Lightning 2, Penguins 1
Steve Downie and Martin St. Louis scored first-period goals and the Tampa Bay Lightning clinched a playoff berth with a 2-1 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.
Dwayne Roloson made 36 saves, including 30 in the final two periods, to help the Lightning (42-24-11) win their third straight game and close within three points of Pittsburgh for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Michael Rupp brought the Penguins (45-25-8) within a goal at 4:31 of the third period, but Pittsburgh was unable to push the equalizer past Roloson.
The Lightning opened the scoring when Downie backhanded a rebound past Marc-Andre Fleury at 4:51 of the first period.
St. Louis doubled the margin at 10:13, whipping a wrist shot past Fleury for his 30th goal. It marked the sixth 30-goal season of St. Louis' career.
Fleury turned aside 22 shots as Pittsburgh absorbed its second straight defeat.