The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a mediocre start to the year, but some numbers lean in their favor.

It’s been a roller coaster first few weeks of the season for the Pittsburgh Penguins; losing five of six games turned into a five-game winning streak before dropping two more in a row.

Overall, the Penguins have a 9-8-0 record which sits them two points out of a playoff spots and fourth in the Metropolitan Division.

Luckily, it’s still early enough in the season that there is plenty of runway to straighten out the course, but that Thanksgiving holiday is sometimes a telling marker.

The trend has often been that teams not sitting in a playoff spot by American Thanksgiving often miss when the season ends.

Of course, that’s not a guarantee and a big reason why teams play 82 games in a season, but the Penguins do have something good to fall back on and give them hope.

The Penguins are still one of the most analytically inclined teams in the NHL.

According to moneypuck.com, the Penguins sit fourth in the NHL expected goals percentage in all situations with a 55.01%; behind only the Florida Panethers (56.69), Los Angeles Kings (55.69), and Colorado Avalanche (55.41).

The Penguins first line of Sidney Crosby centering Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust is the only line in the NHL to play more that 200 minutes together and they’ve been extremely productive.

Backed by a recent 11-game point streak from Crosby and a current eight-game run from Guentzel, this group has reached 60% expected goals.

Among some of the most common forward lines, those three ranks near the top in that stat.

As for Crosby and Guentzel themselves, they sit second and third in the NHL (behind only Auston Matthews) with the highest expected goals number.

Crosby and Guentzel both hold a 10.3 in that category.

The Penguins might have flaws in certain area that are holding them back from their full potential, but if everything begins to wake up, they can easily be one of the most feared teams in the NHL.

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.

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