Madden Monday: On Penguins' win over Capitals, 'Losing that game ends the season'

Of all the roller coaster rides the Pittsburgh Penguins have put their fans through this year, Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena was like Kennywood, plus Six Flags, multiplied by Universal Studios.

A 3-0 third period lead became a 3-3 tie, only to see Evgeni Malkin win it 4-3 with 80 seconds left on the clock.

There might be some hyperbole you can attach to his goal and that win.

HE IS SCORE.
HE IS CELLY.
HE IS CLUTCH. pic.twitter.com/RZwkG4TcN1

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 26, 2023

But Mark Madden of TribLIVE and 105.9 The X makes one thing clear: Look at it from the other end of the lens.

You can’t overstate the importance of the Penguins avoiding a loss given the circumstances.

“Losing that game ends the season,” Madden said during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. “It’s tough to say that when they’ve had so many soul crushing losses, but that one would have had an air of finality about it, especially the way it happened.”

The Penguins have certainly had their fair share of defeats that have made you wonder if this is the end of the playoff streak which currently sits at 16 years. There was that hideous 6-4 loss to San Jose before the All-Star break on Jan. 28. The 7-2 beatdown from the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 23. Blown leads late at home against the Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders in recent weeks.

Given the severity of the collapse and the timing on the calendar, if the Penguins had managed to blow that lead, though, to a Washington team chasing them in the standings, Madden has a point. That could’ve been a “Turn Out the Lights” kind of defeat.

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But the Penguins managed to win. And now Madden says, things may be looking up for the team because of how the schedule is breaking out over the rest of the week.

“The Penguins have an easier run of games. Not easy, but easier,” Madden said. “Starting with Detroit on the road Tuesday, … then Nashville at PPG (Thursday). And then over the weekend Boston and Philadelphia both at PPG. If they get six out of eight points — like they should — then I feel like some space is going to open up in that wild-card race.”

That’s a fair way to look at it. But Madden adds one very important caveat.

“That said, as we know, when we talk about things the Penguins should do — points they should get — that’s when the trouble often starts,” Madden proclaimed.

Unfortunately, part of that mix of games includes a date at home against Boston on Saturday. The Bruins have 119 points. That’s 16 more than anyone else in the NHL. They had a rough patch in mid-March when they lost three of four. Since, then, though, the Bruins have gotten right back on track, winning seven in a row.

So the Penguins better get those six points from the other three games Madden is referencing. The Flyers, Predators and Red Wings are all currently out of a playoff position.

Elsewhere in the podcast, Madden and I talk about Steelers free agency, the start of Major League Baseball, the Final Four, New York City pizza and the debut of the final season of “Succession.”

Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden talk Penguins, Steelers and the start of the baseball season