Pittsburgh Penguins: Solid Chance to Catch Up to Washington
With the Pittsburgh Penguins earning one point in Monday night’s 4-3 loss to the Calgary Flames, they have tied the Washington Capitals with 95 points for the Metropolitan Division lead.
The Washington Capitals have just lost their fourth straight, and the Pittsburgh Penguins should be more than willing to shift their gears into overdrive now. They just concluded a successful western Canada road trip which saw them take seven out of the eight possible points. The Penguins are heating up right now, and they really have a chance to take that #1 spot. Here’s a few reasons why that is looking more like a reality.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The declining Capitals
With the Capitals recent skid, they are looking quite unstable. Heading into Monday night’s game against the Calgary Flames, the Penguins had the perfect opportunity to take the lead. Unfortunately, the Penguins gave a heart fought battle but eventually lost in the shootout. Heartbreaking.
That’s all right though. With the Capitals sliding, they most likely are still in shambles and will have to resort back to getting into the swing of things. As well, they just lost a key player in Kevin Shattenkirk, who has been suspended two games. He will be out of the lineup for their game on Tuesday, which definitely comes at a bad time for the Caps. Alex Ovechkin has been scoreless in 10 straight games too. The Capitals are at their lowest this season, while the Penguins are still hot.
The Guentzel – Crosby – Sheary line
Now here’s something new that’s really been heating up. In spite of injuries, this lineup shakeup has really paid off for the Penguins. This line has been playing great recently, and they’re really one of the biggest factors for the Penguins dominance.
Offensively, all three members of this line have gotten two points each in the last two consecutive games. Sidney Crosby just broke his scoring drought by tying Monday night’s game late in the third period. Conor Sheary also picked up his 20th goal of the season.
This line has been an offensive threat to other teams and they show no signs of slowing down. If they keep playing this way the Penguins will find it easy to encapsulate the Capitals for that first place spot in the division.
Lets not forget about Malkin and Kessel
Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel have also been playing great recently.
Malkin has put up 33 goals so far along with 39 assists for 72 points. This ties him for third in the league’s goal-scoring race and fifth in the points race. Meanwhile Kessel has got himself up to an impressive 61 points, which includes 40 assists. Kessel also scored the shootout winner in Friday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers.
The pair have definitely been performing well, and there haven’t been many issues about them. They’ve been showing up on both ends of the ice and their contributions have been noted.
The only complaint I may have about their line is Chris Kunitz. He’s a great performer on the ice but it seems as though the long stretch of games are wearing him down. It may be wise to try and shake up that line with another player. If not, they are still performing decently.
The final push
Overall, there’s only 14 games left in the season, and a minimalistic gap separating the Penguins from a Capitals team that is trending downwards. The Penguins should see this opportunity as a chance to really elevate their game before the playoffs. If anything, it’ll only prepare them even more.
First place is up for the taking, so why not go for it?
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