The Penguins Collapse Could Potentially Be The Worst In Team History

The Pittsburgh Penguins had a chance to lock up their ninth straight playoff berth Tuesday night in Ottawa. It was game that should have had little to no importance, but a three game losing streak and a 7-6-2 March left the Penguins needing a regulation win against a surging Senators team.

Things started out well.

Sidney Crosby scores ten minutes in. Then Beau Bennett and Patric Hornqvist added goals of their own to go up 3-0 as the first period ended.

No lead has been safe for this Penguins team. 2-0 is said to be the worst lead in hockey, but Pittsburgh might make the case that the 3-0 lead is the worst.

The Senators getting a shorthanded goal directed off the skate of Derrick Pouliot gave Ottawa life. It should have been the Penguins chance to make it 4-0 and kill any life the Senators had left. Mark Stone tacks on a goal in the early third period and then Hoffman's goal with 1:48 left in the game with the extra attacker tied it, and with that, Pittsburgh's chance to clinch was gone. Stone struck again in overtime to give Ottawa two big points and left the Penguins and their fans stunned.

Now, the Penguins still control their own fate, but the slide feels like a never-ending free fall as they have two remaining games, a home game vs. the Islanders and a Saturday road game in Buffalo. Based on how this team has played lately, those two games hold no guarantee for points.

The Eastern Conference has been pretty tight since March began. Only four playoff spots have been locked up as of April 7th.

The Islanders, Red Wings, Penguins, Bruins and Senators are all within three points of the final playoff spot. All but the Bruins have two games left. Boston has three.

The standings as of Wednesday, April 8th:

Here's what each team has left

ISLANDERS: at Pittsburgh, vs. Columbus
RED WINGS: at Montreal, at Carolina
PENGUINS: vs. New York Islanders, at Buffalo
BOSTON: at Washington, at Florida, at Tampa Bay
OTTAWA: at New York Rangers, at Philadelphia

The Penguins need three or four points in the next two games to have a chance at a berth, pending on how the chips fall in the next four days.

The Senators are playing like a team that can't loss, and are playing two teams that have nothing to lose. The Rangers have locked up the top overall seed in the league and the Flyers were eliminated almost two weeks ago. Philadelphia could help keep the Penguins out with a loss if Pittsburgh drops Friday's game vs. the Islanders in regulation and the Senators win their last two games.

The Penguins are playing some of their worst hockey down the stretch since the 1996-97 season. That team went 5-8-2 in March and 2-3-1 in their final six games of the season. The 1996-97 squad was in better shape than this current one. They clinched the sixth spot, but lost in five games to the Flyers.

Another honorable mention would be the 1998-99 team. They finished in the eighth spot, and had a 4-5-6 record in March and 2-5-1 in the April. But, there was a 12 point difference between eighth and ninth place that season. That team beat the top seeded Devils in seven game in the quarterfinals, but then lost in six games to the Maple Leafs. Not as close as the current standings in the Eastern Conference. 

This current team looks like the 1996-97 squad, but this ones odds to miss the playoffs are a lot higher than that team 18 years ago. We could get into the whole ties vs. overtime and shootout losses, but you get the point (no pun intended).

This is lining up to be the worst regular season collapse in the history of Penguins hockey if they wind up in ninth place come late Saturday night. Even if they make it, their trip might be a very short one.