CLINCHED

Lost in the excitement of the Pirates' scintillating start and Jamie Dixon winning an award is the little fact that the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched a playoff spot last night in Tampa Bay.After building a 4-0 lead, the Pens briefly took their eyes off the prize in the third period and let the Lightning back in the game, allowing three consecutive goals in a five-minute span. Pittsburgh was bailed out by Petr Sykora's insurance goal at 11:43 of the third, locking up a coveted slot in the postseason, where tickets are already at a premium after going on sale this week. The teams exchanged goals once more before the clock hit zero, with Jordan Staal officially ending it on an empty-netter with 13 seconds left. 6-4 Pens, and the Eastern Conference can officially start shaking in their boots.Mr. Crosby led the way last night with two goals, and Evgeni Malkin added two assists in his quest for the scoring title, which currently looks like this:There was also a little throwdown bet...