Penguins poised for more points as they skate back into the spotlight on home ice

A week ago, I told you the annual “Steelers pass the Pittsburgh sports baton to the Penguins” column was ready to go.

Then the Jacksonville Jaguars and a kicker on the Las Vegas Raiders had something to say about that.

Now, though, it’s time for Western Pa. fans to tunnel out from their unplowed snowy streets and shake off the cobwebs from yet another Steelers postseason beatdown to see how the Pittsburgh sports landscape looks in a post-Ben Roethlisberger world.

Once they get a good look at the local hockey team, they might like what they see.

Just in time for a long run of home games, as well.

Creeping up on the halfway point of the schedule, the Penguins are 23-10-5. That’s currently good for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, 10 points clear of the postseason cut line, and just three points shy of first place in the jam-packed Metropolitan Division.

They just concluded an 11-day road trip that featured four wins in six tries, the most recent of which was an exhilarating comeback from three goals down to take out the Pacific Division-leading Las Vegas Golden Knights, 5-3.

“Down 3-0 and at the end of a long road trip, I think it would have been easy to start feeling sorry for ourselves and pack it in,” defenseman Mike Matheson said after the victory. “And we did the complete opposite. That was huge for us.”

Related:

• Penguins found ways to win despite imperfect play on road trip
• Penguins forward Jake Guentzel selected for All-Star Game event

Since Dec. 1, Mike Sullivan’s team is 13-3. They have the fourth-best goals per game average at 2.53. They have the NHL’s second-best penalty kill at 89.5%. Evgeni Malkin is back, and (for the time being) the club is not only playing well, but it is close to full health.

Now the Penguins skate into the city’s sports spotlight with seven of their next eight games on home ice. The first of which is Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators, who are 11-19-2. Their 24 points are the second-lowest total in the Eastern Conference. In fact, the Penguins won’t see another team currently in a playoff spot until Jan. 30, when the Los Angeles Kings come to town.

So this is a perfect opportunity to gobble up more points and perhaps better their positioning in the Metro and the conference overall.

“We’ve played some really good hockey as of late,” Carter said. “Pretty good road trip points-wise for us. It wasn’t our best road trip. But we found ways to win hockey games. … It’s something we can definitely build on as we head home.”

That’s while they grab the baton from their friends at Heinz Field and head to the top of the Pittsburgh sports headlines. Well, at least for a little while.

NFL free agency and the draft are coming. Did you hear? Big Ben is retiring. The Steelers may be in the market for a quarterback.

Not like that will get much attention or anything.

In this week’s “Breakfast With Benz” hockey podcast, Brian Metzer and Tim Benz recap the Penguins’ road trip. They discuss the return of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby’s recent play. Plus, they take a look at how the NHL may readjust its schedule to accommodate for some coronavirus postponements.

Listen: Tim Benz and Brian Metzer talk about what’s ahead for the Penguins