhanded the spinning puck past Allen with 8:08 to go in the second.
Hughes scored his 26th with 4:53 to go in the second, but Malkin restored the two-goal advantage with 13:10 left in regulation, swatting in the puck Crosby put in the crease.
Crosby, who now has 74 points, and Malkin, with 61, became the first pair of NHL teammates aged 38 or older to register 60 points in the same season.
Karlsson ended the scoring with an empty-netter, as several Penguins fans who made the trip cheered to celebrate the return to the playoffs.
–Field Level Media
