The Pittsburgh Penguins were on fire in the month of March. What once looked like a daunting schedule for the Penguins has turned into some amazing wins as they went 7-2 in a nine-game stretch against Metropolitan teams.
The Penguins sit at third place in the division, one point behind the New York Rangers for second place and this is all happening without Evgeni Malkin.
Why have the Penguins won nine of their last ten? Let's take a look.
Streaking Sid
Sidney Crosby is just on fire right now. Before a 3-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils, he was on a 12 game point streak where he put up 20 points. He had another long point streak this season which lasted 10 games and he put up even more points in that span than he did hear.
This streak put him third in NHL scoring with 78 points, five points behind Jamie Benn for second and has also made some media and fans wonder if he could be a serious candidate for the Hart trophy.
He had to carry the Penguins to the playoffs without Evgeni Malkin and he's done just that as Pittsburgh is in very good playoff position right now. They aren't in the playoffs just yet but with the way he's been playing, there's no doubt in my mind he will lead them to a tenth consecutive playoff appearance.
Flower Power
At the beginning of the season, Marc-Andre Fleury saved the Penguins from falling out of the playoff picture. Even after Mike Sullivan took over for Mike Johnston, he's still been great as the Penguins continue to play well down the stretch. Fleury is currently 34-17-6 with a .921 save percentage and also has 5 shutouts.
He's earned his way into being a potential candidate for the Vezina trophy but he likely won't get nominated due to how the media usually votes. He's also 12-5-2 against the division with a 1.75 goals-against average which is just spectacular after the team as a whole really struggled against the division last season. Pittsburgh has five more division games left so he's going to be a key factor for them down the stretch and potentially into the playoffs.
Depth Scoring
The fact that the Penguins have had more depth scoring this year then in recent years just brings music to my ears and every Penguin fans ears. Depth scoring has been one of the Penguins biggest weakness during the regular season and the playoffs since no one could do anything once Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin got shutdown by opposing teams.
They've got depth scoring in different forms this year as the ageless wonder Matt Cullen has had 13 goals as the fourth line center this season and their callups from Wilkes-Barre have also added some nice scoring and youth to the lineup. Bryan Rust has five goals since being recalled and Conor Sheary has six goals.
Tom Kuhnhackl is another callup that has provided a few goals to the team and Scott Wilson has as well even though he's hurt right now. Eric Fehr and Nick Bonino haven't produced like many thought they would this year and some of that has to do with injuries but they've still been good additions to the team and can still contribute offensively.
All of these have been crucial to the Penguins hot stretch and they could be a team no one wants to face in the first round despite not having Evgeni Malkin. If they can make it past the first round and then get Malkin back, the sky is the limit for this team.