Will the Penguins Do Well in the Playoffs?

By; Cody Flavell (@LetsTalkPens) and Josh Boulton (@ToughCallBlog)

"NO THEY WON'T" - Cody Flavell

The Pens are doomed in this season's NHL playoffs. There is no way around it. In my opinion, the Pens have virtually 0% chance to do anything in the playoffs. I guess it's hard to write off Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Or maybe it isn't… Considering what happened last year when Malkin went virtually absent in the first round exit against the New York Rangers and the Pens got bounced. Or how about the year prior when Crosby forgot how to hockey as they were eliminated by the Rangers. That's past history though, the Pens are doomed for other reasons. They are one of the most inconsistent teams of this NHL season. Phil Kessel is the most inconsistent player on the NHL's most inconsistent team. The Pens haven't had a decent string of wins since the seasons beginning. Kessel can go from a two-goal game one night ready to hit on something and start a new streak, to being a slumping notable scorer (see David Perron). Kessel will be a huge key to the Penguins' post-season success. That doesn't mean the goalies won't be a factor. We all know the struggles of Marc-Andre Fleury in the playoffs. Obviously, he has been very solid over the last two seasons but it's capable to go away. Matt Murray has the chance to be thrusted into a playoff race. There is one thing the Pens may face as a kryptonite. The Pens are going to absolutely NEED to score against at least one of the following goalies: Braden Holtby, Tuukka Rask, and Henrik Lundqvist. Obviously the Penguins lit up Lundqvist last Thursday night but no one can forget that he shut the Pens down in the playoffs last season. And you couldn't tell me the last time the Penguins scored a goal against Rask or Holtby, can you? That's obviously sarcasm, but they WILL show up in the playoffs without a doubt, and the Pens will not avoid all three. The Pens are doomed in April. Maybe squeak through the first round, but it just isn't going to get better than that.

"YES THEY WILL!" - Josh Boulton

The Penguins are fairly comfortable

in 8th place right now, with games in hand on everyone in the conference except for the Islanders and Flyers, and within striking distance of the 5th seeded Bruins. But they're not exactly out of the woods yet, and I think this will help them at just the right time.

They've not really had time to establish themselves yet in their current state. Mike Sullivan came on board mid season and mixed some lines up, showing real faith in the young guns and allowing them to get comfortable. On the back end, Letang was injured, and then it was Lovejoy. Up front, they added Hags but lost Malkin. Barring any more injuries, the reincarnation of the team is just now having the chance to settle in, and shows real promise.

The other thing that happened was Matt Murray being given a huge vote of confidence and given some games. While his long term future is somewhat unclear and Fleury shouldn't exactly feel threatened, there's reason for him to want to make absolutely clear to everyone

he's the guy.

There's no doubt in my mind this will be the Playoffs Of Fleury. Down the stretch and into the post season, he's going to be an absolute monster and that will help push the guys forward. I'm not sure we're steady enough to make the Finals, but IF the team plays as well as it looks on paper and follows the lead of the goalie, there's no reason they can't reach the final four.