The Pittsburgh Penguins have the ability to make the playoffs, but how far can they go?

PITTSBURGH - The 2022-23 season has been a mixed bag for the Pittsburgh Penguins full of some really great highs, but also some of the lowest points seen in two decades.

On one hand, the Penguins have a veteran core that, despite their age, can still cut it as some of the best in the NHL.

While on the other hand, the flaws are not only abundant, but they are extremely visible with not much being done to address them.

In a vacuum, you could say the Penguins’ season has been pretty average, but can they go above and beyond?

With 20 games remaining in the season, are the Penguins a real deal playoff team? And if so, where do they go?

With a 31-22-9 record for 71 points, the Penguins have a great chance of reaching the postseason for the 17^th consecutive year.

Moneypuck.com currently gives the Penguins a 90.6% chance of reaching the playoffs, which is pretty stellar given they’ve played through three losing streaks of four games or more.

If/when the Penguins make the playoffs, how far can they go?

Given their likely finish will be in one of the two wild card spots, the Penguins would have to take on the division champion of either the Metropolitan or Atlantic.

The Boston Bruins are taking the Atlantic Division and it’s not even close; they have 103 points already and are well on their way to winning the President’s Trophy.

The Metro has a little more intrigue as the Carolina Hurricanes are only two points up on the New Jersey Devils.

Head-to-head against those three teams hasn’t been pretty for the Penguins this season; in nine games against the East’s leaders they are 0-5-4.

The Penguins still have a game left against the Bruins and Devils, but with a record like that, it seems two streaks will continue this year.

They’ll reach the playoffs for the 17^th consecutive season, but also lose in the first round for the fifth straight year.

There is an outside shot the Penguins pull off an upset, but it’s just unlikely; the core can only carry the team so much and to make it anywhere in the playoffs a fruitful bottom-six is necessary.

Ron Hextall didn’t do much to address the problems, either; Mikael Granlund, Nick Bonino, and Dmitry Kulikov are all NHL players, but other options were out there.

The Penguins are going to need the bottom six to wake up if they have plans of a deep playoff run; Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and a healthy Tristan Jarry can only carry the team so far.

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