STOCKHOLM — Greetings from across the pond, where I’m enjoying all that Scandinavia has to offer without forgetting the most important things in life, like mailbags.

The questions this month were especially good. I appreciate it, as always.

Away we go.

Are you a believer in this team right now as it is? Do we have a chance at the postseason or will we eventually fall in Gavin McKenna’s lap? — @joanne87781

Well, I’ll say this: I don’t think Gavin McKenna is coming to Pittsburgh. While anything is possible, the Penguins are pretty clearly better than we expected. I can’t imagine them plummeting low enough in the standings to where they would have a reasonable chance to get McKenna, though I suppose anything can happen.

Am I a believer? As in, do I think they can make the playoffs?

I probably still wouldn’t bet on it, but I am coming around on this team for a few reasons:

• The goaltending, which has been the single biggest issue with this team in recent seasons, is clearly better.

• The new-coach energy we’ve seen a few times in Penguins history is happening once again.

• That new coach, Dan Muse, knows what he’s doing.

• Defenseman Erik Karlsson is a different player this season.

• Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are on a mission.

• Forward Ben Kindel is the real deal, and fellow forward Rutger McGroarty should be around at some point. The Penguins have a real youth infusion.

• GM Kyle Dubas made the Penguins better with quality additions such as forwards Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau, defenseman Parker Wotherspoon and goaltender Artūrs Šilovs.

• When the Penguns left for Sweden, only one team (Utah) had played more than Pittsburgh’s 10 road games. Lots of home cookin’ is on the way.

• The Eastern Conference isn’t very good.

• The Metro Division really isn’t very good.

So, yeah, there are 10 pretty legitimate reasons to think the Penguins actually could make the playoffs. It’s in play.

Some concerns: Malkin faded after a strong start last season. Defenseman Kris Letang isn’t playing as well as the Penguins need him to play. Goaltender Tristan Jarry could come back to reality at any moment. And playing so many young players, while exciting, isn’t necessarily a recipe for immediate success.

So, I’m not a believer yet. But I will be if they have a good December, because their December schedule is absolutely nasty.

Where do you feel the season goes from here? Do you have the slightest pulse with the sample size we’ve gotten? — @i_amkoryb

See above, particularly what I said about December. I don’t know what to think about this team just yet, although they’re clearly better than I anticipated. Just look at the schedule. How they handle the December stretch — it includes home games against heavyweights along with games at Philadelphia, at Tampa Bay, at Dallas, at Ottawa, at Montreal, at Toronto and at Chicago — is probably going to tell the tale of the season.

Survive December, in health and in the standings, and I bet they make the playoffs. If Crosby can smell the playoffs in the second half of the season, I believe he’ll guide them there.

With Muse seemingly using four lines and giving younger legs a chance to prove themselves, in the long run, does this help Sid, Geno, Letang with a bit more stamina for the long haul of 82 games? Or does it cause friction where the Big 3 feels they need to be out on the ice seemingly every big shift? — @Stevebyrnelive

This is a magnificent question (from one of the world’s great comedians, I might add).

Muse is rolling four lines and it is helping. Crosby, for one, has never liked playing 27 minutes a night. He prefers to be around 20. Malkin and Letang don’t appear to be complaining about their minutes.

I think the Big Three understand that less might be more at this late stage of their careers, especially Malkin and Letang. Best I can tell, they’re on board with what Muse is preaching.

How good would the Penguins have to be for Dubas to buy? I mean if they are the best team in the league in March that’s got to warrant something right? — @gopens_fthecaps

If they have the best record in the NHL at the trade deadline in March, sure, they’ll buy. Ha. But let’s be realistic here.

A more reasonable scenario has them in the last wild-card spot in March. And who are we kidding? Fans would sign up for that in a heartbeat. If that happens, I just don’t see Dubas buying. I also don’t see him selling. Given the ridiculous amount of draft picks and salary-cap space the Penguins have, could I see him trading a third-round pick for a nice rental? Sure. It’s not like you’d be giving up that much, and it would at least make the players feel like their boss is on board with their pursuits. But I can’t imagine much beyond that.

What is your Mt Rushmore of best Pittsburgh player / coach press conferences you’ve attended? i.e Therrien’s banger about his “soff” defensemen trying to be the worst in the league (not so subtle dig at Whitney) — @ParkingChair_

Unfortunately, I wasn’t at the Therrien news conference, or it would have made the list.

• I’d have put the Dr. Michael Collins news conference — when he called Crosby a Ferrari — on my personal Mt. Rushmore. That was a profoundly strange moment.

• I was in attendance at Bill Cowher’s retirement news conference. That was a biggie. Larger than life presence.

