If the Pittsburgh Penguins season was on the verge of collapse a few weeks back, it has gone entirely off the rails since then. They have lost six of their last seven games, outscored 30-10, and shut out on three occasions.
That performance has the Penguins with a 3.5 percent chance of making playoffs entering this week. However, head coach Mike Sullivan is reluctant to count out his veteran-led team.
"We're going to try and make the playoffs," Sullivan said over the weekend. "The way to get there is to focus on the game at hand."
Whether the Penguins players and coaches are willing to admit it or not, the focus has to shift to some extent. The Penguins must use the time remaining this season to answer some questions for next year. That may end up costing a player like Jesse Puljujarvi.
Puljujarvi has played 11 games with the Penguins this season after signing a two-year contract on February 4th. His issues with finishing chances have carried over from his prior NHL stops in Carolina and Edmonton, but the Penguins have 52% of the expected goals when he's on the ice at 5v5 this season, which is the ninth-best on the team since he joined.
The Penguins have decisions to make this summer on young restricted free agents like Emil Bemstrom, Valtteri Puustinen, and Jonathan Gruden. Will they be a part of the Penguins' plan to begin next year? That question can be answered, in part, with the remaining 19 games of this season.
Prospects like Sam Poulin and newcomer Vasili Ponomarev may also be in line for a few games at the NHL level.
Puljujarvi's contract and track record of over 345 NHL games leaves the Penguins with fewer questions about the Swedish forward. That lack of questions may lead to a lack of ice time as the Penguins look to learn more about their prospects in the final weeks of this season.
More must-reads: