PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Last year at this point in the season the Pens had seven fewer wins and the playoffs were a pipe dream. Heading into Monday night’s game with the Islanders, they are tied for the final playoff spot with nine games to play.
The Metropolitan Division and Wild Card standings are indeed wild.
Metro (top three qualify for playoffs)
- Carolina-98 points, 9 games to play
- Islanders-89 points, 8 games to play
- PENS-88 points, 9 games to play
- Columbus-88 points, 8 games to play
- Philadelphia-86 points, 9 games to play
- Washington-83 points, 8 games to play
Wild Card
- Boston-92 points, 8 games to play
- Columbus
- Ottawa-86 points, 9 games to play
- Detroit-86 points, 9 games to play
- Philadelphia
- Washington
“They are all important at this point,” said Pens captain Sidney Crosby who might return from Thursday’s injury to play. “It’s a big race and a big stretch for us. As a player, these are the ones you want to be in. These are big games.”
“This is what we’ve been working for all year to get to this point in the year and play these types of games,” said Pens head coach Dan Muse. “This is an easy one to get up for.”
The season series is split 1-1, New York has won the last four in the series on Long Island.
“Really it’s just an exciting time of year for us,” said Pens defenseman Connor Clifton, adding they have to get back to outworking teams. “We’ve put ourselves in a great spot. We are in the hunt. The East is crazy and we know that, we need all the points we can get. We got to just bring it.”
Part of bringing it is understanding this is where you want to be so instead of dealing with nerves, Erik Karlsson adding it should be flat-out excitement.
“You have to enjoy it,” Karlsson said. “We have to embrace the situation we are in. It’s a fantastic spot to be in. With the experience that we have here, a lot of guys have been through it before, but for the guys that haven’t, don’t lose sight of how much fun it is to play these type of games.”
“I think it’s excitement, anticipation,” Crosby said. “I think that there is always a little bit of nervous in those big games. Those are the ones you want to be in. The only thing better would be having a playoff spot locked in, but playing to get in is pretty good too.”
Crosby believes this team is tested for this opportunity. No matter who is in or out, and there is a chance along with Crosby, Evgeni Malkin returns as well. They need to just leave it all out there and believe in previous wins when they do.
“I think when you’ve seen the results and know what it looks like, I think it’s easier to bring it,” Crosby said. “When you are inconsistent and you’ve had to work to find that consistency and something that isn’t quite as established, it’s a little harder to find it.”
“The fact that we’ve done it at different points all year, even with all of the injuries that we have, I think that builds a lot of confidence too.”
“It feels like it is playoffs,” Clifton said. “It’s the playoffs to get into the playoffs. Every point matters.”
It’s the first of back-to-back games against playoff contending teams
