Five NHL teams making statements in the final stretch

As cliché and overused as it sounds, “timely wins” can make or break a season, in any professional sport.

Such a prophecy holds incredibly true in the NHL right now, as teams are either fighting to hold on to playoff spots or clawing their way to potential bids. Some are getting those much-needed wins right at the buzzer, while others are, well, not up to par.

Here’s a look at five teams that have looked the best over the last 10 games.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins (8-2-0)

That slump back in October is nothing but a distant nightmare for the Pens, who have won six straight tilts to tie them for second place in the Metropolitan Division with the New York Rangers. That's not too shabby for a team having to endure six to eight weeks without superstar Evgeni Malkin.

There’s really been no better measuring stick for the Pens’ depth than the absence of No. 71 from the ice, and suffice to say, they have risen to the occasion. ESPN’s Craig Custance brought up an interesting point in a panel discussion on Monday: “It’s amazing how well the Penguins seem to play when either Crosby or Malkin is subtracted from the lineup.”

Just imagine if they played this well-rounded with both players healthy.

2. St. Louis Blues (7-3-0)

The fact that the Blues are in the playoff discussion is pretty remarkable, given the plethora of injuries that the team has been dealt this campaign.

Take netminder Brian Elliott, for example, who played Sunday’s contest against the Canucks for his first start since sustaining a lower-body injury Feb. 22. He blanked Vancouver in his return, as his team skated away with a 3-0 shutout win.

The Blues play in, arguably, the toughest division in the league. But St. Louis has topped both the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars during this span, as all three teams stay knotted up trying to take first in the Central. They're also coming to the end of a long roadie in which they’ve had to rebound from dropping a back-to-back to the subpar Flames and Oilers. The win over Vancouver is more representative of how St. Louis has persevered at the right part of the season.

“I think for our whole team, we needed to have a good game and get a good solid St. Louis Blues type of hockey game,” Elliott reportedly told the media post-game. “Hopefully we can take it into San Jose and wrap up the road trip on a high.”

3. San Jose Sharks (7-3-0)

It has been a season in which the Norther California kids have had a lot to prove. Maybe that’s why they’ve been so hard to beat over the last 10 games.

Well, that and they found their mojo on home ice, making SAP Center a dangerous place for visiting teams again. Add in the fact that their goaltending has been off the charts, with Martin Jones going through the best stretch of his first year as a starter mixed with newly acquired James Reimer notching two shutouts in four starts in teal, and the Sharks are rolling.

They have also become a gritter, tougher product since the acquisition of defenseman Roman Polak, making them a tougher team to take advantage of during this final stretch. That toughness should make them a bigger threat in the first round of playoffs, when they are projected to face off with one of two heavy-hitting teams in the Ducks and the Kings.

4. Philadelphia Flyers (7-2-1)

They are the only team on the list not currently in a playoff slot. Yet the Flyers have been in the discussion for weeks now as they continue to claw away at the Eastern Conference Wild Card standings and debunk the competition. (Yes, even with that ugly 4-1 loss to the Pens last Saturday that ended their six-game points streak.)

Philadelphia sits just three points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second Wild Card spot in the East with two games in hand and can gain ground in the final two weeks of regular-season play. The Flyers have been good on the road and have the opportunity to get back the momentum they had before the loss to Pittsburgh. The key? Captain Claude Giroux said it's about paying attention to your own games. Via nhl.com:

“We have to keep doing what we’re doing… I think if we take care of our games, we will be in a position to make the playoffs. Obviously it would be fun to get some help but at the end of the day, we just have to focus on ourselves.”

5. Los Angeles Kings (7-2-1)

The Southern California squad has been touted over many seasons for being the team that knows when to “turn it on” at the right time of the year. After following up a 2014 Stanley Cup-winning season with a playoff-less campaign, the Kings have clinched their berth early and await the announcement of their first-round opponent.

Of course, that doesn’t mean their constant drive stops with their previous 10 games. Defenseman Alec Martinez told Lisa Dillman of the LA Times that the Kings aren’t done pushing yet:

 “We want to finish as high as we possibly can. It’s a matter of wanting Game 7 in your barn versus any other city. It’s good that we clinched. But we can’t just rest on our laurels.”