Here's the running theme regarding the Penguins and the rest of this regular season, at least everywhere that isn't PPG Paints Arena: Finish first or else.
You know, avoid the Capitals and Blue Jackets in the first round at all costs, secure that No. 1 seed in the East and sweep away some patsy.
Well, a few funny things have happened along the way to all those teams currently in play for that No. 8 seed:
• The Maple Leafs, the NHL's most moribund franchise for a half-century, are riding wunderkind Auston Matthews and a young cast to a 7-1-1 surge and, possibly, their first Stanley Cup playoff berth since the invention of synthetic ice. And included in that run was a 5-2 flattening of Columbus a couple nights ago.
• The Rangers, the perennial first-round opponent in these parts, have lost five of their past seven, but all of those came with Henrik Lundqvist hurt, and he's expected back Sunday. He'll return to a team with a plus-40 goal differential that ranks fifth in the league, offering a far more vivid view of who they really are even than their 45-25-4 record.
• The Bruins have lost four in a row, but they've got the suddenly spectacular Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask, all of whom have tormented the Penguins for a half-decade or more. And before this losing streak, they'd been on a 12-3 roll.
• The Lightning, the Penguins' seven-game Eastern Conference Final opponent last summer and a popular pick to roar right back, are 14-5-2 since the first week of February. And Nikita Kucherov is absolutely ablaze. All they need to do is squeeze in somehow, and they'll be an instant upset threat.
• The Senators ... we just saw that.
• And yeah, the Islanders ... we just saw that, too. The 4-3 shootout victors on this particular Friday night have gotten pretty good, too:
Those were just the decisive shootout goals by Anthony Beauvillier and John Tavares, of course, but they were richly representative of how New York performed throughout. They outshot the Penguins, 46-40, matched them rush for rush, created with speed and skill and -- setting aside the home team's glaring injury issues -- conducted themselves like a genuine contender.
"Those guys, wow, that's a good hockey team over there," Marc-Andre Fleury said after his 43 saves and four pucks off pipes were primarily responsible for securing a single point. "They're playing desperate to get a playoff spot, but it's more than that. They were making some great plays."
I asked Bryan Rust, upon his return from a 20-game absence to injury, what was the hardest part of his adjustment.
His wholly unguided response?
The Islanders.
