Penguins Have to Step Up in Crosby’s Absence

The Pittsburgh Penguins are at an interesting point in their season. They currently sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 75 points. They are tied with the New York Islanders but have two games in hand on New York. Pittsburgh has been forced to shuffle their lines around with Sidney Crosby out of the lineup due to injury. With 22 games left in the regular season, will they be able to keep up their current pace and make a return to the postseason? 

Penguins’ Current Position 

Losing Crosby was not a part of head coach Dan Muse’s plan. The captain was injured on Feb. 18 during Team Canada’s game against Team Czechia in the Winter Olympics. He will be out for at least the first couple weeks of March, so the Penguins are currently navigating life without him. 

Pittsburgh was probably the perfect landing spot for Muse. Despite this being his first season as an NHL head coach, he has already gained the trust of his players. Without Crosby, he has pushed them even harder, and they have responded. 

On March 1, Pittsburgh defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-0. Bryan Rust, Ben Kindel, Justin Brazeau, Rickard Rakell and Egor Chinakhov all scored goals in the game. Chinakhov has 10 goals in 22 games with the Penguins, and Kindel is now up to 15 goals on the season. In Crosby’s absence, everyone has to step up if they are going to keep their playoff spot. 

On March 3, the Penguins lost 2-1 to the Boston Bruins. Pittsburgh struggled on the breakout and on faceoffs all night. Without Crosby, they have only won 34% of their draws, and forwards have only scored four 5v5 goals in the last four games. The team has to come up with a stronger game plan because things are not getting any easier. 

On Feb. 23, the Penguins recalled Avery Hayes from the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins. He made his NHL debut on Feb. 5 against the Buffalo Sabres, and scored two goals in Pittsburgh’s 5-2 win. In 36 games with Wilkes-Barre, he has 19 goals and 30 points. He is the strongest player on their roster this season, and Pittsburgh is hoping he continues to excel in the NHL. 

What Do the Penguins Need to Do to Make the Postseason? 

So, how many more games do the Penguins need to win to get into the playoffs? Currently, they have 75 points. If they win 11 of their last 22 games, that will give them 97 points, and that should be enough to get in. Two or three overtime losses on top of 11 wins would pretty much guarantee them a spot in the postseason. 

The Penguins have 15 games left in the month of March. If they win at least half of them, they will be in a good place heading into April. In order to do this, they have to stay consistent. In the game against Boston, they were too passive. They did not apply much pressure to the Bruins in the offensive zone, and they did not shoot the puck enough. They also have to be better in the faceoff dot and more aggressive offensively.

Pittsburgh looked disorganized against Boston, and it was clear that Crosby’s absence was felt. They struggled to complete passes and win puck battles. There is no set date for the captain’s return, and the Penguins need to get back to playing like they have for the majority of the season. If they can do that, they should not have a problem making the postseason.