Penguins need help to overcome Panthers, Islanders in wild-card race
Jason Zucker professed ignorance.
Or indifference.
Or maybe both.
And he probably was less than honest.
After the Pittsburgh Penguins’ steady 4-1 home win against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, the skilled winger was asked if he had checked the other scores around the league.
“No idea,” Zucker said. “Haven’t seen a thing.”
The two outcomes that meant the most to Zucker and the Penguins — or should have — were contests that involved the Florida Panthers and New York Islanders, each squad sitting ahead of the Penguins by a single point in the Eastern Conference wild-card standings.
No NHL games were held Friday, so the standings remained static going into Saturday.
Even with their win Thursday, the Penguins (39-30-10, 88 points) did not gain any ground in that pursuit as the Panthers (41-31-7, 89 points) slugged out — literally, as there were 166 combined penalty minutes — a 7-2 home win against the Ottawa Senators.
Meanwhile, the Islanders (40-30-9, 89 points) grounded the visiting Lightning, 6-1.
All three teams have three games remaining.
The Penguins and Islanders have the easiest path to a playoff berth based on their remaining opposition.
The Penguins visit the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, then face the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday in their home finale. On Thursday, they will conclude the regular season with a road game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
All three of those teams have been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention, and in the cases of the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets, each team has largely operated as if they are more interested in contending for the top overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft than actually competing in any games.
All three of the Islanders’ remaining opponents also are ineligible for the playoffs.
After hosting the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, they visit the Washington Capitals on Monday then conclude the regular season by hosting the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
Two of the Panthers’ three remaining foes have qualified for the postseason. After visiting the Capitals on Saturday, they wrap up their regular season with home contests against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday and the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
The Penguins need something to fall in their favor that is out of their control.
But above all else, they need to handle their own business.
“If we keep winning, then we’ll give ourselves the best chance to make the playoffs here,” Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. “(It’s) playoffs now. Obviously, we’ve got to continue with these efforts, and we’ve got to continue to build off of (Thursday’s win).”
While the Red Wings will miss the postseason for the seventh consecutive season, they have posed a challenge to the Penguins so far in 2022-23. The Red Wings could claim a regular season series sweep with a win Saturday.
After beating the Penguins, 5-4, in overtime at PPG Paints Arena on Dec. 28, they claimed a 7-4 win March 28 at Little Caesars Arena.
“This is huge for us,” Penguins forward Rickard Rakell said. “We have to take one game at a time, but obviously every point matters. Our focus is to win all these games that we have left here.”
Note: The Penguins canceled a scheduled practice Friday.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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