The Penguins are on pace to finish first in the East Division.
No, not in the standings, although that's still quite possible.
But they're pretty much a lock to do it on the calendar.
Actually, it looks as if they'll end up in a three-way tie with Buffalo and the New York Rangers, the only other East clubs now scheduled to play their regular-season finale on May 8.
When the NHL's 2020-21 schedule was released in December, that was supposed to be the final day of regular-season competition around the league.
Pandemic-related postponements have extended the season for many of the NHL's 31 clubs, however, and games now will be be played until at least May 19 -- and might well go beyond that if coronavirus outbreaks similar the one that has idled Vancouver in recent weeks occur elsewhere.
If that doesn't become an issue for the Penguins or their remaining opponents -- New Jersey (three games), Washington, Boston, Philadelphia and Buffalo (two each) -- and the schedule plays out as currently set, it actually could be a negative for the Penguins because they could face an extended layoff before starting the Stanley Cup playoffs.
(Ironic that a team that has been savaged by injuries throughout the season could suffer from staying healthy, isn't it?)
At this point, according to Ron Hextall, teams have not been informed of the NHL's plans for when the playoffs will begin, and whether the start of those eight series might be staggered over more than the usual day or two.
He is, however, understandably concerned about the possibility that the Penguins could face an extended layoff between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs.
While such a break could, in theory, benefit teams that are hoping to have injured players get healthy enough to resume playing, the potential for a team to get stale if it goes a week or more without playing is obvious.
And when your season has been distilled to a best-of-seven series against a quality opponent, that could be an almost-insurmountable problem.
"What I can tell you, in terms of our team, is that I hope our break between the end of the regular season and the playoffs isn't too long," Hextall said. "I'm hoping we get going within a reasonable time period. But I don't have any information, in terms of when everybody would start."
Barring any additional schedule revisions, the New York Islanders, New Jersey and Philadelphia will play their last games on May 10, while Washington and Boston will do it a day later.
Every game after May 12 will involve teams from the North Division, which consists of teams based in Canada. The league's final regular-season game is supposed to be between Vancouver and Calgary.
