Penguins’ Final Push for First, Home-Ice Advantage at Stake

3 years ago  /  The Hockey Writers  /  Read Time: 5 minutes 20 seconds

• With eight games remaining in their difficult schedule, the Pittsburgh Penguins have two games each coming up against the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, and Buffalo Sabres.
• The Penguins will take on the Bruins at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday at 3 PM and Tuesday at 7 PM, two of the more important games in this final stretch of the season for both teams.
• The Penguins currently sit at second in the division with a record of 31-14-3 (65 points), while the Bruins are claiming the final playoff spot with two games at hand on the Penguins and a record of 27-13-6 (60 points).
• The Capitals and Penguins are separated by one point in the East Division standings currently, each having eight games remaining on their schedule.
• The Capitals will meet the Penguins coming off a three-game set with the New York Islanders, who occupy third in the division and sit just three points behind the Capitals and two points behind the Penguins.
• Similar to the Capitals and Bruins, it comes as no surprise that these games will be intense and gritty.
• The Flyers currently sit at sixth in the East Division with a record of 21-19-7 and 49 points, 11 points out of the final playoff spot with one more game played than Boston, who currently holds that position.
• However, with five of their final nine games coming against the struggling Devils, it’s conceivable that the Flyers could make things interesting down the stretch with some help.
• While the Penguins are on a roll, they’ve had difficulty on the road that most other playoff teams in the division have not.
• The Pens are 12-11-1 on the road, ranking third out of the four playoff teams in the MassMutual East Division, sitting behind Washington (17-7-2) and Boston (13-8-3), but just above the Islanders (10-11-2).

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