The Pittsburgh Penguins are turning to their backup goalie in hopes of keeping their playoff hopes alive.

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins will ride the hot hand in goal as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive with 10 games remaining in the season. For the fourth straight game, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan is turning to goalie Alex Nedeljkovic to start between the pipes.

It wasn’t long ago that the Penguins saw massive regression from both their goalies, but Nedeljkovic has seemed to hit a new stride. He has helped the Penguins secure standings points in three straight games, including wins over the Stanley Cup-contender Carolina Hurricanes and, most recently, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The skaters in front of him are also getting hot at the right time, but Nedeljkovic has been a workhorse in this last stretch.

The Penguins traveled to Columbus to wrap up a home-and-home series with the Blue Jackets, and Nedeljkovic didn’t face much rubber in the first meeting. In the Penguins’ 3-2 win, Nedeljkovic only faced 19 shots on goal.

According to head coach Mike Sullivan, Nedeljkovic's recent performance has been a driving factor in keeping him as the starter.

“We certainly have games penciled in for both of them,” Sullivan said. “We're gonna make decisions day-to-day, and performance always is going to be the dictator."

Nedeljkovic has a .916 save percentage in his three recent starts, which is a sharp contrast to what Tristan Jarry has provided in his recent starts.

Since the start of March, Jarry has held a 2-6-1 record in 10 appearances and 36 goals against. He’s been pulled three times in those 10 games.

The Penguins are fighting tooth and nail for every ounce of push they can make towards the postseason, and at the moment, Nedeljkovic gives them the best chance to win.

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