Will Pittsburgh miss the playoffs??

[Beville]

Annoyingly I’m sure the Pens will pick it all up when the time matters the most... and probably get to the final, again.

 

[Wo Yorfat]

Probably make it despite Metro being murder. I'd happily take action on them finishing ahead of NJ. No disrespek intended.

 

[Sam Spade]

Probably make it despite Metro being murder. I'd happily take action on them finishing ahead of NJ. No disrespek intended.

I would bet a lot of money they Pens make the playoffs. So many games left to play it shouldn't really be a question.

And while they may overtake the Devils, the Metro team I could see falling out of a playoff spot is the Islanders. They score an insane amount of goals but they also give up a lot. That goalie tandem just won't get it done.

 

[WJCJ]

I keep expecting to see the Penguins right back in a playoff spot but looking at the standings now and the games played, the Penguins could easily be behind Philly and Carolina. The will be in 12th place if the above mentioned teams win their games in hand. There is not much separation in the wild card race so the Penguins could win a few in a row and be back in it unless other teams have winning streaks which is just as likely. It's going to be tough for them, I still think they make it but they are not doing much to help themselves right now.

 

[Nordique]

A very good hockey team, trying to dig itself out of a hole. OTL points will make it hard for them to overtake the Metro teams ahead of them, but I think they will make the playoffs and be a very dangerous matchup for anyone.

 

[These Are The Days]

Pens have an identical 17-15-3 record that they did in 15-16, which ended with a dominant cup win. Not saying that will happen, but with the right shake-up the pens can turn it around.

Sure but the shakeup that year was firing Johnston and I think we all know Sullivan is safe right now

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Maybe if the Capitals had the help that the Penguins had with the refs, maybe they would have been able to get out of the second round once in 11 ****ing years with Ovechkin.

Oooooo a 2nd round joke, how original!

Now excuse me while I go weep quietly in a corner.

 

[Fatty McLardy]

LOL i forbid it!!!! first time on the internet i see.

Kinda creepy and weird how you keep showing up in every penguins related topic, for a team you apparently hate so much, you love talking about them.

 

[Tak7]

A win in November is worth the same as a win in March and April.

However, points are so much harder to get later on in the season.

That's where I expect Pittsburgh, with their skill and experience, to really turn it on.

They'll be fine.

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

Wow this is actually for real. Using Ws - Ls (my way of judging standings to include GP)

NJD +12 (21-9)
WAS +9 (22-13)
CBJ +9 (22-13)
NYI +6 (19-13)
NYR +6 (19-13)
CAR +4 (16-12)
PIT +2 (18-16)
PHI +2 (15-13)

The +4 difference between them and Islanders/Rangers is a real deficit for them to overcome, and if one of them falls, someone like CAR or PHI may play well in their place. It also means that PIT has little margin for error, if they have a bad week or two and Islanders/Rangers/Hurricanes have a good week, they could be 7 or 8 back all of a sudden and basically done.

That's before considering teams in the other division like MTL (even), FLA (-1), DET (-2) who plausibly could cause trouble if they heat up

 

[Bladerunner]

Wow this is actually for real. Using Ws - Ls (my way of judging standings to include GP)

NJD +12 (21-9)
WAS +9 (22-13)
CBJ +9 (22-13)
NYI +6 (19-13)
NYR +6 (19-13)
CAR +4 (16-12)
PIT +2 (18-16)
PHI +2 (15-13)

The +4 difference between them and Islanders/Rangers is a real deficit for them to overcome, and if one of them falls, someone like CAR or PHI may play well in their place. It also means that PIT has little margin for error, if they keep going backwards in the next 2-3 weeks I'm not sure they can overcome being 6-8 behind.

That's before considering teams in the other division like MTL (even), FLA (-1), DET (-2) who plausibly could cause trouble if they heat up

That's reasonable. My "quick and dirty" way to take into account GIH (and 3 pt games) is each teams Pts - GP. In the "old" days when each game equaled 2 pts, a team at/near Pts-GP = 0 was at/near .500. It's a bit thornier now regarding true .500.

At any rate Pts - GP gives a good ranking. Right now it's:
NJD +12, WAS, CBJ +9, NYR, NYI +6, CAR +4, PIT, PHI +2 !
Ok, ignoring OTL is equivalent to Pts - GP (since each OTL is 1 pt and 1 GP). Great minds...

 

[Dialamo]

Even if the Pens miss, whatever. They won two cups in a row. Wear and tear from long seasons/playoff runs are taking a toll on them. Not to mention some depth players they lost through free agency/expansion draft. The drive to win a championship is also greatly reduced after so much recent success.

If the gods of hockey told me the Devils would win two cups in a row, but would miss the playoffs 5 years in a row after that, I'd take that deal any day.

For anyone who laughs at the Pens and their fans if they manage to miss the playoffs this year, chances are I bet your team hasn't had success like the Pens in a long time (or ever).

