NHL scores 2015: Penguins slide to brink of playoff race

Could Pittsburgh really miss the playoffs?

Apr 5, 2015, 12:00 PM UTC

Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

The fall of the Pittsburgh Penguins has been silent. Gradual. Like that one raindrop slowly gliding down your car window, picking up speed as it falls until it it quietly slips away forever into the air.

A few Penguins fans probably read that sentence and cringed. It’s all too real after an embarrassing 5-2 loss in Columbus on Saturday ensured their team would spend the last days of the regular season fending off wild card contenders.

It's almost impressive how low the Penguins have flown under the radar as they fell further and further into the Eastern Conference pack. They gave up the Metropolitan crown ages ago to the Rangers, but over the last few weeks they've ceded the other two Metro spots to the Islanders and Capitals. A 3-6-1 ten-game stretch leaves them even with Boston at 95 points, just three points away from the 9th-place Ottawa Senators.

Their position is precarious, for sure. But it's one they can survive. Of their four remaining games, two are against the lowly Flyers and Sabres (both lottery teams). The unfortunate reality is that those games bookend back-to-back matchups with the Senators and Islanders. Lose one of those, and they either cede more ground or fall further back. Lose both, and they could be playing for their playoff lives on the final day of the season.

Imagining the playoffs without the likes of Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin is a strange thought, but one we should have been prepared for. Instead, you have to wonder if the team is as surprised by their predicament as the rest of the hockey world.

Scores

Carolina Hurricanes 3, Philadelphia Flyers 2 (SO)

Columbus Blue Jackets 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 3

Winnipeg Jets 5, Vancouver Canucks 4

New York Rangers 6, New Jersey Devils 1

New York Islanders 3, Buffalo Sabres 0

Boston Bruins 2, Toronto Maple Leafs 1 (SO)

Ottawa Senators 4, Washington Capitals 3 (OT)

Detroit Red Wings 3, Minnesota Wild 2 (SO)

Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Florida Panthers 0

Dallas Stars 4, Nashville Predators 3 (OT)

Arizona Coyotes 5, San Jose Sharks 3

Calgary Flames 4, Edmonton Oilers 0

Los Angeles Kings 3, Colorado Avalanche 1

3 Things We Learned

1. Pekka Rinne is causing concern for Nashville.

Considering how well he’s played all season long, it was only a given that the Predators netminder would cruise into the playoffs on a high note. That hasn’t been the case. After Nashville’s 4-3 overtime loss to Dallas, Rinne has given up 11 goals in his last three games. Playoff series are often won and lost based on what kind of streak a goalie is on. Rinne’s streak should be enough to worry Predators fans before the first round begins.

2. Fringe teams are still hanging on.

With Boston winning in overtime, the Senators absolutely needed to pull out two points against the Capitals. They didn’t make it easy on themselves, falling behind early to force themselves to mount a comeback win in overtime. But now they sit three points back of eighth with four games left. It could happen.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars keep finding ridiculous ways to stay alive. They should've been eliminated a week ago, but Dallas inexplicably still has a shot at making the playoffs after Cody Eakin's overtime goal in Nashville sealed two important points away. If Dallas wins out and the Jets lose out, they can make it in. It could happen.

And then I will eat my shoe live on Periscope. Mark it down.

3. But the Sharks fell once and for all.

San Jose fans must have known the end of their playoff hopes was coming, but not like this. A loss to the Arizona Coyotes, the second-worst team in the NHL, was the final nail in the Sharks’ playoff coffin. For the season to end that way makes the odds coach Todd McLellan and general manager Doug Wilson keep their jobs shrink even more.

And yes, I realize the Sharks aren’t “officially” eliminated. But their playoff odds are at 0.02 percent, so let’s call a spade a spade here.