Penguins lock up first division title in 10 years

Sidney Crosby scored twice, and Evgeni Malkin netted the go-ahead goal for the host Pittsburgh Penguins, who clinched their first division title in 10 years with a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.

The Penguins secured the Atlantic Division title only two years after they had the Eastern Conference's worst record and the NHL's second-worst mark. They also overtook idle Montreal for the East lead by 2 points.

Pittsburgh hadn't won a division title since taking the Northeast in 1997-98. The Penguins are assured of finishing no worse than second in the East.

"It's huge. To win at home and win the division against a rival, I'll bet everyone in here will say it's our best win of the season, and Sunday could even top that," defenseman Ryan Whitney said. "It's exciting in here right now."

They trailed 2-1 after the first but ended up with 4 power-play goals.

It was a potentially costly loss for the Flyers, who began the night needing 4 points in their final three games to assure themselves of making the playoffs. They fell into eighth place in the conference, 1 point behind Boston and only 1 ahead of Washington.

Devils 3, Bruins 2 (SO): Zach Parise scored the only goal in a four-round shootout, and host New Jersey topped Boston for its third straight win. Martin Brodeur stopped Bruins shooters Glen Metropolit, Phil Kessel, David Krejci and Marco Sturm in the first four rounds, setting up Parise's duel with Tim Thomas.

The Bruins inched closer to a playoff spot, earning a point for the sixth straight game (3-0-3) on goals by Dennis Wideman and Milan Lucic.

Hurricanes 6, Lightning 2: Chad LaRose scored 3 goals to lead Carolina past Tampa Bay, moving the host Hurricanes within 1 win of the Southeast Division title.

Eric Staal and Tuomo Ruutu each had a goal and an assist, and Scott Walker also scored for Carolina, which broke a 1-1 tie by scoring 4 straight goals. The Hurricanes lead Washington by 2 points in the Southeast race with one game left. The Capitals have two games remaining.