With bigger plans ahead, Boston Bruins secure playoff berth in East, feat that 'is not an automatic'

BOSTON — Jeremy Swayman rebounded from a rough stretch with 23 saves and the Boston Bruins clinched a playoff spot by holding off the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Saturday to halt a season-high three-game losing streak.

Trent Frederic and Erik Haula scored first-period goals for Boston, which went on the skid after winning 17 of 21.

Former Bruin Danton Heinen scored for the Penguins, who fell to 2-5-1 in their past eight games. Casey DeSmith stopped 27 shots.

The Bruins went 0-for-2 on the power play, extending their scoreless stretch to 25 straight.

The Penguins, who clinched a postseason berth earlier in the week for the 16th straight season, the longest active streak among North American pro sports teams, are not at their peak headed into the campaign's final two weeks, and their Eastern Conference playoff seeding hangs in the balance.

A first-round matchup vs. the New York Rangers that seemed quite likely for weeks is on shaky ground. At 3-6-1 in their last 10 games, Pittsburgh (97 points) is now just five points ahead of the Washington Capitals (92), and the latter has three games in hand on the Penguins. Should Washington catch the Penguins, it's possible Pittsburgh falls into the second wild-card slot in the East, which would mean a date against the likely top-seeded Florida Panthers.

Meanwhile, the Bruins, who played without leading goal scorer David Pastrnak for a sixth consecutive game because of an undisclosed injury, stemmed the tide on their recent woes and secured a postseason berth that, at times early in the season, didn't seem so assured.

«We have a standard here, right? So we're not going to go out and celebrate that we made the playoffs,» Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. «But it's still an accomplishment