Penguins playoffs update: Rivals win, Pens lose control

While the Pittsburgh Penguins had the day off Tuesday — and team captain Sidney Crosby was spotted taking in a Pittsburgh Pirates game — they could only watch how the teams surrounding them in the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup playoff race fared and maneuvered.

The lowdown: The Penguins (36-30-12, 84 points), who began the night one spot behind the second wild-card slot via tiebreaker, will wake up Wednesday morning just a little worse for wear and no longer in control of their playoff destiny.

The Washington Capitals leapfrogged them by beating the Detroit Red Wings 2-1, putting the Capitals into the second Stanley Cup Playoffs wildc-ard spot with 85 points, one ahead of the Penguins and Detroit.

Meanwhile, the New York Rangers did not do the Penguins any favors, falling to the New York Islanders 4-2. That gave the Islanders, which hold down third place in the Metropolitan Division, a little bit more of a cushion. They are three points ahead of the Penguins.

The Philadelphia Flyers got chewed up by the Montreal Canadiens 9-3 to continue their wretched stretch drive and remain a point behind the Penguins.

The New Jersey Devils fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 to remain five points behind the Penguins.

The Buffalo Sabres were also five points behind the Penguins going into a later game at Dallas.

The Penguins picked up a point Monday at Toronto in a 3-2 overtime loss and are 6-0-3 in their past nine games. They have a huge home game Thursday against Detroit, one of their final four in the regular season. They close with a road game against the Islanders.

The standings as they pertain to the Penguins won’t change again until Thursday. The only two games on Wednesday’s slate involve only Western Conference teams.