What do the Pittsburgh Penguins need to make the playoffs? Here's what has to happen.
UPDATE: The Penguins were eliminated from the playoff race on Tuesday night.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Penguins kept their playoff hopes alive on Monday night, but now have their backs against the wall and need some help to make the postseason.
The Penguins held off elimination with their 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators, but other games around the league on Monday didn't go Pittsburgh's way. They will now have to rely on scoreboard-watching for Tuesday.
Pittsburgh is 8-0-3 in their last 11 games and has closed an enormous gap in the race for the final wild card spot in the NHL's Eastern Conference.
What needs to happen for the Penguins to make the playoffs?
The Penguins will be watching games around the league and need a few things to happen in order to avoid missing the playoffs for the second straight season.
Going into tonight's games, the Penguins need both the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals to lose their games in regulation or overtime. Pittsburgh sits one point behind each team and if either come away from their games with a win, the Penguins will be eliminated.
Should the Red Wings and Capitals both lose their games tonight, the Penguins will take back control of their fate and have a chance to qualify for the playoffs with a win against the Islanders on the road in New York on Wednesday night.
The Penguins can also qualify for the playoffs with an overtime/shootout loss against the Islanders and Detroit/Washington regulation losses based on the tiebreaker of most regulation wins.
Who will the Penguins play if they make the playoffs?
Should things work out in the Penguins' favor and they make the playoffs, they will face the New York Rangers, who have the best record in the NHL and will be the winners of this year's Presidents Trophy.
The two teams have met in the postseason eight times, most recently two seasons ago when the Penguins let a 3-1 series lead slip away, losing to New York in Game 7 in overtime at Madison Square Garden.
Last season, Pittsburgh missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
