We're in the playoffs. Yeah. When the hockey world wakes up Sunday morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins will be sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference's wild-card spot.
The Penguins posted a heart-stopping 5-4 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon, paving the way for a playoff berth, but things could have changed depending on the NHL's nightly schedule. be.
At this point, their 83 points were tied with the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers, but the tiebreaker placed the Islanders in third place in the Metropolitan Division, and the Flyers were out of the playoffs.
The Flyers were in free fall and were unable to catch up with the Penguins, losing 6-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets (Blue Jackets!). The Islanders defeated the Nashville Predators 2-0 to stay in third place in the Metro with a two-point lead over the Penguins.
The Penguins, Islanders and Flyers each have five games left.
Of course, the Penguins still have a lot of work to do to stay in the playoff picture and could still move into third place in the division. They finish the regular season with a road game against the Islanders. And getting to the Stanley Cup Playoffs is just the first big step.
But for the Penguins to be here with less than two weeks left in the regular season is quite a feat after a shaky season filled with mostly frustrating moments.
Consider that on March 27, when the hockey world woke up, the Penguins were nine points out of the playoffs and five teams had to pass to get into second place in the wild card.
Since then, they have gone 5-0-1, and other teams chasing the same playoffs have declined. In addition to the Flyers, the Buffalo Sabers, New Jersey Devils, and Detroit Red Wings also suffered setbacks. The Penguins have also passed the Washington Capitals, who are just one point behind with a game remaining.
But there's a penguin sitting there. In the playoffs. Hey, anything is possible. Some people may wake up Sunday morning with a winning lottery ticket worth more than $1 billion.
