Recent skid damages Penguins' playoff hopes, Stanley Cup odds
BY HOME FIELD SPORTS STAFF
The weekend couldn’t have gone worse for the Pittsburgh Penguins. They lost all three games over a four-day span, including two losses to the New York Islanders that bumped the Penguins from a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Pittsburgh (27-20-9) went 0-3-0 over the long weekend and now has 63 points, putting them two behind the Islanders for the first wild card position and one point behind the Florida Panthers for the second spot.
“I think there were probably a few [games] we felt like we’ve played pretty good, but at the end of the day you have to find ways to win games,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “It’s disappointing when you can’t find a way to win games that you feel pretty good about.”
In ninth place, Pittsburgh leads a pack of playoff hopefuls. The Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals have 62 points apiece, the Buffalo Sabres have 60 points and the Ottawa Senators have 58 points. The good news for all five teams on the outside is that they have some games in hand against the Islanders and Panthers.
Pittsburgh has four games in hand against both teams, but the Penguins have to win those games. Head coach Mike Sullivan believes Pittsburgh is making the right away, but the results aren’t showing up in the win column.
On Thursday they will welcome Hart Trophy favorite Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. The game is a money line toss-up, with both teams betting at -110. The goal total sits at 7, with the over betting at +110 and the under at -130.
The Penguins start another stretch of five games in eight days that includes a weekend back-to-back and two games against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Recent losses have put Pittsburgh’s odds to win the Stanley Cup at +3000.
“There’s been a lot in our game that we’ve really liked,” Sullivan said. “We feel like we’ve carried the play for significant periods of time, even in the third period it doesn’t feel like we’re under siege.
“I think, and this is the conversation that we’ve had with the players, it’s just critical moments or breakdowns at the wrong times and they’ve ended up in the back of our net most recently. And I would phrase that as game management, and that’s the area we can improve and get better.”
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