Playoff Push Takes an Unexpected Twist for the Penguins after Thrashing the Devils

The Penguins defeated the New Jersey Devils handily tonight by a final score of 7-3.

The win marked the fourth in a row for the club, who have climbed out of last place in the Metro Division.

During the game, Sidney Crosby hit another career milestone with his 50th assist of the season on Rickard Rakell's goal.

The Penguins now have 66 points through 69 games, leapfrogging the Flyers in the division and the wild-card standings.

They have wins over some very good clubs in this stretch too, including the Golden Knights and Wild while outscoring their opponents 18-9.

It certainly is still a stretch, but the win streak has actually made the Penguins relevant in the playoff race once again.

In fact, the team is just four points behind the Blue Jackets and Rangers, who are currently tied for the last spot in the Eastern Conference.

That being said, the Penguins' chances of making the playoffs are still very slim.

If anything, the team is simply making their draft position worse, which will only hurt the team in the long-run.

Several Penguins fans have already expressed concern that this could happen. Even if the team makes the playoffs, they would likely be out in the first round with even worse draft position.

Of course, any playoff games would be significant to the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, who are all nearing the end of their careers.

All of them can sense this as well so perhaps they will be extra motivated to keep this momentum going for one last chance to play in the playoffs as a group.