BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Center Brandon Sutter scored twice as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 on Saturday night and qualified for the postseason for the ninth consecutive year.

Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for his 10th shutout of the season.

The Penguins (43-27-12) controlled their postseason fate after losing their five previous games (0-4-1). With the win over Buffalo, they edged out the Boston Bruins for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Goalie Anders Lindback made 36 saves for the Sabres (23-51-8), who fittingly ended their season with another loss. With 54 points, Buffalo finished with the lowest point total in the NHL.

Sutter opened the scoring 14:23 into the second period on a strong backhanded shot. After receiving the puck behind the net, Sutter curled inside and lifted a shot past Lindback to the blocker side. It was his 20th goal of the season.

Sutter's second goal came 8:26 into the third period. Penguins right winger Patric Hornqvist found left winger Daniel Winnick all alone in the right circle, which drew Lindback out of the Sabres' net. Winnick then fed Sutter to his left, and the center had an easy tap-in to make it 2-0.

After the Sabres clinched last place -- and one of the top two picks in the NHL draft -- on Friday, the hometown crowd had reason to celebrate. Other games in recent weeks have featured mixed reactions from Buffalo crowds, with a large contingent of fans hoping for their team to lose in order to land the top pick.

Sabres president Ted Black even mentioned Buffalo's upcoming lottery pick during a raffle for a Lexus vehicle. Black said it was the "second-most important" lottery this year.

NOTES: D Mike Weber (sports hernia), RW Jerry D'Amigo (upper body), D Andre Benoit (upper body) and G Chad Johnson (lower body) were scratched for the Sabres. ... D Kris Letang (concussion), D Christian Ehrhoff (concussion) and D Derrick Pouliot (upper body) were scratched for the Penguins. ... Before the game, the Sabres gave season awards to three players: Weber (unsung hero), LW Nicolas Deslauriers (rookie of the year) and C Tyler Ennis (MVP). Each award was determined by Sabres players. ... In the previous meeting between these two teams, Pittsburgh defeated Buffalo 6-1 on Nov. 8.