The Pittsburgh Penguins are reaching their final set of games this season, and it’s time to switch our mentality moving forward.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been dominating during their recent stretch. They are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games and players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel have been on fire as of late. All three of them have scored over 80 points on the season and show no signs of slowing down yet. The Penguins are in great shape moving forward and we’re ready for the playoffs.
With the season winding down though, we need to evaluate our goals and necessities very quickly. The season was long and hard, but now is when it really matters. The Playoffs are what we play for and we need to be at our best game for this. Let’s take a look at a few things we might want to consider heading in to the playoffs.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Rest the Stars
OK. I know this could sound bad too. Malkin is third in league scoring and is chasing that Art Ross. He is also third in the goal scoring race and just two goals behind. Why would we slow him down by sitting him? Kessel and Crosby are producing at amazing rates as well.
Well, I think we should be resting them once the playoff picture starts shaping up more. Around the final five games of the season, we really should consider sitting a couple of them for one or two games so they can be in top notch condition once the playoffs start. Knock on wood but injuries can still happen, and that’s the last thing we need.
The playoff race is still close, so I wouldn’t start doing this until we’ve at least clinched our playoff spot though.
Focus
My last suggestion is just to focus. Focus on the playoffs and the bigger picture. We have went through many ups and downs all season and this is not a time to mess up. We need to get it together as a team now more than ever and keep up this hot streak for another couple of months.