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NHL Playoff Death Watch: Penguins slipping from home ice

Greg Wyshynski

Since we’re down to the final moments of postseason life for teams in contention, Puck Daddy solemnly begins a daily countdown to annihilation.

After a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, the consensus is that injuries have finally caught up with the Pittsburgh Penguins: The long-term ones like Kris Letang, Olli Maata, Trevor Daley and Carl Hagelin; and the shorter term ones like Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel and Ron Hainsey.

As a result, they’ve lost two in a row and are 4-3-3 in the last 10 games. They’re seven points behind the Washington Capitals for the division lead, and they’re two points in back of the Columbus Blue Jackets for home ice in the Metro 2 vs. 3 series. The Jackets now have a game in-hand, and a game against the Penguins on April 4.

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Here are the current standings. The Death Watch tracks the final Wild Card spot and the teams that are chasing it. Their “tragic number” is the number of points gained by the final wild card team or lost by the team chasing it.

Here’s the Eastern Conference:

The Capitals’ win over the Colorado Avalanche moved them to 110 points and an 89-percent chance of taking first in the conference, according to Sports Club Stats. Columbus is at 78 percent to finish second in the Metro. They face the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh.

Which brings us to the bubble. The Toronto Maple Leafs (87 points) are in Nashville; the Boston Bruins (86 points) host the Dallas Stars; the Tampa Bay Lightning (83 points) host the Detroit Red Wings; and the New York Islanders (82 points) are in Philadelphia.

So outside of the Leafs and Bruins potentially flipping, there won’t be any dramatic changes on the bubble. At least for the moment. Boston still has a 38-percent chance of grabbing the last wild card.

Here’s the Western Conference:

The Los Angeles Kings kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a win over the Calgary Flames, who remain three points out of the Pacific two and three seeds but with just five games left.

Huge one in the West tonight: The San Jose Sharks visit the Edmonton Oilers, with both jockeying for home ice and still having designs on winning the division. The Sharks are at 34 percent for second in the division; the Oilers are at 30 percent.

Here’s the Money Puck take:

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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