Pens Points: All or Nothing

There are only two choices facing the Penguins tonight as they prepare to face the New York Islanders in Game 6 their first round series. Either they win and extend their season to Friday or they lose and end their season with another crushing playoff disappointment. That’s really all there is to it for the Penguins when they take the ice later tonight.

Puck drop is scheduled for 6:30 PM and will be broadcast on NBCSN and AT&T Sports Network.

Pens Points is here to settle your do or die nerves...

Monday night was a horror show of a night for Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry and it puts the team in a road do-or-die situation. It also begs the question for the Penguins franchise where they go from here is Jarry is not the long term answer. [Pensburgh]

If there is one bright spot coming out of the Tristan Jarry struggles is he has shown a canny ability to bounce back. He’s already done so in this series, and the Penguins will have to hope he can do it again tonight in New York. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

While most of the focus has rightly been on the Penguins goaltending woes in this series, there are other areas contributing to their series deficit. For one, the power play has severely let them down on multiple occasions through five games. [Pensburgh]

Through five games this series, the Penguins are 2-1 in regulation but a lousy 0-2 in games that have gone to overtime. These overtime struggles are just part of a larger issue that has plagued the Penguins for more than a decade. [Pensburgh]

The last thing the Penguins needed before heading to Long Island facing elimination was the prospect of new injuries popping up. Both Bryan Rust and Jason Zucker were absent from practice on Tuesday. Luckily, it looks like both guys are fine. [Trib Live]

Tuesday marked the 30th anniversary of the Penguins winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup back in 1991. One of the great moments from that night was fans congregating at Pittsburgh International Airport to welcome the team home. [The Athletic $$]

It’s certainly frustrating to watch the Penguins struggle in the postseason where it counts more but they are hardly the only Pittsburgh franchise in a postseason rut. The local football team doesn’t have much to write home about either. [KDKA]

Waiting for either the Penguins or Islanders in the next round is the Boston Bruins who eliminated the Washington Capitals in a quick five games. If Monday night was any indication, perhaps the Bruins should be rooting for a Penguins comeback. [Yahoo! Sports]

News and notes from around the NHL...

Just as he has so many times in the past, Zdeno Chara took part in the handshake line after the Bruins won a playoff series. Only difference is, this time he did so on the losing end as a member of the Capitals and it was surreal. [Yahoo! Sports]

For the first time in his career, Alexander Ovechkin is set to become an unrestricted free agent. While it may be fun to imagine Ovechkin taking his talents to another NHL market, don;t count on him ever leaving the nation’s capital. [NHL]