Like most of you, I’m sure it has been difficult at times this season to be overly optimistic about the Pittsburgh Penguins 2020-21 season. The combination of injuries, under-goalkeeping, vague defensive play and the lack of results on the ice made it seem like we were at the start of a very challenging season where even making it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs would be a struggle. Not only did the team play poorly at times, it was also boring. During the first quarter of the season, there were few positives to take away.
It’s amazing how quickly all that can change, because we’re sitting these days, things are starting to look really interesting. Not only that, I would say there is a lot of reason for optimism.
After winning the Penguins 3-2 overtime against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night, they are back in the top four of the East Division (based on total points and points percentage) and are just one point behind of the Capitals for second place. . They are also just three points behind Boston for first place. When you consider how the team has looked at different times this season, it is nothing short of astonishing.
They clearly didn’t play their best hockey in the first 10 games.
The goalkeepers and defense were both devastated at different times (and at the same time).
Scoring depth has been occasional.
They dealt with some serious injuries.
Getting a lead seemed impossible at times and they spent most of the season behind the scoreboard, rarely winning any regulated games.
They’ve also played what’s probably the hardest part of their schedule while all of that was going on.
All of this has kept them in the playoff race and are now in a pretty good position while still having all of their games ahead of the Buffalo Sabers and New Jersey Devils (probably the two weakest teams in the division). them.
Now all of a sudden they’ve won five of the last six games, kept some leads, won a few regulatory games, and they are getting some significant contributions from players they should receive a contribution from.
Tristan Jarry has a storage rate of .932 on that trajectory. There are six different players who have at least five points in those games, including Evgeni Malkin (very significant) and Kris Letang (more importantly). John Marino and Mike Matheson have been much better, with flashes of brilliance from the latter. The buzzsaw line has been buzzing, well, since the return of Zach Aston-Reese, with the Blueger-Aston-Reese duo beating the teams by a 5-0 margin in 5-on-5 play in the past (with strong possession numbers). six games.
All of that combined has helped them not only accumulate a lot of points, but also gain significant ground in the leaderboard by beating the capitals and islanders against each other, with three of those wins actually falling within the regulations.
Jason Zucker’s injury on Tuesday night is potentially significant, and that will cause a major absence from the top six that will need to be addressed in some way. But there is good news on that front too, with Brian Dumoulin and Jared McCann getting closer to their return.
There are still a lot of unknowns and wildcards that will determine what the Penguins can do this season, but for the first time all year I am actually optimistic that this team is not quite ready as a contender or a team capable of a deep run in the playoffs. They still need Jarry to play at a fairly high level, and the defense has to remain solid, but as that unity gets healthier and players like Matheson and Cody Ceci feel more comfortable and Letang and Marino feel that their game there is a lot. reason to be optimistic about this.
It is not a perfect team by any means. There are still some flaws. But outside of Boston, which team in this division isn’t flawed? Even Boston is not invincible on the ice and has its fair share of question marks (defense isn’t great, and score depth has been a problem again). Right now, the Penguins are starting to distance themselves from the Rangers, Devils and Sabers and are in a five-team race for those four playoff spots in the division. For the first time this season, I’m really starting to appreciate their chances of taking one of those places.