NEWARK, N.J. (AP) \u2014 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 New Jersey, ending their postseason drought that lasted three seasons. They had made 16 postseason appearances in a row before that, last missing in Sidney Crosby’s<\/a> rookie year in 2005-06, with that stretch including three Stanley Cup titles.<\/p>\n “That\u2019s why you play \u2014 that\u2019s the best time of year,” Crosby said. \u201cI know how hard it is. I think I understand that. We had some tough ones where it came down to the last day and didn\u2019t get in, and you don\u2019t ever know. But I thought right from camp, we\u2019ve had those intentions and had that belief.”<\/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 to get in.<\/p>\n \u201cA couple weeks ago (we realized) it\u2019s really in our hands (because we) play a lot of the teams in it,\u201d defenseman Connor Clifton<\/a> said. \u201cWe figured it was going to work itself out, and first and foremost it\u2019s about us and getting points and we\u2019ve done that, so it\u2019s been good.\u201d<\/p>\n It has also been a surprise. Pittsburgh was a 6-1 long shot to qualify before the puck dropped on opening night, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. This looked like one last kick at it together for an aging core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin<\/a> and Kris Letang<\/a>, who at 20 seasons together are the longest-tenured trio of teammates in North American professional sports. <\/p>\n Instead, new coach Dan Muse has made general manager Kyle Dubas look brilliant for hiring him from relative anonymity: five years as an assistant under Peter Laviolette with Nashville and the New York Rangers<\/a>. Succeeding two-time Cup-winner Mike Sullivan was not an easy task, but Muse aced the test in his first chance to run an NHL<\/a> bench.<\/p>\n