By Tim Benz
April 1, 2019
Matt Murray #30 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a save against Andrei Svechnikov #37 of the Carolina Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena on March 31, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)
March came in like a lion and pretty much stayed that way for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
They deserve the lamb of a schedule they got to close out the regular season here in April.
Too bad they can’t take a deep breath and relax to enjoy it.
The Penguins are currently five points clear of Montreal for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with only three games to play.
That’s good. But not good enough to have locked up a postseason berth yet.
Fortunately for the Penguins, their remaining games are a stark contrast to the swath of difficult contests they just slogged through in March.
Over 31 calendar days in the previous month, Mike Sullivan’s team played 16 games. Ten of the puck-drops were against teams currently holding playoff slots, and six were against clubs they are battling for Eastern Conference playoff positions.
Move those numbers up to 11 and seven, respectively, if you count that 5-1 victory in Montreal against the ninth-place Canadiens.
“The guys have done a terrific job trying to find ways to win,” Sullivan said after his team’s 3-1 win against the Hurricanes on Sunday.
Now, Sullivan’s skaters get the Rangers once and Detroit twice to wrap up the regular season. The Rangers have only 75 points. The Red Wings have just 70.
The Penguins have 97.
“Until the regular season is over, we have to grab points,” Sullivan said. “We are going to have to hit the reset button when we go into Detroit and bring the same level of urgency and commitment that it takes to win.”
There was a time earlier this year when the Penguins were struggling to beat bad teams. In fact, they lost eight of their first nine matchups against opponents who were in last place at the time.
However, in March, the Penguins grabbed eight of a possible 10 points in their five games against non-playoff-contending teams. So it appears that the Penguins may have shaken those demons at just the right time.
“Where we sit with three games left, we understand that we have not put a lot of space between us and the teams chasing us,” Penguins forward Matt Cullen said. “We all understand how important it is to finish strong.”
In four combined games against the Rangers and Red Wings, the Penguins are 4-0, outscoring the two teams by a combined 23-11 margin.
But winger Patric Hornqvist is preaching caution to stay on the right track.
“Our first period against the Rangers last week was not our best,” Hornqvist said, remembering the Penguins’ 5-2 victory against New York on March 25, after trailing 2-0. “We know how to play against these teams. “They are playing loose. Those are hard teams to play against.”
If the Penguins sweep all six remaining points, they would tally 103 for the season. The Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals have 102, with three games left against the Panthers, Canadiens and Islanders. So the odds of tracking them down for the division title are slim.
The second place Islanders have that Capitals game, a tilt against Florida as well, plus a tough contest against the Maple Leafs. Montreal has a brutal remaining stretch remaining against Tampa, Washington, and Toronto as they try to get back into the top eight.
As for the current wild card teams, the Hurricanes get the Maple Leafs, Devils and Flyers. The Blue Jackets challenge the Bruins, Rangers and Senators.
So the Penguins have the easiest remaining schedule, but not by a huge margin over some of the other Eastern contenders.
If the Pens want home ice in the first round and to finish (at best) in second place of the Metro — or at least third place to avoid Washington or Tampa in the first round — they better take advantage of what the schedule makers gifted them to conclude the regular season.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@tribweb.com or viaTwitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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