Expect stars to come out for Penguins in regular-season finale
With some beat-up bodies, star players just ramping back after long injury absences and a frenzied six-week pressure-cooker just to make the playoffs behind them, the Pittsburgh Penguins could treat Saturday’s regular-season finale as a glorified preseason game to avoid injury and get some much-needed rest.
The individual who makes that decision has other ideas.
“I think we still have a lot to play for,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of Saturday’s final game of the regular season.
The Penguins head into the 7 p.m. faceoff against the New York Rangers with 99 points and in third place in the Metropolitan Division. They are two points behind the New York Islanders and two points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes.
“We have been in a playoff mindset here for a while now, and there’s still a lot on the table to play for, in my opinion,” Sullivan said. “We have got a great opportunity, and I think we’ve got to try to maximize our chances to win.”
That in all likelihood means there won’t be any stars sitting out — not even Kris Letang or Evgeni Malkin, each of whom returned from injury for Thursday’s 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings that locked up a postseason berth.
Earlier this week, Sullivan stressed clinching was more important than seeding or positioning. He has changed his tune now that the former is secured.
A 13th 100-point season in franchise history (and fourth in a row) is there for the taking, but that is not the Penguins’ primary motivation. And while second place is more warm-and-fuzzy to look back on when reminiscing about a season than fourth place sounds, that’s not necessarily what will be motivating the Penguins against the Rangers, either.
“We can get home-ice advantage (Saturday),” defenseman Erik Gudbranson said.
The Penguins can claim the division’s No. 2 playoff seed with a win and a New York Islanders regulation loss at the Washington Capitals in a game that starts at the same time. The second-place team has Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at home against the third-place team.
On the opposite side for the Penguins is a desire to avoid falling into fourth place, which would mean a first-round matchup against the division champion Capitals. A Penguins regulation loss coupled with a Carolina Hurricanes win at the Philadelphia Flyers would force that.
“There’s no reason to change a single thing,” Gudbranson said of approach, desperation level or lineup adjustments. “We need to come out (Saturday) and raise our level more than what we had (Thursday). At this time of year, it’s all another opportunity to prepare yourself for what’s to come.”
That’s the playoffs, which officially begin next Wednesday. Unofficially, the Penguins have had a playoffs-like push for six weeks. They got 27 of 38 available points over their past 19 games (12-4-3) — and they needed every one of them to assure a playoff berth.
As such, with the urgency required over the last quarter of the season, it might be foolish to turn off the proverbial switch for a night — even against the lowly Rangers — and expect it to return seamlessly four or five days later when the playoffs start.
“We’ve had to play that way for so long, I think at this point that’s the mentality we go with and that’s a good thing,” Crosby said. “I think that’s something that helps when you’re going into the playoffs.
“We have one more game and opportunity to move up, so there’s a lot of motivation. But I think that mentality is still kind of engrained here because of all the games we’ve had to play in that situation.”
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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