As the Penguins wait it out for their next game on Friday night the playoff picture continues to sort itself out. Last night the Washington Capitals did the Penguins a favor by dispatching the Boston Bruins by a score of 3-0. The loss puts the Bruins in the same exact spot as the Ottawa Senators right now, one point behind the Penguins, two games to play, and without the advantage of currently holding a tie breaker over Pittsburgh.
So the Penguins didn’t even play last night and their playoff probability went up to 94.1%.
Their chances of playing Montreal also increased:
Montreal will be without their best scorer in Max Pacioretty for the final two games of the season. Some speculation has the injury being a concussion. Given the nature of concussion injuries it could be longer (as all Penguins fans know). This is certainly not ideal for the Atlantic Division points leader.
Andrew Berkshire of Habs Eye On The Prize :had this to say about Pacrioretty
Max Pacioretty has been involved in 34.5% of the Canadiens' goals, among the highest marks of any player in the NHL. Can the Habs survive without him?
Losing Pacioretty would big a huge blow for Montreal given that their success is driven by PDO due to their low possession style of play. They need finishers and goaltending and Pacioretty is their best finisher.
To use a Penguins-centric reference. Back in 2010 the Habs rode the amazing goaltending of Jaro Halak to success in the playoffs, but they also leaned heavily on Mike Cammalleri. Pacioretty is their Cammalleri these days except Pacioretty is better. I'm not sure that old formula of success works without the sniper.
While the losing that Pittsburgh has done recently is not a good thing it may lead to them finally catching a break with their potential first round matchup.
**** In recent memory you don’t need to have a great power play to win the Stanley Cup. And that is good news for Pittsburgh because right now theirs is terrible.
PP rank (reg season) of last 6 Stanley Cup Champs 2009 PIT: 20th 2010 CHI: 16th 2011 BOS: 20th 2012 LA: 17th 2013 CHI: 19th 2014 LA: 27th
— Steve Kournianos (@TheDraftAnalyst) April 9, 2015
The bad news though is that Pittsburgh isn’t going a very good job at even strength scoring as of late.
Since March 1st the Penguins rank 23rd at 1.8 goals per game at even strength. I’m willing to bet those Stanley Cup Champions did a lot better in this area than the Penguins currently are.
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Kasperi Kapanen made his AHL debut last night and it went really well. He scored on his first shot and also added an assist later in the game. The Baby Penguins won the game 3-0. Matt Murray recorded his 12th shutout of the season.
VIDEO: Kasperi Kapanen 4/8 goal at Lehigh Valley pic.twitter.com/klXiW8vNQT
— Jason Iacona (@nafsnep) April 8, 2015
Worth noting: Matt Murray has 12 shutouts in 38 appearances. AHL record is 13, which Jason LaBarbera set in 03-04. He played in 59 games.
— Michael Cignoli (@CVCignoli) April 9, 2015
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Sidney Crosby is tied for the league lead in points with 83. He is tied with both Jamie Benn and John Tavares. Benn only has one game left and the Penguins play against Tavares and his Islanders on Friday night. Crosby (28) has fewer goals than Benn (32) and Tavares (36) and thus does not hold a tie breaker. He will need to out point both players.
This bodes well for Buffalo. If they need to lose that last game of the season and Pittsburgh already has clinched a playoff berth you know Sid is still gonna get after it to earn the Art Ross Trophy. Seems like a win win for both parties.
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The Vancouver Canucks gave a free tutorial on what not to do with your roster yesterday. They did what the Penguins have been doing in recent years. They fell in love with average to below average and will now pay a premium for it. Luca Sbisa will get 3.6M the next three seasons and Derek Dorsett will get 2.6M for the next four years *channels inner Bob McKenzie* that’s per year.
Yikes. Hopefully the Penguins have learned their lesson in this department.
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It might feel weird to root for the Rangers but if they beat Ottawa in regulation that would all but clinch Pittsburgh’s playoff berth. The only way the Senators could stay ahead of the Penguins would be if they did not gain a single point against the Islanders or Sabres. This scenario is identical for the Bruins as well if they lose to Florida tonight.
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