Faceoff Factor

There's Some Good With The Bad

Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins

Feb 18, 03:05 PM | Hype this story!

On the surface, last night’s game results are a bit depressing for Pittsburgh Penguins fans.

Florida 4, New Jersey 0
Buffalo 4, Toronto 1
Boston 5, Carolina 1

Fortunately, the surface doesn’t tell the entire story.

The Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers both advanced in the standings, putting them six points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins, while the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers remain six points ahead of the Penguins.

Eastern Conference Playoff Race Rank Team GP W L OTL Pts L10 5 Montreal 57 30 21 6 66 3-7-0 6 Florida 57 29 20 8 66 7-3-0 7 Buffalo 58 30 22 6 66 5-4-1 8 NY Rangers 58 30 22 6 66 2-6-2 9 Carolina 58 28 25 5 61 5-5-0 10 Pittsburgh 58 27 25 6 60 4-4-2

But, here’s the catch: as I noted last week, the Canadiens and Rangers have not just cooled off, but shut down.

And there’s no real end in sight for either team.

Late yesterday evening, word broke that the Canadiens demoted one key player and sent another home. The culprits: 21 year-old Sergei Kostitsyn (sent to AHL) and veteran All Star Alex Kovalev (given a leave of absence).

To add their woes, the Canadiens have been without forward Alex Tanguay since the beginning of the New Year, and center Robert Lang is done for the season — both sidelined with injuries. In goal, Carey Price may be in uniform, but he certainly hasn’t shown up to play.

Could an overabundance of partying be to blame?

Trading for veteran defenseman Mathieu Schneider was a step in the right direction, but their problems are team-wide, and they’ll need more moves to right the ship.

Their 3-7-0 record in their last 10 games is a clear indication of which direction they are headed in — and that direction is shared by the Rangers.

Prior to Michel Therrien’s surprise firing in Pittsburgh, heavy rumors surfaced that Blueshirts coach Tom Renney could be on the chopping block. It hasn’t happened yet, but things haven’t gotten better.

In fact, the situation has grown worse. On Sunday, arguably the team’s best defenseman, Paul Mara, separated his shoulder in a fight and is now out indefinitely, and All Star goalie Henrik Lundqvist has looked pedestrian, winning just one of his last eight games and giving up 25 goals in that span.

Their problem: a complete lack of scoring. During Lundqvist’s eight-game stretch with one win, the team tallied 12 goals. To make that a bit more clear, they’ve been outscored 25-12.

Ouch.

Both teams are back in action tonight in two games that should be the focus of Penguins fans.

NY Islanders at NY Rangers: 7:00
Montreal at Washington: 7:30

Okay, so how does this help the Penguins?

Well, it doesn’t, unless interim coach Dan Bylsma can get his players to buy into the high-tempo, aggressive style of play he preaches.

The fact is, the Canadiens and Rangers can lose all they want, but if the Penguins don’t win and win often, the standings won’t change.

Therein (not Therrien) lies the problem. The Penguins quite simply haven’t proven capable of winning with any regularity.

That has to change.

It begins tomorrow night — as the Penguins host to the Canadiens, who will be playing their second road game in 24 hours — and it must continue through the weekend against formidable opponents in Philadelphia and Washington.

Clearly, the Penguins must defeat the Canadiens to gain ground, but they also must win at least one of the other two games.

To hit 91 points (James Mirtle’s projected total needed for an Eastern Conference playoff berth), the Penguins will need a 15-8-1 record. That means taking four of every six possible points.

It can be done. But there is zero room for error.