PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Yes, the odds seem astronomic and probably still are, but things fell the Pens way on Thursday night, including a 6-3 win over San Jose.
“The reality is we are still in it,” said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan. “That’s the conversation we’ve had with the group almost daily. We’ve got to control what we can. We’ve got to try to stay in the race. We just got to keep fighting, control that one game in front of us and see where it takes us.”
“We got some help tonight from the league and we are that much closer.”
Thursday NHL results that helped
· Buffalo beat the Islanders 4-0
While both teams are ahead, the Islanders are in the second Wild Card position
· Arizona beat Detroit 4-1
Red Wings are tied with the Islanders
· Maple Leafs beat the Flyers 6-2
Wild Card Standings
Tampa Bay (66 games) 76 points
Islanders (65 games) 72 points
Detroit (66 games) 72 points
Washington (64 games) 69 points
Buffalo (67 games) 69 points
PENS (65 games) 67 points
Not everything went the Pens way, as Tampa Bay beat the Rangers and the Devils won at Dallas. It should be pointed out that San Jose was 16-48 overall and 6-26 on the road this year, but still this team found a way to stay in contention with 17 games left.
“It wasn’t the prettiest thing, but we will take the two points this time of year,” said defenseman Marcus Pettersson. “You never know. The position that we’ve put ourselves in on the outside looking in, but at the same time we got nothing to lose. We have to play that way and show that desperation that we need.”
“It’s a confidence booster,” said defenseman PO Joseph, who had a pair of assists. “Things haven’t been really good lately. This victory definitely feels good.”
“We have been struggling to score goals the last few,” said forward Drew O’Connor. “To score six feels pretty good, it just feels good to get back in the win column.”
Pens get a few teams ahead of them this weekend hosting Boston on Saturday and the Red Wings on Sunday.
“We just have to keep going,” said goalie Tristan Jarry, 30 saves against the Sharks. “Obviously we have some tough games coming up and those are the ones that we need. To stay competitive and to stay in this thing, we have to win those games. They are all against good teams, so it will be a good challenge for us. I think we will be up for it.”
“I believe it’s not insurmountable,” Sullivan said. “I believe we have what it takes to continue to push and give ourselves a chance to make the playoffs.”
Milestones
· Jeff Carter scored in the second period, his 440th career goal, tying him with former Penguin Rick Tocchet for 73rd place in NHL history
· Evgeni Malkin’s goal was his 490th career goal, moving him into a tie for 50th place all-time with Norm Ullman.