Pittsburgh: Phil Kessel scored twice and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins moved within striking distance of a 10th straight play-off berth with a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.
Kris Letang, Patric Hornqvist and Nick Bonino also scored for Pittsburgh, who improved to 10-1 in their last 11 games. The Penguins will clinch a spot in the postseason if Detroit lose in regulation on Friday against Minnesota. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 22 shots to reach the 35-win plateau for the seventh time in his career.
James Neal and Ryan Johansen each had a goal and an assist for the Predators, who failed for a third straight game to wrap up a play-off bid. Pekka Rinne stopped 25 shots before sitting out the third period in favour of backup Carter Hutton.
