PITTSBURGH — With the Penguins winning Saturday over the Buffalo Sabres and the Washington Capitals failing to secure a win in regulation against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Penguins are the number one team in the East Division.
The Penguins and Capitals can still finish the season with the same number of points (77) and regulation wins (29), which is the first tie-breaker. Pittsburgh has the edge in the second tie-breaker - regulation plus overtime wins.
“We’ve done the heavy lifting to this point to earn the privilege to compete for the Stanley Cup. Now the fun starts,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “And for me, the most rewarding part is the journey. I look forward to this next part of it in the playoffs with this group of players.”
This marks the ninth division title in team franchise and the fourth in the Sidney Crosby era. The last one occurred in the 2013-14 season.
The Penguins finished the regular season with a 37-16-3 record, tallying 77 points. Captain Sidney Crosby ranked eighth in the NHL in scoring with a team-high 62 points (24G-38A). He finished as the team’s point leader for the 11th time in his career, tying Mario Lemieux for the team record.
Either the Boston Bruins or the New York Islanders will head to PPG Paints Arena to kick off the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Both of those teams have games left in the season, which could affect their seeding.
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