Penguins Get Metropolitan Monkey off Their Backs
The Pittsburgh Penguins are beginning to find a better rhythm in hugely important games against division rivals.
One of the biggest reasons the Pittsburgh Penguins missed the postseason in 2022-23 was their brutal record against their rival Metropolitan Division opponents.
In 26 games against the Metro Division last year, the Penguins went 10-10-6 and completely winless against the Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils.
The Metro isn’t an easy division to play in but this group entered the 2023-24 season knowing they needed to be better against those rivals.
So far, in nine games against division opponents, the Penguins are 4-3-2, which still isn’t ideal, but steps are being taken in the right direction considering a pair of huge victories have come against the Hurricanes and Islanders.
For the Penguins, it feels like there is a bit of a monkey off their backs finally getting something done against teams that have usually gotten the upper hand.
“Those are teams that have kind of gave us trouble in the past,” Jake Guentzel said. “They’re kind of huge wins. We needed division wins. Every point matters now.”
The Penguins most recent win came over the Islanders in blowout fashion as they notched a 7-0 shutout win.
Considering they are still multiple points out of a playoff spot, the Penguins knew they needed to come out of the holiday break strong.
“Just to come out the way we did, that’s a team that we’re chasing, Guentzel said. “That’s a big win for us. Two points we needed.”
Battles against the Metro are only going to get tougher and more frequent for the Penguins as they host the Islanders on New Year’s Eve and will see three more division matchups in the opening two weeks of 2024.
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