Thornton scored the final four points

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Pittsburgh Penguins have struggled at times in an injury-filled season. La el Collins Jersey . When a game is in the balance, however, they still have the personnel and the experience to end up with the two points. Chris Kunitz and Beau Bennett scored goals 47 seconds apart midway through the third period and Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves and the Penguins clinched a playoff spot with a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night. "I thought to a man we stepped up," coach Dan Bylsma said after his team ended a string of three regulation defeats. "Were fighting for every inch we can get right now. Tonight, this was exactly what weve talked about and wanted from this game. It was a playoff-type game, with playoff-type intensity." The Penguins are now at 99 points to move closer to clinching the Metropolitan Division title. But it was far from easy, particularly without star forward Evgeni Malkin (foot) and other injured mainstays such as Paul Martin, Pascal Dupuis and Kris Letang. Bennett hadnt played in the past 50 games after surgery on his wrist. Yet he came up with the game-winning goal. "Skating on my own, its a lot of skill stuff," he said of the hours spent rehabbing the injury and trying to get back into game shape. "Its something thats grown my game even with being out. I felt pretty good out there." Fleury was at his best early -- and late. He made a terrific save on the first shift on Cam Atkinsons shot off a deflection. Then he made huge saves on Brandon Dubinsky and Atkinson during a scrum in front of the net in the final seconds. "He was outstanding all game," Bylsma said. After a chippy game with lots of hard checks and few great scoring chances, the Penguins finally broke a scoreless battle at 10:35. Sidney Crosby carried the puck through the neutral zone and slid a pass to Kunitz whose wrister from the top of the left circle avoided the outstretched stick of defenceman James Wisniewski to beat backup goalie Curtis McElhinney, who had stopped the first 28 shots he faced. It was Kunitzs 34th goal. Before that goal could be announced to a capacity crowd of 18,908, Bennett skated with the puck up the right wing on an odd-man rush. He tucked a hard wrist shot inside the far post for his second of the season at 11:22. "That first one, it shot through our defenceman and unfortunately I picked it up late," said McElhinney, who took over in place of the flu-ridden Sergei Bobrovsky. "The second one they capitalized on a 2-on-1. Its a simple game; sometimes its just a matter of getting the right bounces." McElhinney had 29 saves as Columbus dropped to 0-5 against the Penguins this season. "In four of those five games, its been good hockey," said Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards. "It just came down to one or two plays -- and they were the team that made the plays." Wisniewski scored a power-play goal for Columbus with 3:06 left to cut the lead to 2-1. Pittsburgh hung on as Fleury stood tall in the last 10 seconds to turn away the potential tying goal. "I took a shot and we kept banging," said Dubinsky. "They collapsed on the net pretty hard and the puck squirted off to the side." The Blue Jackets came into the game in a four-way tie for a wild-card spot in the East. Despite the loss, the Blue Jackets still hold the first wild-card spot in the East. They own the tiebreaker against the other three teams with 80 points (Detroit, Washington, Toronto) due to wins in regulation. "We have to understand the urgency and desperation we have to come out with tomorrow (at Carolina)," Wisniewski said. Notes: The Columbus Dispatch reported on Friday that the Blue Jackets are 29th in the 30-team NHL in attendance, drawing 14,347 per game. Despite a 23 per cent increase in season-ticket sales to 8,600, attendance has actually dropped from last season (14,564). ... After a sunny, warm day in Columbus, a weatherman appearing on the monitors during the second intermission was loudly booed for predicting snow on Saturday. Chuck Howley Jersey .28 mph. Logano will start on the front row next to Penske Ford teammate Brad Keselowski, who came in second Friday at 193.099. The Penske drivers swept the top two spots for the second straight race, reversing their qualifying finish in Phoenix a week ago. Emmitt Smith Jersey .That is precisely what they got Sunday.The Ravens trailed at halftime and never built a comfortable lead against lowly Jacksonville, yet did just enough to squeeze out a 20-12 win to stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race. http://www.cowboysapparelsshop.com/jj-wilcox-cowboys-jersey-c-44/ . The 36-year-old said a few months ago he would hang up his boots at the end of the season, but has since changed his mind. "Its a pity the season is ending now, as I am in good physical shape and enjoying myself," Di Natale said.Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Al Jefferson had 23 points and 14 rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Boston Celtics 96-87 on Wednesday night. Kemba Walker posted 18 points, seven assists and three steals, while Lance Stephenson added 13 points for Charlotte, which has won consecutive games on the heels of a 10-game losing streak. The Bobcats got starting forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist back after he missed the last 12 games with a foot injury. He had nine points and six boards in just over 19 minutes of action. Rajon Rondo recorded his third triple-double of the season with 12 points, 10 boards and 10 helpers for the Celtics, who have dropped two in a row after a three-game winning streak. Marcus Thornton netted 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter in the loss. Jeff Green also netted 16 points and Tyler Zeller provided 13 and eight rebounds for Boston. Thornton scored the final four points of a 6-0 spurt that pulled the Celltics within 87-85 with 4:32 remaining, but Charlotte ripped off the next nine points to put the game away. Barry Church Cowboys Jersey. Walker drove the baseline for a reverse layup and 3-point play prior to consecutive Jefferson buckets. A Walker jumper with 21.6 ticks on the clock capped the surge and made it 96-85. Earlier, Charlotte raced out to a 20-12 advantage and led 22-16 following a quarter of play. Boston tied it at 32-32 midway through the second before Charlotte went on a 9-2 swing to go up 41-34 late in the opening half. The Hornets took a 45-40 margin into the locker room and a 73-66 spread into the fourth. Game Notes Kidd-Gilchrist came in averaging 9.8 points in six games ... Nobody else in the NBA has more than one triple-double this season ... Charlotte turned the ball over just 11 times ... The Hornets held a 46-38 advantage in the point and a 13-6 margin in second-chance points. 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