Cup of Joe: Starkey on sports in 400 words or less
It gets real now.
The Penguins have survived all manner of adversity this season, including the prolonged absences of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and a ridiculously brutal March schedule.
That schedule — one of the toughest stretches in Penguins history, I would argue — included a five-game, nine-day trip against five playoff teams and a return home to face Connor Hellebuyck and the desperate Winnipeg Jets, followed by two elite teams (Carolina, Colorado) the Penguins had just played.
The last two games were hard to watch. The Penguins were outscored 11-3. They are pretty clearly not Stanley Cup contenders. Colorado and Carolina pretty clearly are.
And yet, I’d say it’s more than impressive that the Penguins are still standing. This 15-game, post-Olympic stretch easily could have buried them. It did not. They’re still in playoff position, still in control of their fate, with 11 games left.
Now it gets real, and now it must be said: The Penguins raised the bar over these past six months, to the point where missing the playoffs would constitute a failure of a season.
Remember, this remains a team largely built with veteran players looking for another kick at the can. A late-stage collapse could not simply be written off with an “Oh, well, they still surprised people by finishing ninth in the East.” They have come too far to be patronized like that.
Every game from now on is the biggest game of the season, starting Thursday at the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa, where the place will be rocking.
The Senators don’t lose much anymore. They returned to playoff position for the first time since Dec. 3 by beating the Red Wings in Detroit on Tuesday. There are at least seven teams vying for five playoff spots after Buffalo, Tampa Bay and Carolina.
The Penguins’ best bet is to hold off the Islanders (and maybe the Flyers) and keep that third spot in the Metro. They are a point up on the Islanders with a game in hand and the tie-breaker (regulation wins).
Inarguably, the Penguins are teetering. Their team defense has sagged. Their goaltending, in a related matter, has gone south. The temptation is to write them off, but each time we’ve done that — within games or within the season as a whole — they have responded.
Something tells me they will again, with games ahead against the Islanders and Red Wings, too. Maybe it’s the mere presence of Crosby. Maybe it’s the notion that they have earned a little faith and have a little magic to them.
Just know this: Whatever transpired over the first 71 games doesn’t matter anymore.
It gets real now.