Penguins Quietly Building a Playoff Cushion - But Don’t Expect Them to Acknowledge It
CRANBERRY, Pa. - The Pittsburgh Penguins know exactly where they stand. No deflections, no clichés, no pretending they don’t check the standings.
They’re watching. Closely.
But here’s the twist - while fans and media may be crunching the numbers and eyeing the playoff picture with every passing game, the Penguins aren’t obsessing over the math. They’re just playing. And winning.
That part matters.
Since the holiday break ended on Dec. 27, the Penguins have gone on a tear - a 12-2-2 run that’s done more than just steady the ship. It’s built them a six-point cushion over the Washington Capitals, with three games in hand.
That’s a significant edge over the closest team that could realistically bump them out of playoff position. And yet, you wouldn’t know it by talking to the players.
“We keep winning. I mean, as long as we’re not losing,” said Noel Acciari with a grin, summing up the team’s mindset in the most straightforward way possible.
They’re not ignoring the standings - far from it. Rickard Rakell admitted he checks them regularly.
“You keep looking at the standings and keep track. Yeah,” Rakell said.
“Teams in our division are playing a lot of games right now. It’s probably a good thing.”
But what’s striking is how unaware they seem of just how much breathing room they’ve earned. The Eastern Conference has turned into a logjam of contenders, especially in the Metropolitan Division and the top seven of the Atlantic.
But the Penguins? They’ve quietly created separation.
The teams in the Atlantic can’t catch them. And unless Washington or Philadelphia go on a serious heater, Pittsburgh’s ticket to the postseason is all but punched.
Just don’t tell them that.
Veterans in the locker room are keeping the tone measured. There’s no celebrating second place.
No talk of playoff locks. Just a steady drumbeat of “keep pushing.”
“Obviously, we want to keep winning, but to see ourselves in a playoff spot right now is good,” one veteran said. “But complacency, with how competitive our division and the Eastern Conference [are] - so it’s kind of in our minds to get points every night.”
Even when it was pointed out that they’ve built a solid lead, the players didn’t bite. There was no chest-thumping, no “we told you so.” Just more of the same: focus on the next game, the next shift, the next two points.
“You see [the standings] every day. When we come in, they’re on TV, and there’s a board in the room,” said goaltender Arturs Silovs. “You understand how tough it is, and how many challenges you have to go through to win the games, and how important it is.”
Silovs came the closest to acknowledging the team’s success, but even he kept it grounded.
“When you feel good and when things are happening for you, I think you’ve taken advantage of that. And, yeah, it’s about just going with the right mindset.”
That mindset - one game at a time, no looking too far ahead - is being driven from the top down. Head coach Dan Muse isn’t interested in standings talk either. His focus remains squarely on the day-to-day grind.
“I’m aware of where we are in the standings. It’s not something that- you look at the scores around the league because you know you’re in the thick of it,” Muse said. “For me, the focus is on just turning the page the next day.”
Muse described a recent practice as short by design, but intentional. The goal?
Maximize the moment, then move on. That’s been the team’s approach throughout this run - don’t dwell on what’s behind or what’s ahead.
Just win today.
Of course, for those watching from the outside, it’s tempting to start doing the math. After all, this team wasn’t supposed to be here.
Not after last season’s collapse, which ended a 16-year playoff streak and helped launch a new era in Chicago with Connor Bedard. Not after the heartbreak against the Blackhawks that closed the door on a dynasty.
But here they are - in second place, with games in hand, and a playoff berth well within reach.
The Penguins aren’t shouting it from the rooftops. They’re not even whispering it in the locker room.
But they know. And more importantly, they’re playing like it.