According to the data among other bubble teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins still have the best chance to be a playoff team.
PITTSBURGH - Despite riding a three-game losing streak, the Pittsburgh Penguins still have the best odds to make the postseason among other bubble teams in the Eastern Conference.
According to data from moneypuck.com, the Penguins hold a 56.9% chance to make the 2023 postseason.
That’s a higher percentage than each of the five other teams in a dog fight for the two wild card slots, and the race isn’t that close.
The Florida Panthers, who post the biggest threat according to this graphic, stand with a 43.1% chance of reaching the playoffs, over 10 percentage points behind the Penguins.
The order following the Panther runs the Buffalo Sabres (34.3%), New York islanders (28.3%), Detroit Red Wings (18.9%), and the Washington Capitals (11.5%).
It’s quote a surprise the Penguins still have this much of a fighting chance after losing three straight including twice to the Islanders, but the math has been in their favor for quite a while.
The Penguins still have multiple games in hand on the Panthers, Islanders, and Capitals; they are knotted with the Red Wings at 56 games and the Sabres are now a game back with 55.
As per usual, you can also never bet against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Following their most recent loss to the Islanders, Malkin said the team understands the place they’re in, and they need to do better to continue playing into the spring.
Crosby noted that the Penguins have been playing like the better team at times, but they need to change their fortunes.
“There’s a lot of different things you can look at,” Crosby said. “It’s a matter of working a little bit harder, a little bit smarter. We got to find ways to win games.”
The odds and math are in the Penguins favor, but it’s up to them to act on it and have a successful run down the stretch.
Luckily for the Penguins, March has historically been a good month for the Penguins in the Crosby era.
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