Pittsburgh Penguins: 5 Reasons the Pens Will Not Win the Stanley Cup in 2016

Jan 2, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie

(1) makes a stick save against Tampa Bay Lightning center

(91) during the third period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

2. Too Much Talent in the Eastern Conference

Let’s face it, the teams around the Pittsburgh Penguins have improved much more over the last few years than the Pens themselves.

There are teams on the rise such as the New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, and of course the Tampa Bay Lightning who just recently lost in the Stanley Cup Final. They’ll return next season with essentially the same lineup. Also, though the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers may have peaked this season considering their cap situations and departures, the Pens haven’t exactly faired well against either of them.

The Pens finished 6-9-3 against their Metropolitan Division rivals in 2014-15. With the new playoff format, they’ll have to get through one of those teams in the first round. They allowed 58 goals-against in those 18 games, while scoring 44 of their own. They had a strong season against the Western Conference, but numbers like that within your own division are frightening.

It’s simple, if you can’t win within your division and conference, you’re going to stall out quickly in the post-season.