Could Defensive Woes Derail Penguins Playoff Hopes?
To say there’s an extraordinary playoff chase occurring in the NHL’s Eastern Conference is putting it as mildly as Ivory soap. No fewer than seven teams are engaged in a full-blown battle royale for five playoff spots, the Penguins among them.
In the Atlantic, the Canadiens and Bruins (wild card) are currently in with 86 points apiece, with the Red Wings (84 points) and the piping-hot Senators (83 points) on the outside of the playoff picture.
In the Metro? The Pens have 86 points, tailed by the CBJ and Islanders (wild card) with 85 apiece.
Talk about being packed tighter than the proverbial tin of sardines!
It was suggested on another site that 98 points will be the cutoff. If so, the locals would need to garner a dozen points in their final 12 games, or .500 hockey.
While that certainly seems doable, given the difficulty of our schedule, especially over the next two weeks, combined with emerging and troublesome issues in our overall play?
I’d hardly consider a playoff berth a lock at this stage.
Defense is a particular area of concern. Going back to a 5-1 loss to the Sabres on March 5, the Pens have yielded a staggering 42 non-shootout goals in 10 games, an average of better (or worse) than four goals per game!