{"id":104442,"date":"2026-04-11T19:26:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T22:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/penguins-clinch-playoff-spot-ending-3-year-postseason-drought\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T19:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T22:26:08","slug":"penguins-clinch-playoff-spot-ending-3-year-postseason-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/penguins-clinch-playoff-spot-ending-3-year-postseason-drought\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins clinch playoff spot, ending 3-year postseason drought"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NEWARK, N.J. — For the first time in four years, it will soon be a great day for playoff hockey in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

The Penguins<\/a> clinched a playoff spot Thursday night by beating the New Jersey Devils<\/a> 5-2<\/a> to end a postseason drought that lasted three seasons. They had made 16 postseason appearances in a row before that, last missing in Sidney Crosby<\/a>‘s rookie year in 2005-06, with that stretch including three Stanley Cup titles.<\/p>\n

It was an up-and-down season that included an eight-game skid in December and a pair of six-game winning streaks later in the winter. Far from assured a place in the field in late March when the Eastern Conference race was a crowded mess, they’ve won five of six games since March 30.<\/p>\n

“A couple weeks ago [we realized] it’s really in our hands [because we] play a lot of the teams in it,” defenseman Connor Clifton<\/a> said. “We figured it was going to work itself out, and first and foremost it’s about us and getting points and we’ve done that, so it’s been good.”<\/p>\n