Tim Benz: 3 crucial points for Penguins to address out of the break

The Penguins’ 10-day break ends Friday night when they host the Philadelphia Flyers at 7 p.m.

It begins a 32-game stretch to the end of the regular season. They start it in second place of the Metropolitan Division with 67 points, six points back of the division-leading Washington Capitals.

They are seven points clear of falling out of the last playoff spot.

Those are the basics.

Is there more to the Penguins puzzle between now and a sixth Stanley Cup title? Sure. But how these three things shake out will go a long way toward determining how hard of a road that would be.

Here’s a look at the three most pressing issues coming out of their extended mid-season vacation.

Penguins beat writer Seth Rorabaugh and I talk about these topics in Friday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast.

LISTEN: Three points Penguins need to address coming out of long layoff

The schedule

We’ve talked about this before. But head coach Mike Sullivan better make sure his team is sharp and ready to play at top performance immediately.

It has to start Friday against the Flyers, who beat the Penguins, 3-0, in their final game before All-Star weekend. Philly is just one point out of a tie for the final wild-card spot with 60 points.

After that, it’s a game in Washington on Super Bowl Sunday, followed by a game in Tampa Bay against the Lightning (65 points, second in the Atlantic), one in Sunrise, Fla., against the Florida Panthers (61 points, a six-game winning streak and two wins already this season against the Penguins), then a return date against the Lightning at PPG Paints Arena.

All that between Feb. 2 and Feb. 11.

“We’re going to get right into it,” said captain Sidney Crosby. “That’s a good thing. Just making sure that we start off right (Friday night). From here on, we understand every point is crucial.”

The Penguins (67 points) are seven points ahead their pace through 50 games in the 2018-19 season. Last year, 98 points were needed to qualify for the playoffs. The Penguins finished with 100. They didn’t clinch a berth until Game 81.

A little more breathing room — and potentially home ice in the first round — would be nice.

The goaltending

The combination of Tristan Jarry and Matt Murray rank sixth in goals allowed, eighth in goals-against average and ninth in save percentage.

Murray has played in 27 games. Jarry has played in 25. Murray has 15 wins. Jarry has 16.

While Jarry has a statistical advantage in most other categories, Murray has been better since Christmas. Since the holiday, he has won five in a row with a save percentage of .925. That would be a mark good for seventh in the league at a full season’s pace.

On Thursday, Sullivan acknowledged he knew who would start against Philadelphia, but he didn’t want to announce it.

He also didn’t want to make a commitment to either netminder long-term for the second half of the season. Instead, he implied that whoever was playing better at a given moment would be the barometer for decision making.

“Performance is always going to be the dictator in influencing the decisions coaches make at all the positions,” Sullivan said. “In particular, the goaltending position. But right now, we feel we have a strong tandem.”

On 93.7 The Fan Thursday, general manager Jim Rutherford was effusive in his praise for Jarry this season. But he sure sounded like someone with an eye toward seeing Murray in the net come playoff time.

“Over the last month, he is tracking well,” Rutherford said. “He’s working hard, and I would expect he’s going to have a big second half.”

Well, if Rutherford is right, I can’t imagine Murray having a “big second half” and wind up as the backup to start the playoffs.

If Murray keeps “tracking” in this direction, Tristan Jarry is going to have to do his best Patrick Roy impersonation to be the starter come playoff time.

Is a trade for a winger coming?

It better.

Yes. The Penguins need to offset the loss of Jake Guentzel. At least a little bit.

But it’s not just that. They need some depth in case Patric Hornqvist gets hurt again. Or Jared McCann. Or Bryan Rust.

Or if Rust suddenly realizes he’s not Mike Bossy and cools off from his hot pace (43 points in 36 games).

The only question is, how much is Rutherford willing to give up in order to acquire some help?

After listening to him Friday, he sure sounds like he’d be willing to give up a first-round pick.

“It’s something I may get forced to do or have to consider in the right deal,” Rutherford said. “Based on where the team sits right now and how positive we feel about where we could go right now, it might be something I have to do.”

Quick, somebody send Jason Zucker a Zillow link so he can start house hunting in Pittsburgh.

Eh, maybe he still has it in his inbox from last summer.