A former rival says the Pittsburgh Penguins may be in better position if they held onto Jake Guentzel.

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins secured a victory in a must-win game with the Nashville Predators, but the fate of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs isn’t in their hands. While the Penguins are off to Long Island, they will have to sit and see if the Montreal Canadiens and rival Philadelphia Flyers can lend a helping hand.

Heading into their final game of the season, the Penguins are one of the hottest teams in the league, with a 7-1-2 record in their last 10 games. How could they still be outside a playoff spot with that sort of run? It’s just been too little too late.

Not only did the Penguins wait too long to kick things into high gear, but they may have been missing a key piece to their offense. According to former player-turned-analyst P.K. Subban, the Penguins could have used Jake Guentzel in their contest against the Boston Bruins.

The Penguins lone regulation loss over their last 10 games came against the Bruins in a 6-4 loss.

“If they had Jake Guentzel on the team,” Subban said on the Pat McAfee Show. “They could have used him against Boston.”

Had the Penguins snuck a win against a tough Bruins team, they would be in a much better position in the standings and likely even battling for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Sidney Crosby said the Penguins “scored enough to win” against the Bruins but just couldn’t minimize the mistakes. Subban believes Guentzel's presence on the roster may have helped provide an extra boost of offense.

When the Penguins traded Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes, that wasn’t the organization throwing in the towel on the season. They still believed they had what it took to make the postseason.

“When Pittsburgh made the trade,” Subban said. “They knew what was at stake. They knew their playoff hopes. Nobody was counting them in.”

Since the trade deadline, the Penguins have been one of the best teams in the NHL with their recent 10-game run, and Crosby has been the most productive player with 29 points (10G-19A) in the last 20 games.

Even without Guentzel, the Penguins have found a good rhythm and have been happy with Michael Bunting in return. In that one game against Boston, however, maybe Guentzel could have been a difference-maker.

"You can't replace guys like Guentzel," Subban said. "Crosby can't do it all by himself 

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