Chapter 1: Why was the Penguins' recent game a make-or-break moment?
Last night's game, going into it for me, was make or break. It was the one that was going to tip the scales on whether your 2025-26 Pittsburgh Penguins made the playoffs. And that game, the way they won it, the way that they responded after giving up two goals in the first three minutes of the second period after no goals were scored in the first period,
is why my confidence level in this team is at an all-time high this season. At the start of the year, my expectation was this was going to be a team finishing in the bottom five of the NHL standings, and you better hope the ping pong ball 20-plus years later after hitting on Sid works again with Gavin McKenna. Those...
any dashing hopes of that or any thoughts of that actually being a reality, pretty much around Christmastime, we're gone. When the true gift underneath the tree, the hockey stick that arrived at your doorstep, was a competitive hockey team that brought in Justin Brezeau and Anthony Amantha and some guy named Parker Wotherspoon and, yeah...
Those are three of the biggest contributors and most surprising players in the NHL this season. So much that Anthony Mantha, of all people, scored two goals in two and a half minutes to close out the second period. He leads the team. Leads a team that has Sidney Crosby, sure he missed a month. Evgeny Malkin, sure he was suspended five games. Ricard Raquel, 30-plus goal scorer in his career.
Brian Rust, consistently an elite goal scorer.
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Chapter 2: How did the Penguins respond after trailing in the game?
I think it's seven years in a row with 20-plus goals. Anthony freaking Mantha with 29 goals this year. He was the one that put the Penguins in front for good. Down 2-0, they go on an 8-1 differential.
So for a team that was projected to finish right around the bottom of the NHL standings, if you look at the little playoff predictor wheel that people like to put out there on social media, the Penguins now have an 84% chance to make the playoffs. This win convinced me that they are going to do it.
without Geno, with a goaltender situation that I still think is a little bit shaky, who do you go with tonight against Detroit? And the numbers are, if the Penguins win this game, in regulation, because Detroit's a team that Pens are battling for a wildcard spot, if they were to fall out of the Metro race, with the Islanders and with the surging Blue Jackets,
If the Penguins beat the Red Wings in regulation tonight, that percentage jumps up to 92%. You can pack up your things, get ready to roll, and book those playoff tickets. Games three, four, and six, maybe even games one, two, five, and seven, are coming to Pittsburgh. I was impressed by the way they responded, by the way they bounced back.
And for somebody who has doubted this team for a large portion of this year, yeah, I have. I've wondered if a stretch of Mantha, Brazil, Waltherspoon, the Nolacharis of the world, Ben Kindle's 18. Okay, when does the dam break?
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Chapter 3: What surprising players are contributing to the Penguins' success?
And I don't think that's unrealistic. It's not like this is one of the most talented teams in the NHL. Sid's older, still great. Malkin's older, still hasn't been playing very well. Letang, not. We can have a Letang conversation in a little bit.
But Eric Carlson's playing his best hockey in a decade since his Ottawa Senators days when he almost willed Ottawa to an Eastern Conference final victory over the Penguins. And right now, looking at staring down the barrel of a 92% chance of making the playoffs, if they beat the Red Wings in overtime, it's 91%. If they lose to the Wings in overtime, still take a point, 84%.
If they lose to the Wings in regulation, it drops a little bit, still 75%. And the way that the schedule has played out and will continue to play out Look, after they got beat down by the Stars and Colorado got them good after they went to their barn and beat them 7-2, you could see some wins on the horizon. You get the Red Wings at home. Tampa Bay's a little beaten up.
You get Florida in a back-to-back at home.
Chapter 4: What is the Penguins' current playoff probability after their latest win?
It's a little strange, but you get them on a Saturday and a Sunday, and they're not going to make the playoffs. How much into it will they be? They're last in their own division. Followed by the Devils, they're not good. The Caps twice, home and home. And at the St. Louis Blues. Are you like me at 4-1-2, 9-2-8, 93-70? And looked at that game and said, whoa.
If they would have went to New York and just took a point, I would have been content. I would have been happy. You're able to keep pace. you're able to put yourself in a pretty solid situation to keep up. But to take two points, you're a point up on the Islanders. There's a game in hand there.
Chapter 5: How will the Penguins' upcoming games impact their playoff chances?
You're now two up on Columbus. You're now four up on Ottawa. And you're four up on the Wings. If you beat Detroit, in a way... You're delivering a Mayweather, McGregor-level punch to the face of the Detroit Red Wings in the wildcard race, at least to surpass you.
Ottawa? Right in that range? You took the extra point from them Thursday last week in the shootout 4-3. I was impressed, man.
I was surprised, impressed. Elmer Soderblom scored. He was the one that got the scoring started. Raquel with two. Rust on the board. They even get a Ryan Shea goal.
Chapter 6: What factors are influencing the Penguins' current standings in the Metro division?
How about the play from Eric Carlson of late? One of the best months from a Penguins defenseman since Paul Coffey, truly. 4-1-2, 9-2-8, 93-70. My enthusiasm for the Penguins right now really is at the highest level that it can be because of where they sit in the Metro standings. Game in hand on the Islanders. Tied with Columbus, still up two points.
And maybe the schedule really isn't as bad as we were initially making it out to be. The next question is, who starts in net tonight? Do you go right back to Shelov's or do you give the net to Stuart Skinner? Do you try to make sure
Chapter 7: Who should start in net for the Penguins in their next game?
That you continue to keep this rotation going, back and forth they go, and in a way, continue with the momentum that you've been having built up because of the way your goaltenders are playing.