Pens Points: Here Kitty Kitty

Just three games remain between the Pittsburgh Penguins and an extended bye week/All Star break, beginning this evening with the Florida Panthers in town for a crucial matchup at PPG Paints Arena. Coming into tonight’s game, the Penguins currently hold the second wild card spot, sitting on 54 points to the Panthers 51 points. That cushion can be padded with a good performance this evening.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on AT&T Sports Network.

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On top of tonight’s contest with the Panthers, the Penguins also have meetings against the Washington Capitals and San Jose Sharks this week, the former of whom the Penguins are battling for playoff positioning like Florida. [Pensburgh]

Having Jeff Petry back in the lineup helps relieve some of the Penguins offensive woes on the blue line. Petry thrives with the puck on his stick and has developed a knack of finding shooting lanes where they seemingly don’t exist. [Trib Live]

New Penguins player cards arrived from The Athletic on Monday, giving a detailed break down of how the analytics see the players. It’s pretty telling where the drop off comes between the top six and the bottom. [The Athletic $$]

If the Penguins are to be considered even outside contenders for the Stanley Cup this season then a trade will be needed to improve the roster. That means it will take Ron Hextall being crafty to make a deal happen. [Fan Nation]

News and notes from around the NHL...

Artificial intelligence is a controversial topic in today’s world but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun with it. Using ChatGPT, our friends at Broad Street Hockey produced three different stories with the AI bot. [Broad Street Hockey]

Andrei Svechnikov leads the Carolina Hurricanes in goals this season and will represent the team at the NHL All Star game for the first time. As it surely is for all first time participants, the excitement is setting in for Svechnikov. [Canes Country]

Some good and bad for the Penguins from Madison Square Garden on Monday. The New York Rangers gained some distance in the Metro race from the Penguins but by beating the Panthers they help the Penguins in the wild card hunt. [Blueshirt Banter]