Nice post! (and welcome btw)

I’m not ruling them out yet but they definitely need to hit the gas pedal soon. We need some kind of win streak, some kind of motivation to get us and the team through the next few games. San Jose won’t be easy, but a win over them can really do a lot for the confidence level. Of course there is also a little game against the Flyers on the 21st. The Pens always come out of those games fired up, win or loss.

of 27 remaining games, 8 are against weak teams, meaning teams that are at 50 points or less so far this season, ie. the Senators, Islanders, thrashers, lightning and leafs

you have 4 games left against the Hurricanes and Panthers, the teams immediately above you in the standing, in 8th and 9th in the conference, and frankly, your competition, as you don’t have to worry about the Leafs making a run from behind. Hurricanes have a game in hand on you, the Panthers have three….that’s partially offset by the fact that the Pens still play the Panthers three times between now and the end of the season.

There are three what I as an outsider think of as rivalry games, 1 against the rangers, 2 against the flyers.

Looking at the schedule (via schedule link at top bar), I say, if you’re within striking distance (3-4 points of 8th place) on St. Patrick’s day morning, you’re going to get into the playoffs.

I base that on closing schedules for the Pens, Hurricanes and Panthers. While the Panthers have an easier finishing stretch than Carolina, you guys have the luxury of a final 5 game stretch against the Hurricanes and Panthers (and if the Pens can’t take care of business there, they don’t deserve to be in the playoffs), the Lightning and the Islanders (and if the Pens can’t take care of business there, they REALLY don’t deserve the playoffs) and the Canadiens, who will long have locked up a playoff berth, and will be playing for positioning at best, and probably just resting their big guns for the postseason.

dunno if you saw my followup on my game thread comment about hoping there were iles and thrashers on your homestretch schedule, Frank, but like I said there, I didn’t mean that as a zinger, i want to see the Pens in the postseason….and looking at the schedules for the three teams in 8, 9 and 10th place in the eastern conference, I think the Pens will get there….

Excellent post!

Was so depressed after I read the total score that I actually wished that Sharks would beat their asses just to get them to their senses! Haha, I’m taking it all back, because I’m looking foreward to that Sharks game :)

Slightly unrelated but since you guys mentioned the Flyers… are there still tickets available for the game at the Igloo in March? My buddy and I have never seen a game at the Igloo and we want to come out before it closes down.

The team keeps limited number of tickets off the market until several weeks before the game (at least for a limited number of games). That way, the season is not sold out all at once. So, I would call the box office before looking elsewhere.