The Pittsburgh Penguins have had one of their best starts in franchise history this season, as they are 39-15-2 with a 15-point lead in the Metropolitan division holding the number one seed in the Eastern Conference right now. Pittsburgh has played some very good hockey this year but they have also had several games where they have not looked good. If they are to grab the number one seed in the East, they are going to have to avoid certain downfalls.

Losing At Home

Home ice is HUGE this season for the Penguins. They have been arguably the best team at home this season, along with the Anaheim ducks and have a 23-4 record at Consol Energy Center. They cannot afford a home losing streaks of four or five games because which will kill them come playoff time. As well as they have played at home the Penguins are only slightly above average on the road. By barely being over .500 on the road, it is essential they win at home almost every night. They will continue winning at home this season but this is still something that the Penguins just can’t afford to do going into the playoffs.

Losing Players to Injuries

The Penguins have been one of the most banged up NHL teams this season and now they are just starting to get healthy. They only have a few players hurt right now, but only a month ago they had half of their team hurt and were playing with a several players from the AHL! They can’t afford to lose star players such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz or James Neal to any long term injury or it will decimate the team’s long playoff run hopes. Hopefully Pittsburgh doesn’t have a lot more injuries this season and stays (relatively) injury free going into the playoffs.

There is always a certain measure of luck required to win the Stanley Cup, or even reach the Final. A bad bounce can never be accounted for and though every team gets banged up a little, injuries never discriminate. Pittsburgh has everything it takes to get to the Stanley Cup Final and win it, but if any of these things happen, they will be in deep trouble come playoff time.