The Pittsburgh Penguins had a noteworthy evening despite not having a game scheduled on Friday. Three of their playoff contention rivals in the Eastern Conference – Philadelphia, Washington, and Detroit – all suffered defeats.
As a result, the Penguins, who are currently on a three-game winning streak, remain two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders, who are tied for third place in the Metropolitan Division and hold the second wild-card spot in the East.
With six games left in the regular season, the Penguins are in a position to control their playoff destiny, especially considering they have a game in hand on the Flyers and other teams vying for postseason berths.
Friday’s outcomes have put the Penguins back in the driver’s seat for securing a playoff spot, especially given their favorable head-to-head record against the other Metropolitan Division teams in contention. Winning all their remaining games, including the crucial season finale against the Islanders on April 17, would guarantee their place in the postseason.
Meanwhile, former Penguins player Jake Guentzel played a significant role in Carolina Hurricanes’ 4-2 victory, contributing two goals as they came back from a 2-0 deficit. Additionally, the New York Rangers secured a narrow 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings, with Chris Kreider netting the game-winning power-play goal in the third period.
After Philadelphia’s defeat in Buffalo, where Sabres winger Jack Quinn netted a pair of goals, the Pittsburgh Penguins are eyeing an opportunity to capitalize on their rivals’ losses when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena.
Should the Penguins secure a victory against the Lightning and both the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers suffer losses in regulation, Pittsburgh would ascend to the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Furthermore, if both the Islanders and Flyers falter in regulation and the Penguins emerge victorious, Pittsburgh would climb to third place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Penguins hold a significant advantage in the first tiebreaker criterion against all of the aforementioned teams. With 30 Regulation Wins (RW) to their name, compared to New York’s 25, Detroit’s 26, and Philadelphia and Washington’s 28, the Penguins are in a favorable position. This RW advantage implies that the Penguins may only need to match the performance of the teams ahead of them to secure a playoff berth.
With upcoming head-to-head matchups against Detroit and New York, the Penguins now find themselves in control of their playoff destiny as of Friday.
