No, it's not a leap year. Yes, February only has six days left. Yes, the Penguins play four Metro teams before the month is over.
Oh, hey! Welcome back to reality. In the words of the late Mike Lange, it is once again a "Hockey Night in Pittsburgh". Don't worry, I'll have the Mike Lange 'Best Calls' post out soon. As you can imagine it's an impossible task to pick less than 6,687 of them.
On that note, Mike Lange will be honored before today's game against the Capitals, so if you plan on going, make sure you're there plenty early and in your seat to take part.
Tomorrow we honor a legend 💛 pic.twitter.com/pi86IB07a7
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 21, 2025
The Pittsburgh Penguins play a game today for the first time in two weeks, and it's the first of four straight Metro Division matchups that will send them into March.
Today, the Penguins will battle the Washington Capitals (36-11-8) who currently sit as the best team in the Eastern Conference by a considerable margin. Conversely, the Penguins (23-25-9) sit six points out of a Wild Card spot with 25 games to play.
Who Benefits from the Break?
The Penguins sent three players and their head coach to the Four Nations Faceoff. Both Swedes, Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell, haven't played since their victory over the USA on Monday, so they're well rested. Sidney Crosby played in Thursday's championship and logged 17 minutes of ice time.
There are two things to consider when painting the picture of the "break" for several Penguins.
The first is that 85% of the team has been off for a week or longer, including a handful of Penguins sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to get work. You can make a case that this is good or bad. Sometimes teams are very rusty after long breaks, but given the average age of the team, a break might also be just what they needed.
The other detail has to do with the three Penguins who participated in the Four Nations Faceoff. Karlsson and Rakell played extremely well in their games and should come back to NHL play strong with some days off while also staying fresh.
Crosby, on the other hand, might struggle in his return to NHL play. It's evident that Sid wasn't completely at 100% during the tournament (even though he still played well for most of it), and his nagging arm/shoulder injury might inhibit him in his return to wearing a black and gold sweater.
The Caps Might Be Rusty
As for the Washington Capitals, none of them participated in the Four Nations Faceoff, so their entire roster has been on their couch for two weeks.
This could be to the Penguins' advantage. A white hot team like the Capitals would have wanted to keep playing and raking in wins like they were before the break. They were 6-1-3 in their 10 games prior and snagged 15 of 20 possible points in that span.
It'll be super interesting to see how Logan Thompson, the Vezina Trophy frontrunner, plays in his first game back after not seeing game action for two weeks. Like I said, when you're hot you're hot, and you don't want anything cooling you down, even a break.
The Penguins fell victim to this during the Christmas break. They were playing great, streaky hockey after Thanksgiving, then once Christmas came around, they lost their mojo and regressed back to the mean.
This Metro gauntlet could be an intriguing watch for both the believers and the non-believers. If you think the Penguins can still do something this season, stacking wins against division opponents would fuel that. If you think they're dead in the water, losses will do that too.
It's almost an ideal situation for the Penguins this weekend and through the end of February. These next four games will provide the flavor for what Kyle Dubas needs to do at the March 7th trade deadline.
Game Prediction
I think I'm going to start making game predictions. Why not? I'm feeling zesty. It gives you readers a chance to look back and laugh at me when I'm inevitably wrong in every way.
Penguins win this rivalry matchup at home 4-2. Both Swedes get a goal. They're buzzing (and perhaps on the trade block). This one is for Mike Lange. Feel free to drop your own predictions on our socials!
Puck drop is scheduled for 3pm EST from Pittsburgh, and you can watch on ABC/ESPN+. For as much amazing hockey as we all got to watch these last two weeks, keep watching. Maybe the media will start talking about it more.