After a three-week break for Olympic competition, the Pittsburgh Penguins are back for the run-in to the postseason.
For those who didn’t travel to Italy, the break provided much-needed rest and a chance to recover from injury. For one team, however, they could be worse off when they return from the break than when they began.
Sidney Crosby and Team Canada faced off against Team Czechia in the Quarterfinals of the Men’s Tournament in Milan. The Penguins’ captain suffered a lower-body injury after a hit from Czech defenseman Radko Gudas. When the team returned to practice on Feb. 24, they announced that Crosby will miss at least four weeks. The injury leaves the Penguins without their top point producer as they enter a grueling March schedule.
March of the Penguins
As of March 6, the Penguins have the hardest remaining schedule in the NHL. Their remaining opponents have a combined win percentage of .602. Five games this month are against the teams ranked first (Colorado Avalanche) and third (Carolina Hurricanes).
Entering this stretch, the Penguins have a record of 31-16-13. This puts them at 75 points, second place in the Metropolitan Division, and in a playoff spot if the season ended today. They are sitting all but comfortably, however, as the New York Islanders are right there with them. Meanwhile, the wild-card Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins have 75 and 73 points, respectively.
So how can the Penguins survive this stretch without their captain?
Carrying the Momentum Forward
Since Christmas, the Penguins have been one of the best teams in the NHL. They’ve registered points in 20 of their 24 games — winning 16 — and carry the highest goals per game average, 3.9, and lowest goals against per game average, 2.3, in the league in that time.
Special teams have been a key piece in the Penguins’ success during this stretch, with a power play that has converted at a 22.2% clip since Christmas, good for 10th in the NHL. In addition, the penalty kill ranks even better, killing off 89.4% of penalties, the second-highest mark in the league. Over the course of the entire season, both of these units rank in the top three in their respective stats.
Arguably, the biggest surprise for the Penguins this season is their goaltending tandem. Head Coach Dan Muse has two new netminders this season in Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs— both of whom are playing some of the best hockey of their careers right now. Without their top scorer, the Penguins will need to adapt to a new element, and the offense will likely falter a bit.
With the offense struggling, the team may need the goaltenders to steal a game here or there, and this tandem has shown they can be up to the task.
Who Will Step Up?
The first name to point to is Evgeni Malkin.
The Russian superstar has been Crosby’s running mate since he came over to the States in 2006, but he seems to take it up a notch when Crosby is out. In 151 career games played with Crosby out of the lineup, Malkin has registered 202 points, a 1.34 points-per-game clip. That mark is a noticeable uptick from his 1.08 points per game when Crosby plays.
The Penguins have thrived on depth scoring this season, seeing production from all four forward lines, something the team has lacked in recent years. Goals coming from up and down the lineup allow for a balanced attack that doesn’t rely on one player or line to provide the majority of scoring.
The fourth line of Noel Acciari, Connor Dewar, and Blake Lizotte, in particular, has been an all-around production machine. So far, they have combined for 58 points, as well as leading the strong penalty kill.
Youth on the Back Line
Since arriving in Pittsburgh, General Manager Kyle Dubas has prioritized building for the future; however, Crosby’s injury will thrust them into the spotlight sooner than they expected. Eighteen-year-old Ben Kindel has been on the NHL roster since the season began and has made an immediate impact. Kindel ranks fourth among all NHL rookies in goals this season.
Another young piece is 23-year-old rookie Avery Hayes, who was picked up as an undrafted free agent last offseason. Hayes made his NHL debut in the final game before the Olympic break against the Buffalo Sabres, scoring his first two goals in the first period of the game. In addition, Hayes became the first Penguin to score on his first career shot since Jake Guentzel in 2017.
Mid-season acquisition 25-year-old Egor Chinakhov has thrived since moving from Columbus to Pittsburgh, aided by playing on a line with fellow Russian Malkin. He has immediately become one of the team’s top scoring threats, leading the team in goals since the calendar flipped to 2026. The Penguins’ lineup is getting younger, allowing reinforcements behind the veterans.
At the same time, it showcases who can replace them in the future.
Over the course of his career, Crosby has missed a lot of time due to injuries, and the Penguins have had to overcome it. The Penguins are 22-8-2 in games played without Crosby in the month of March, so this is nothing new to them. In contrast, the Penguins’ 17 games in March are the most a team can play in a single month. The team also plays a game every 1.82 days, the fourth-highest frequency in a single month in team history.
Despite the odds seemingly being stacked against them, the Penguins currently have a 90% chance of making the playoffs. Even with Crosby missing a majority of the month, the Penguins have a deep roster bolstered by youth, a strong special teams led by coaches Todd Nelson and Mike Stothers, and a revamped goalie tandem that can stop anything thrown at them.
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