Penguins v Ottawa - A brief look
The game this Tuesday against Ottawa is huge and is effectively a preliminary one game play-off match. If the Penguins win in regulation then they will clinch a spot in the 2015 Stanley Cup play-offs. A regulation loss would open the door for the Senators and a win in Overtime or beyond would mean that the Penguins would need just one point. When you consider that the Penguins final game is against the Sabres, you would think that would be assured but this is the Penguins. They don't do it the easy way.
The Ottawa Senators are a hot team right now despite their shoot-out loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. Since February 1st they are 20-7-4 which is a strong stretch and has been good enough for 44 points which has made it possible for them to be where they are. The biggest reasons for this is the performance of Andrew "The Hamburglar" Hammond in net. Coupled with the performances of some of their younger players, Stone and Hoffman, it has seen the improbably made nearly possible.
On the other end of the scale the Penguins have limped into the play-offs and their position at the post-season table is now at threat, due to their 3-6-1 record in their last 10 and a propensity to struggle to score. The Penguins have not had the secondary scoring that they have badly needed and as such they have suffered. The Penguins have scored just 19 goals in those 10 games whilst conceding 30 a differential of -20. One bright spark recently on the back-end has been Ian Cole who is currently riding a career best points streak.
The Penguins have also been dealt a bad hand with injuries to Kris Letang recently. If you're missing two of your top players like that then your performance will drop, not that it is acceptable to perform as they have done. I do wonder what the reaction would be from the hierarchy if the Penguins miss the play-offs. But, frankly, I don't want it to come to that. Even if I don't think we'll get far. A regulation win against Ottawa would make things a lot easier and maybe give the players a slight boost.
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