PENGUINS

JOE SARGENT / GETTY

Noel Acciari scores in the third period of the Penguins' win Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena

The Penguins are in a stretch where it seems like each game is the new biggest game of the season.

They're realistically in a battle with seven other teams for either the second or third spot in the Metropolitan Division, or the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference. Razor-thin margins with so many different teams in contention mean that a bad couple of games could mean the difference between a cushy spot as the No. 2 team in the division or falling out of a spot completely.

This week had the potential to be either a massive boost or a disaster, with a pair of teams in contention for a playoff spot. After a convincing win over the Islanders on the road on Monday, the Penguins returned home and dominated the Red Wings, 5-1.

The Penguins' effort had Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan sounding exasperated afterward.

"We were overpowered along the walls and in front of our net. And that wasn't just at the start. That was for the whole night," McLellan said. "They were heavier. They were harder. The boards, back of the net, net front. And that's the difference."

The Penguins were in the second half of a back-to-back with travel. They were missing Bryan Rust, who was a late scratch due to injury. And they were playing against a hungry Detroit team that is fighting for its own life in the postseason.

And the Penguins were just the better team. Not even close. They didn't come out as strong as they did in spite of the game the night before on Long Island, but perhaps because of the night before, in a way. They were still riding that momentum.

"When you get back-to-backs, especially, I think it's an opportunity," Dan Muse explained. "Obviously, we liked our game yesterday, and I really liked our back half. I thought it was a strong effort for us, and we wanted to keep building on that and take another step."

The barrage started early. The Penguins outshot the Red Wings 14-6 in the opening frame, capitalizing with goals from Rickard Rakell, Anthony Mantha and Egor Chinakhov, chasing Red Wings goaltender John Gibson in the process.

The Red Wings finally solved Stuart Skinner with a Dylan Larkin power-play goal off a rebound in the second period, only for Justin Brazeau to regain the three-goal lead with a tip-in, and Noel Acciari to build on it in the third period. Skinner had to come through with a number of highlight-reel saves, especially in the second period, but stood tall with 22 saves on 23 shots.

"I think coming off of last night, it could go the other way pretty quick," Ryan Shea said. "Kind of settle in and sit back. But our confidence is high, and when we're doing that, we're a dangerous team."

The pair of wins gave the Penguins a big four points in the standings, and they got some help around the league, too on Tuesday. The Islanders, Senators, Flyers and Blue Jackets all lost in regulation -- every game went their way. That gives them a three-point lead over the Islanders with a game in hand for that No. 2 spot in the division:

The Penguins are in control of their own fate -- they just need to keep winning. For that reason, they aren't overly concerned yet with watching the out-of-town scores just yet. Nobody was running to the locker room after the game to see what happened in the Islanders game, or any of the others. Some of the players still weren't aware of what happened around the league well after the game ended.

All that matters is what the Penguins can control themselves. And with just seven games remaining, each one is the new biggest game of the year. As important as these last two wins were, they're only going to get dwarfed in importance by some of these matchups down the stretch.

"It's a big point of the year, and I'm pretty proud of the way we came out the last two nights," Brazeau said. "But like the guys said after the game last night, it's in the rearview mirror now. The next two are the biggest ones."