As recently as March 7, the Pittsburgh sports landscape was looking pretty bleak. The Penguins became sellers at the trade deadline, shipping former All-Star Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Steelers coaches and management were giving skeptical fans and media members a hard sell about why they were still optimistic regarding Kenny Pickett’s chances of becoming a good starting quarterback in the NFL.

And the Pirates were in the midst of spring training with projections for a “.500ish at best” kind of season.

Barely over a month later, it feels like things have dramatically changed on all three fronts. The Penguins have resurrected their playoff chances with a nine-game point streak. The Pirates are 9-3 to start the season, and the Steelers completely overhauled their quarterback room while also signing prized free agent linebacker Patrick Queen away from the Baltimore Ravens.

Not to mention Duquesne’s stunning run to the NCAA Tournament’s second round.

Yes, things are looking up. Now it’s time to start seeing how much of this newfound hope is warranted.

The Penguins get the first test Thursday night at home against the Detroit Red Wings. Both teams have 84 points, tied for ninth place behind the Washington Capitals (85 points) who hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

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A regulation win for the Penguins will keep what had been a fading playoff pulse alive heading into the final week of the season while also potentially dealing a death blow to the Red Wings, who have lost six of eight.

“Guys in this locker room believe,” forward Bryan Rust said on Wednesday. “They believe we have a chance to do something special and make the playoffs. Hopefully (we) make a run. Guys in here just kind of came together and buckled down. Obviously, it would’ve been nice if it had been a little bit earlier in the year. But we’re trying our best now.”

According to Michael Bunting, part of that equation is rising up to the importance of Thursday night’s game without feeling the pressure of the result.

“Business as usual. You don’t want to focus too much on anything. I think right now we’re clicking, and we’re playing really well. I think we’re playing really good hockey,” Bunting said. “We just have to continue that mentality no matter who we play. We know Detroit is right there with us. But we can’t think like that. We just kind of have to look forward to each game.”

After Thursday’s showdown with Detroit, the Pens host Atlantic-leading Boston on Saturday and playoff-bound Nashville on Monday. Then they end the season on the road against the New York Islanders on Wednesday. As of now, New York (87 points) also has a tenuous hold on a playoff spot — the third automatic berth from the Metropolitan Division. So the Penguins’ road only gets harder in terms of opponents after the matchup with the Red Wings.

“They’re playing the game the right way on both sides of the puck,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of his players Wednesday. “It’s a team effort. It’s cooperative play. It’s not isolated effort by one player or two players. I always use the phrase ‘when the five guys on the ice have the same heartbeat.’”

It’s not like that heartbeat has entirely avoided palpitations during the nine-game point streak (6-0-3). The Penguins blew a four-goal lead at the outset of the streak to the Colorado Avalanche and lost 5-4 in overtime. They blew a 3-1 third-period lead in Columbus before losing 4-3 in overtime, and they saw a 4-1 lead over Tampa Bay evaporate on Saturday before a Bunting goal pulled a regulation victory out of the fire.

But those points fumbled against the Avalanche and Blue Jackets are just two of many that the Pens have left on the table throughout the year. As a result, they may need at least seven or all eight of their remaining available points to get into a playoff slot.

They may also need some outside help from other teams. Does anyone from last year’s Tennessee Titans know how to play hockey, by any chance? Can Derrick Henry skate?

So I understand any skepticism Pittsburgh fans may have about the Penguins being able to sustain this hot stretch against four quality teams when they haven’t had a win streak longer than five games since November.

I certainly understand why Pirates fans may be cynical of a quick April start after what happened to the fast-fading Bucs of 2023. And I’m totally on board with any doubts Steelers fans may have about how much Russell Wilson has left in the tank at quarterback or what the franchise really acquired in Justin Fields.

At least it’s a more pleasant horizon than what we were looking at a month ago. The Penguins have the first chance to keep the sky sunny with what would be a massive win on Thursday.

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