 

[DearDiary]

I'd honestly forgotten completely about that brief nonsense...

...which probably says something about its viability as a refutation of just how often certain Pens fans keep bringing up Dubinsky Dubinsky Dubinsky Dubinsky in every other post.

It's not just Dubinsky, CBJ has a history of throwing tantrums against the Pens

 

[Viqsi]

It's not just Dubinsky, CBJ has a history of throwing tantrums against the Pens

...four days later and you still have to keep pulling this victim complex nonsense?

Go away.

 

[Oddbob]

Pittsburgh and Edmonton will both make it. We are now in the area of the season where the hope begins to die for the pretending teams, and they will start playing worse and losing, which in turn will help the struggling teams with talent like Pittsburgh and Edmonton. Pittsburgh just had a similar season a few years ago and still made it, and every year this happens to one or two teams that are make the playoffs favourites. The season starts and anything can happen, but once the ugly teams start piling up the losses, they lose hope of winning and making the playoffs and the level of motivation drops. Usually takes 20-30 or so games, and then the real teams come to the forefront. Example, last year, Detroit was in the top 3 in the Atlantic for the first half or so, but the lack of talent and depth caught up to them, and then Boston, Tampa, Ottawa came on and moved well ahead of them, roughly the same as this year, minus Ottawa doing poorly this year.

 

[Sam Spade]

Even if the Pens miss, whatever. They won two cups in a row. Wear and tear from long seasons/playoff runs are taking a toll on them. Not to mention some depth players they lost through free agency/expansion draft. The drive to win a championship is also greatly reduced after so much recent success.

If the gods of hockey told me the Devils would win two cups in a row, but would miss the playoffs 5 years in a row after that, I'd take that deal any day.

For anyone who laughs at the Pens and their fans if they manage to miss the playoffs this year, chances are I bet your team hasn't had success like the Pens in a long time (or ever).

This times a million.

"Two in a row", I bet Caps, Sabres, Canucks, Blues fans would take One in a row.

No one is laughing at the Pens and if they are it is like the crying we all do in defeat.

 

[pucky]

The Penguins just aren't the same, imho. I watched the Pens/Wings game and although the Penguins outshot the Wings, they just didn't look as dangerous as they usually do. Howard had to play well but there is something 'off' about the Penguins. Maybe their supporting cast just doesn't have it and due to injuries, they are not all jelling or something.

I can see from that one game, that they have been struggling although the talent is still there. Like others have said, though, all you have to do is make the playoffs but I think you still need a good streak going of playing well and winning some games at the end of the regular season so that you have momentum going into the playoffs. The Penguins need a turnaround within a couple of months instead of fighting to just make a playoff/wildcard spot, though.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

It would be funny if Pittsburgh did miss the playoffs, but I think they'll make it or at the worst... just, miss the playoffs and pick 14th.

 

[Chukcha]

as a die-hard caps fan i hate the pens, but i have no doubt they make the playoffs. The only way they miss is if they fire Sullivan and hire Oates .

 

[Cellee]

Penguins will get in but only long enough to knock off the Caps

 

[Mr Hockey]

Pens will sneak in and then 3 peat...

 

[Emperoreddy]

Wow this is actually for real. Using Ws - Ls (my way of judging standings to include GP)

NJD +12 (21-9)
WAS +9 (22-13)
CBJ +9 (22-13)
NYI +6 (19-13)
NYR +6 (19-13)
CAR +4 (16-12)
PIT +2 (18-16)
PHI +2 (15-13)

The +4 difference between them and Islanders/Rangers is a real deficit for them to overcome, and if one of them falls, someone like CAR or PHI may play well in their place. It also means that PIT has little margin for error, if they have a bad week or two and Islanders/Rangers/Hurricanes have a good week, they could be 7 or 8 back all of a sudden and basically done.

That's before considering teams in the other division like MTL (even), FLA (-1), DET (-2) who plausibly could cause trouble if they heat up

Yeah I don’t think people realize how deep a hole they have dug, especially in a division that never seems to drop points.

Even if one of the current playoff teams drop they still have to contend with a team like Carolina who is simply playing better hockey right now.

They can still get in, but it gets harder and harder every week they lose ground.

 

[HajdukSplit]

Not writing them off yet but I don't see them being higher than the 8th seed honestly, 5th in the Metro is the highest I see them

 

[DitchMarner]

Yeah I don’t think people realize how deep a hole they have dug, especially in a division that never seems to drop points.

Even if one of the current playoff teams drop they still have to contend with a team like Carolina who is simply playing better hockey right now.

They can still get in, but it gets harder and harder every week they lose ground.

Maybe people are giving them the benefit of the doubt because of history.

A few weeks ago, I wouldn't have said they'll miss the playoffs. At this point, it's a definite possibility if not probability that they will.

Check out this site...

National Hockey League Playoff Chances - Sports Club Stats

 

[Cellee]

No website forecasting anything based on statistics is worth visiting haha