Heading into tonight’s regular season finale my overall feeling is muted with a dash of impatience. We’ve seen the Penguins struggling down the stretch due to injuries, performance, and deployment issues. They do not look like a team ready to make a run. The feeling is similar to being in school and you are counting down the day(s) until you have to take the test you don’t feel confident about. That doesn’t mean the test isn’t important. While it may feel like just another game before we get to the important stuff this game carries some serious weight.
Whether any of us want to admit it or not this might be the last regular season game with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang all together. That sentence is a lot to unpack. Part of me understands this is the nature of unrestricted free agency and anything goes. The other part of me can’t fathom a path where the Penguins would let something like that happen. I am firmly implanted on the side of keeping them together whether or not Cup runs are in the future. I am totally 100% fine with this thing becoming a nostalgia act because I love these players and what they’ve provided us over these many great years. Stanley Cup or bust is appropriate for some franchises depending on where they are in their window. After three championships with this core group of players I don’t feel that way at all. It is an unrealistic expectation. There are ways to enjoy this sport and specifically the Penguins without a Cup championship. Watching this trio stick together into the sunset is narratively what I think they deserve. I think it is feasible. I think it should happen.
Getting a head start on the rebuild sounds awful. There are absolutely no guarantees. You can’t even guarantee yourself a top two pick like the Sabres did years ago (and how did that go anyways). There’s no need to start that miserable process, yet. It is coming, for sure, but it absolutely does not have to start now. Because if it does what do you do with Sidney Crosby? Is it really fair to him by making him play out the stretch on a bottom feeding team? That is how the Crosby era ends? At that point you are opening the door to him finishing his career on another team. I would respect Sid’s decision, but I think we all would rather see him retire playing the entirety of his career as a Pittsburgh Penguin.
I really hope tonight is not the last time these three are together in the regular season. I will be incredibly disappointed if that is the case.
The second reason this game carries weight is the fact the playoff seedings are not set. Heading into both the Penguins and Capitals final game of the season we have the Penguins at 101 standings points with Washington at 100. The first tiebreaker is regulation wins. Pittsburgh has 36 and Washington has 35. There is scenario where the Penguins lose in the shootout or overtime and Washington wins in regulation to tie in regulation wins. The next tiebreaker is regulation and overtime wins combined and the Penguins already have 42 while Washington is further down at 39.
Essentially, if the Penguins take a point tonight they play the Rangers. If they lose in regulation and the Capitals win their game (regulation or extra time) the Penguins will get the Panthers.
The way the Penguins are playing I don’t think it matters who they face. I think I’d rather see Florida because of the difference in goaltending and quite frankly they will be more entertaining to watch if they squash the Penguins.
Either way let’s hope this core is back for another season
Thanks for reading!