'We Believe In Each Other': Penguins Players Eager To Stay In Fight Together

Despite being five points out of the second wild card spot in the East, the Penguins believe they have what it takes to make a run

A few weeks following the turn of the calendar year to 2025, the Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves in a pretty familiar position.

They are on the outside looking in at a playoff position and not far off. However - just like with Jake Guentzel in 2024 - the Penguins are at a crossroads ahead of the NHL trade deadline. They have a more clear direction now in terms of building for the future, but the fact remains that they are still in a playoff race.

Like last year - they are fighting for their playoff lives, and their team morale, in the weeks leading up to the deadline. And - like last year - they are fighting for the chance to go on a run together with the group that they have.

The players know what the stakes are at this time of year. They try to drown out most of the noise. But they are aware of what's on the line - and there is a lot of belief in the guys they have in the locker room.

"I mean, yeah, it's on us," forward Anthony Beauvillier said. "If we're in the mix, I think nobody's gonna worry about getting traded anywhere for the most part."

Beauvillier acknowledged that the trade deadline isn't really something they think about too much until the day comes, and they are aware of the business they are in. They also know that they need to turn things around quickly in order to give the group a chance to stay together and vye for the postseason down the stretch.

Despite losing nine of 12 games since the holiday break, the reality is that they've been in most of these games. Eight of their nine losses have been one-goal games in the third period, and they're playing a lot of good hockey despite the results. 

That is exactly why they believe that the solution is already within the room - and that it's on them to round out the details of their game and get the job done.

"I know there's a lot of trust in each other - and in this group that we have - that we can turn this around," Beauvillier said. "But, sometimes, it's just a matter of executing plays and things like that."

But they also know that, eventually, time won't be on their side.

"That's the thing, is that there's still time," goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic said just days after making NHL history as the first goaltender to record a goal and an assist in the same game. "You hate to keep saying there's still a lot of games left, because eventually, you run out of runway. But, we're still right there. We're only a couple of points out."

Yes, they are only a few points out of the playoff picture. They currently sit five points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card spot, and the games in hand that other teams had on the Penguins are beginning to even out a little bit more. But that makes it all the more important for the Penguins to get on the other side of those one-goal games, start stringing wins together, and avoid surrendering extra overtime points .

Nedeljkovic took things a step further, saying that the league's best teams have a way of separating themselves on a game-to-game basis, which is something that the Penguins need to match consistently despite having the right energy and the right responses to adversity.

"It's not that we're playing poorly or anything like that," Nedeljkovic said. "There's good energy in here. We've just got to take that extra step - go that extra little bit - to put us over the hump. That's the difference between winning and losing. There's teams that do that extra step, that extra work, or whatever it is... that extra little bit of effort. And those are the teams that tend to have more success more often and more consistently."

If there's one thing that's evident when making the rounds in that locker room, it's that there is belief in the group being able to accomplish those things together. There is belief among the guys in the room that they can compete with anybody, and the closeness of the team as a whole has a lot to do with it.

This is even more true now, as the Penguins find themselves in the midst of a seven-game, 15-day roadtrip. They have started the road trip at 1-1, and they have five games remaining - with the first being a tough matchup against the Los Angeles Kings before four consecutive games that should be pretty winnable.

Even though the team is already tight-knit, being on the road that long offers a unique opportunity for guys to get to know each other better, have team dinners, and simply "be together," as Beauvillier put it. The group has the kind of connection that can transfer from social opportunities on places like the team plane to performance on the ice.

"I think teams that build chemistry... that chemistry starts off the ice, and it carries to the ice," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "And, sometimes, an extended road trip like this certainly facilitates that."

Save from a brutal 5-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 11, the Penguins have been playing better hockey. They have probably deserved a better fate in each of the last four games they played despite banking just one win. But even when they haven't been at their best, one thing that's never in question is effort.

This team has fight. This team has heart. Even if there may be some raw talent missing down through parts of the lineup, they've put that team chemistry and that fight on display night in and night out. 

And they'll keep fighting for the chance to beat the trade deadline and go on a second-half stretch run together.

"It's that time of year," Beauvillier said. "It's part of the business that we're in. Hopefully, we're in a situation where nobody has to go.

"We have a really strong character room. Really good leaders, obviously. I think we have a lot of camaraderie. We're a tight group. We believe in each other. We believe that we can have a run here, and that's what we're going to try to do."