NHL Playoffs: What’s next for the Penguins?
NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 09: Bryan Rust #17 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates his goal during the first period of the game against the New Jersey Devils on April 9, 2026 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images The Pittsburgh Penguins completed a double whammy yesterday, not only did they clinch a playoff spot for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs as a result of their victory, they also clinched second place in the Metropolitan Division courtesy of the Philadelphia Flyers loss. That makes for the best of days.
What’s next for the Pens? They have to finish out the regular season with three more games – at home against Washington on Saturday, then a rematch against the Capitals in Washington on Sunday followed by a random enough trip to St. Louis on Tuesday for the final game of the season.
The NHL playoffs begin in the days that follow, the Pens are expected to host Game 1 on either Saturday April 18 or Sunday April 19 depending on the league’s scheduling. That leaves the next week to get ready, and it will be interesting to see how the team handles the build up period. You would think most, if not the full lineup star players will be playing tomorrow for the home finale (fan appreciation day, no less) and maybe try to get Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust to the 30-goal plateau as they share the ice with Alex Ovechkin one more time, and possibly for the last time pending Ovechkin’s summer decision on playing in the NHL next season or not.
The added benefit would be a Penguin win over the Capitals tomorrow will more or less pull the plug on their season that’s already on life support – so what better way to end the lopsided Crosby/Ovechkin rivalry than ending his (potential) last season? Beyond that, I wouldn’t expect too many star players to be taking the trip to St. Louis on Tuesday night.
The NHL has call-up rules in place to limit the amount of talent that can come up from the AHL after the deadline, so it’s not like the Pens would be able to give everyone a night off, but there isn’t much reason for older/important players to not stay home and rest for an extra couple of days. Then there is the potential opponents, let’s take a look as of today: The Flyers remain in third place, but things have tightened up with their 6-3 loss to Detroit last night, coupled with the Islanders winning their first game with new coach Pete DeBoer. Columbus, sadly for them, looks like they have run out of gas following a 5-0 loss to Buffalo last night, spoiling a critical chance to get back in the running.
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