What are the odds the Penguins make the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Let the sportsbooks tell you

BY ZACH EWING zewing@theadvocate.com

With two games remaining in their NHL regular season, the Pittsburgh Penguins are still in a fight to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But the odds say the Penguins have a good chance.

If the season ended today, Pittsburgh would actually be left out in the cold. They have 90 points, behind the Florida Panthers (92 points) and New York Islanders (91) for the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story. First of all, the Penguins have only played 80 games, while the Panthers and Islanders have each played 81. That means that if Pittsburgh wins its final two games, it can’t be left out of the playoffs.

But the best news for Penguins fans might be the opposition: Pittsburgh finishes with two last-place teams: The Chicago Blackhawks at home on Tuesday and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. Both of those teams have an NHL-worst 56 points.

All of that adds up to oddsmakers giving the Penguins a much better than half chance of being included in the postseason. At FanDuel Sportsbook, Pittsburgh is -280 to make the playoffs, implying a 73.7% chance. The odds to miss the playoffs are +205, meaning a $10 bet would pay a total of $30.50.

That number will certainly get better or worse Tuesday night, when the Pens play their final regular-season home game against the Blackhawks as enormous -520 favorites. Anything less than two points will hurt those playoff odds heading into the season finale in Columbus.

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