{"id":440282,"date":"2026-01-31T05:35:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T05:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/440282\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T05:35:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T05:35:06","slug":"penguins-admit-watching-standings-but-have-much-different-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/440282\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins Admit Watching Standings, but Have Much Different Take"},"content":{"rendered":"

CRANBERRY \u2014 Yes, the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> are watching the standings. To a man, no player bothered to give a non-answer denial or soft avoidance that used to accompany such questions when they were out of the playoff seedings, sometimes trailing badly. <\/p>\n

Nah, they\u2019re watching, and they admit it. <\/p>\n

But the Penguins see the standings with their name in second place a bit differently than you or I might. In fact, none seemed to know that they are six points with three games in hand ahead of the Washington Capitals. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s significant as the Capitals are the closest team that could deny the Penguins a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe keep winning. I mean, as long as we\u2019re not losing,\u201d quipped Noel Acciari<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The reality is the Penguins have about an 86% chance of making the playoffs. The top of the Eastern Conference has bunched up, but it\u2019s the top three in the Metro and the top seven in the Atlantic Division. <\/p>\n

Indeed, the Penguins are confronted with the standings every day. Rickard seemed to indicate the <\/p>\n

\u201cYou keep looking at the standings and keep track. Yeah,\u201d said Rickard Rakell<\/a>. \u201cTeams in our division are playing a lot of games right now. It\u2019s probably a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

But no one seemed wise to their immense cushion. The current 12-2-2 run since the holiday break ended on Dec. 27 has put ample space between them and their pursuers. The teams in the Atlantic can\u2019t pass them up. Put simply, unless Washington or the Philadelphia Flyers mount a furious charge to catch the Penguins in the Metro division, the Penguins will make the playoffs.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t tell them that. The veterans conveyed caution.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we want to keep winning, but to see ourselves in a playoff spot right now is good, but complacency with how competitive our division and the Eastern Conference\u2013 So it\u2019s kind of in our minds get points every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even when we pointed out that their cushion, it didn\u2019t seem to register that they had put themselves on the precipice of something very few predicted (though one of us did write in September that the Penguins were too good for their own good).<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see them every day. When we come in, they\u2019re on TV, and (there\u2019s a board in the Penguins\u2019 private room),\u201d said Arturs Silovs<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s like, you understand how tough it is, and how many challenges you have to go through to win the games, and how important it is. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd everyone is so close to each other. And I think (we\u2019re) taking advantage. You know, when you feel good and when things are happening for you, I think (standings show) you have taken advantage of that. And, yeah, it\u2019s about just going with the right mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trying to crack the group on this particular topic was more difficult than anticipated. If there\u2019s any relief or satisfaction with what they\u2019ve achieved heading into the Olympic break, Silovs was the closest, and yet so far, from admitting it. <\/p>\n

There was no talk of second place, and only passing references to first. <\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, right now, it\u2019s every day you\u2019ve just got to be ready to turn that page and try to get a little bit better. I\u2019m aware of where we are in the standings. It\u2019s not something that\u2013you look at the scores around the league, because you know you\u2019re in the thick of it,\u201d said coach Dan Muse. \u201cFor me, the focus is on just turning the page the next day. Today the focus was on\u2013It wasn\u2019t going to be a terribly long practice, but we wanted to make the most out of it and get something from today, and then quickly turn that page through tomorrow and get them ready for that game.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so it seems fans and media will have to do the math and keep track of the situation. Of course, given the Penguins\u2019 collapse of 2022-23, culminating in that fateful late-season loss against the Chicago Blackhawks<\/a> that landed Connor Bedard in Chicago, launched the Florida Panthers dynasty, and ended the Penguins\u2019 16-year playoff streak.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t let up, just gonna keep staying hungry and keep chasing those points,\u201d said Rakell. \u201cAnd, I mean, we\u2019ve seen it in the past that every point matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> <\/p>\n

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