March Madness is a phrase normally associated with college basketball. The NCAA Tournament got going this week with the First Four games in Dayton, and it hits full stride Thursday and Friday across the country with the Round of 64.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been in their own version of hockey March Madness for a while now. They just concluded a five-game road trip where they played five consecutive games against teams in playoff positions. Three of those games came against Carolina and Colorado, the two teams atop each conference.
The Pens only won two of those five games, but picked up six of a possible 10 points along the way. They had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin available for only one of those contests, a 6-5 overtime loss to Carolina on Wednesday night.
SEAN WALKER OT WINNER ???? pic.twitter.com/wjbkQxCXdR
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) March 19, 2026
All things considered, I’m guessing Dan Muse will take that result. Now, though, the madness doesn’t stop just because the Penguins are home for a bit.
A continued rough schedule, some thoughts on Crosby’s return, goaltending, special teams and Malkin’s future are just a few of the Penguins’ notes we’ll hit as the team unpacks after its 10-day journey.
• The Penguins begin their three-game homestand Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets, who are currently out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
After that, the next two games are, once again, against Metropolitan Division leading Carolina (92 points) on Sunday and Central Division leading Colorado (98 points) on Tuesday.
Then, on March 26, Muse’s club has to visit the Ottawa Senators, who have won five of their past seven games before facing Dallas, the New York Islanders, Detroit and Tampa Bay. All four of those teams are currently occupying a playoff slot.
Pittsburgh’s schedule doesn’t let up until April 2, when they start a home-and-home series with Florida. Those are the first two of six games in a row against non-playoff competition to conclude the regular season.
• Pittsburgh’s 16 losses after regulation lead the NHL. No one else in the Eastern Conference has more than 12. Ten of those defeats have come via the shootout, against just one shootout victory.
Forget 3-on-3 results for a minute. Even if the Penguins had merely split their 10 shootout losses, that’d be five more points, boosting their total to 91. That’d be good enough to be 10 points clear of missing the postseason entirely, and just one point behind Carolina in the Metro.
A lot of folks are harping on that point as a good indicator, claiming that 3-on-3 and shootouts don’t decide playoff games.
That’s true.
But two of the Penguins’ strongest assets have been the power play (25.1%, fourth in the NHL) and the penalty kill (84.2%, second in the NHL). Those special teams variables are also likely to be minimized in postseason overtime, as NHL referees are usually loath to call potentially decisive penalties after regulation ends.
To be fair, the Pens have been good 5-on-5 as well. They are tied for fourth in most 5-on-5 goals in the NHL (with Carolina and Montreal) at 154. But they are 19th in goals allowed 5-on-5 with 137.
• Malkin’s strong return against Colorado seems to have fueled the dialogue about his future that began before his suspension.
Before he was suspended, the conversation largely seemed to be about getting him an immediate extension for 2026-27. Now, after two goals in Denver, it’s “Hey, why not give him two years?!”
No. That’s prisoner-of-the-moment stuff. It’s not necessary to extend him mid-season, and it certainly shouldn’t be necessary to extend him two years.
This fanbase was violently opposed to adding Vincent Trocheck at the deadline for $5.6 million for three years because, “You don’t add term and money onto a partial rebuild, dummy!”
Now, suddenly, adding Malkin for — presumably — around that same amount for two years at 39 years old is just fine?
I’m not talking about what it would’ve taken in a trade return to land Trocheck. The Rangers apparently went nutty on their demands.
I’m talking strictly about the blowback I got when I endorsed that move, based solely on adding a veteran forward for over $5 million for the next few years. That concept and theory shouldn’t change just because you already own the guy’s jersey.
Kyle Dubas should be open to the notion of giving Malkin one more year if he gets through the rest of this spring healthy and effective and in the right state of mind. No reason to jump the gun now if Pittsburgh truly is the only place where Geno wants to play. There is also no reason to push the deal through the spring of 2028.
• Dubas has made a lot of great trades, signings and draft picks of late. I still don’t think Brett Kulak for Sam Girard (and a second-round pick) is one of them. Not just because of Girard’s health, but because of the trickle down to Kris Letang.
• When he got back from the Olympics injured, Crosby flat-out dismissed any discussion about Radko Gudas’ hit being dirty or excessive. My thought was then, as it is now, that Crosby just wanted to tamp down any discussion whatsoever about him being injured while playing for Canada instead of the Penguins.
Saying anything different would just fuel the fire. So, say nothing and move on. I’m assuming that was the strategy.
After Gudas got a suspension for injuring Auston Matthews as well, I wonder if you gave Sid truth serum, what he’d say now.
• Before the season, I thought Sergei Murashov would be well established as the starting goalie in Pittsburgh by now. The presumption being that the Penguins would be long out of the playoff race. Therefore, he could get experience and learn in the vacuum of making mistakes and getting used to a learning curve in the NHL without the stakes of a playoff race attached to any slumps he might have.
The organization obviously felt otherwise. Part of the thinking had to be that they didn’t want his confidence damaged or his habits ruined by playing behind a team that was expected to stink. For much of the time Murahov was up, the Pens were playing their worst hockey of the year.
Since then, the club has been much better, and it makes me wonder what we’d be thinking about Murashov and his development had he stayed up the whole time.
That’s not an attempt to disparage Artus Silovs or Stuart Skinner. Most nights, it’s not like the Penguins are out there overcoming rotten goaltending or anything. But since March 5, four of the Pens’ five losses have come as a result of the opposing team scoring at least five goals (granted, once via a shootout team goal).
Murashov is 21-8-3 in Wilkes-Barre with a 2.20 goals against and a .919 save percentage. If he stays down in the AHL the rest of this season, they can’t slow-play him again next year. It’s into the deep end as the team’s No. 1 with no restrictions.
Meanwhile, I am dubious of the Pens’ chances to win a playoff round or two with Skinner and/or Silovs, but I don’t think either one has given enough of a reason — yet — to make a drastic change.