The Pittsburgh Penguins have solidified a spot in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs! Though it looked a bit iffy at times, (Evgeni Malkin's recent injury that is keeping him out six to eight weeks made fan's hearts temporarily stop) the Penguins proved that they're a four line team that's ready to do what needs to be done to win! The game that solidified their playoff spot was their 5-0 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday April 2, 2016, however the way they played their games in March was the selling point for how they were able to punch their playoff ticket for the 10th consecutive season.
Some call it the "March of the Penguins" and for a good reason. Pittsburgh won 12 games out of their 16 contests that month which was in fact the most wins in the month of March in the whole National Hockey League. In those 16 games, the team scored a total of 57 goals which was also the most in the NHL. The Penguins soared above their competition and gave themselves a very good chance going into the final weeks of the regular season.
As far as the standings goes, at the end of the month of March, the Penguins had a total of 96 points. They gained a total of 24 points during the month which was, once again, the most amount of points acquired in the month of March. In hockey, a win gives a team two points. If the game goes into overtime, each team gets one point and then the winning team gets an extra point, making it one point for the losing team in overtime and two points for the overtime winning team.
Kris Letang, notable Penguins defenseman, and team captain Sidney Crosby had impressive months personally, too. Letang had five goals and eight assists earning himself a total of 13 points. For a defenseman, that's pretty amazing! Captain Crosby led the league in points during the month of March. During that time, he hit the 80-point mark for the seventh (yes, I said seventh) time in his career!
As you can see, there's a reason people in Pittsburgh called the third month of 2016 the "March of the Penguins". Their biggest focus after all of that success was clinching a playoff spot. As of today, they achieved that goal! Next up, keep the winning streak hot going into the post season and get Malkin healthy and back with the team as soon as possible.
Evgeni Malkin is an incredible asset to the Penguins. Even though they maintained the winning streak and clinched their 2016 playoff berth without the Russian star, the amount of talent he adds to the team is irreplaceable. Hopefully, Malkin can start skating and practicing with the team before the suggested time table and he can help the Penguins in their 2016 hunt for the Stanley Cup.
