Penguins hope to avoid Eastern Conference playoff pile-up

Drivers who have designs on winning the Daytona 500 in a couple of weeks will have to do one thing before they think about taking the checkered flag: They’ll have to stay out of the multi-car pile-up that invariably occurs at some point on NASCAR’s biggest tracks.

That’s the spot the Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves in heading into Tuesday night’s matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena.

The Hurricanes have been mounting a charge in recent weeks, going 3-1-1 in their past five games to move within three points of slumping Columbus in the race for the eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins are three points ahead of Columbus, tied with Washington for second place in the Metropolitan Division.

Win and they’re flirting with the first-place Islanders. Lose and they’re looking at a pack of playoff hopefuls coming up fast in the rearview mirror.

“Obviously, you just need to make the playoffs,” defenseman Jack Johnson said. “But in the meantime, your goal should be to finish as high as you can and have home-ice advantage throughout. That’s really all you think about.”

Matt Murray will start in goal for the Penguins. He’s 6-2-0 with a .946 save percentage in his career against the Hurricanes, including a 39-save shutout in the first meeting between the teams this season, a 3-0 Penguins victory on Dec. 22.

Justin Schultz (leg), Evgeni Malkin (upper body) and Zach Aston-Reese (hand) remain out for the Penguins. Malkin and Aston-Reese skated on their own Tuesday morning. Schultz was a full participant in morning skate.

Follow the Pittsburgh Penguins all season long.

Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jonathan at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BombulieTrib.