Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ No. 1 power-play unit are ready for a potential first-round Stanley Cup playoff matchup against rival Philadelphia.

Crosby scored two of his team’s four goals with the man advantage in a 4-2 doubling of the visiting Flyers Wednesday night as the Penguins clinched the Atlantic Division for the first time since 1998.

Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin also scored power-play goals for Pittsburgh, which regained sole possession of first place in the NHL’s Eastern Conference with a 47-26-8 record.

The Penguins also prevented eighth-place Philadelphia from leap-frogging the Boston Bruins in the battle for playoff positioning in the conference.

The Bruins picked up a huge point Wednesday in New Jersey, falling 2-1 to the Devils in a shootout. Boston remains in seventh with 92 points, followed by the Flyers with 91 and No. 9 Washington with 90. All three teams have two games left.  Full Story…