• I’d probably put Kyle Dubas’ introductory news conference on the list. The pomp and circumstance from the Penguins that day was amazing, as was Dubas’ performance. He has a way with words and he was feeling it that day.

• The most memorable of all was when I covered the news conference at Mercy Hospital on the day of Ben Roethlisberger’s near-tragic motorcycle accident in 2006. A random Steelers fan got into the news conference, took the microphone and asked a doctor if Ben’s ACLs were intact. It was among the most surreal moments of my life. I was amused. The doctor and the security staff, not so much.

Was the ’93 Penguins team who lost to David Volek and the Islanders the best ever assembled for Pittsburgh? Also – was that the best team in hockey history to not win a cup? — @paulloverholt82

Given Mario Lemieux’s performance late in that regular season, and the collection of talent on that team, I’d have to say the 1993 Penguins are probably the best team that never won the Cup. The 1996 Red Wings were awfully great, too.

I still maintain that the 1992 Cup-winning Penguins were better than the 1993 team. The 1993 team lost too many role players, but no one realized it until it was too late.

You’ve stated before that baseball is your actual favorite sport. If The Athletic offered you your position, but for baseball (I assume you’d have no interest in the Fighting Nuttings), would you take it? — @itsspelledgraig

They’d have to double my pay to leave the Penguins and cover the Pirates, and for a lot of reasons. The Penguins have a way more passionate fan base, which is understandable. Also, covering hockey is great because you have a light summer, except for the draft and that pesky free agency day. Also, baseball is brutal to cover. You get to the ballpark at 3 p.m. and go home at midnight, if there’s no rain delay. And you do it almost every single day for six months. No thanks.

That said, I’ve thought about visiting PNC Park on occasion and writing some articles about Paul Skenes and the Pirates in general, given The Athletic doesn’t have a day-to-day beat writer. Just a thought. I do indeed love baseball, but I like my day job more.

Why do we have so much trouble holding on to leads? Thankfully, I saw that game against NJD years ago when we were up 6-0 going into the 3rd, and still ended up winning, but it was 8-7, so I no longer trust any lead whatsoever. — @stefdin

Probably because all of the Penguins’ best players are so, so offensive-minded. I think it might be that simple. Scoring is always on their mind. Situational hockey is not.

I wish I had a more complex answer, but it probably comes back to that.

Most overrated Thanksgiving food and most underrated Thanksgiving food? — @ScratchMoore

I’m about to make so many people mad, but the most overrated Thanksgiving food is stuffing. You know why? Everyone says it’s their favorite Thanksgiving food, and I just don’t get it. I mean, it’s fine. It’s good. I like it. But I don’t understand why it’s everyone’s favorite. I’ll take turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn casserole and green bean casserole over stuffing any day. Not to mention pumpkin pie, or whatever desserts you’re willing to throw in my direction.

And we haven’t even gotten to the Italian community yet. The Italian families I know don’t mess around. They just throw in Italian dishes, which is absolutely brilliant and, again, better than stuffing.

Most underrated? Honestly, it’s turkey. Turkey is great if cooked properly. I used to get mad every spring when my grandma would make Easter ham. Turkey is so much better than ham. I can’t possibly be the only person who thinks that. (I miss my grandma terribly, and in case she’s reading my mailbags from above, her ham was still very good.)

What is your best story about Mike Lange and what is your personal favorite saying of his? — @The_GreekHammer

Boy, do I miss him. What a gem of a man.

I was a big “Michael, Michael motorcycle” guy, for what reason, I don’t know.

My favorite story? I have so many. My favorite was probably about an hour or two after the Penguins won the Cup in Nashville in 2017. I was on my way back up to the press box when I saw Mike just sitting there by himself, taking it all in. I don’t want to intrude on a personal moment, but I asked if I could sit with him for a moment.

“Of course, Mr. Y,” he said.

He always called me that. We just sat there and talked hockey for 10 minutes in what I think he knew was the final time he’d call the Penguins winning the Cup. It was a true honor to share that moment with him.

I also laugh when I think about the 2022 playoffs. He was retired when the Penguins were playing the Rangers. He didn’t care for Igor Shesterkin flopping as often as he did, and, after the Penguins shelled Shesterkin to go up 3-1 in the series, Lange texted me this: “We’ve beaten better (expletive) goalies than this guy.”

I think about him every day. Truly the best.

Is Stockholm farther away from the South Hills than Cranberry? — @MolinariPGH

It’s not every day that the Hall of Famer chimes in on your mailbag.

Dave is a prince of a man, my role model in the industry and the funniest man on earth. Buy his book for Christmas. It’s fantastic.

Oh, and to answer the question, I think Cranberry is slightly farther, but it’s close.