Penguins Slip as Leaders in Wild Card Race
The Pittsburgh Penguins recent poor stretch is starting to cost them in the standings.
Things are getting down to the wire for the Pittsburgh Penguins and a three-game losing streak is sinking their odds of reaching the postseason.
For the past few week, the Penguins were leading the pack among bubbled teams fighting for a chance at the 2023 Playoffs.
They had an outside chance of reaching the New York Rangers and propelling out of the wild card, but that seems to have completely slipped away.
A three-game losing streak, a pair of goalies that aren’t hitting starting caliber, and a few skaters somehow still lacing up every night have helped drop the Penguins playoff chances to 64.4% according to moneypuck.com.
The battle for the two Eastern Conference wild card slots has long been led by the Penguins and New York Islanders, but the Florida Panthers have begun a strong surge.
It’s the Panthers who have overtaken both the Penguins and Islanders with a 66.4% chance of reaching the playoffs.
The Penguins still have the upper-hand on the Islanders, but not by much as the Islanders sit at 63.3%.
Those two games in hand will be crucial for the Penguins against the Islanders as it looks to be a three team race for two spots.
The Panthers sit just a single point behind the Penguins in the standings and are on a 7-2-1 run in their last 10 games.
The Penguins, meanwhile have slipped to 5-4-1 in their last 10 and are two points behind the Islanders in the standings.
The Buffalo Sabres (3.3%), Washington Capitals (1.8%), Ottawa Senators (.9%), and Detroit Red Wings (.2%) aren’t mathematically out of the running, but it would take near-perfect finishes to make it.
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