Believe It: Updated Penguins Playoff Standing

In a playoff position. Yup. When the hockey world wakes up Sunday morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins will be sitting in the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins’ huge, heart-stopping 5-4 win Saturday afternoon over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning set things up for a move into that playoff spot, but the the NHL’s evening schedule could have changed that.

UPDATE: This story was published Saturday evening, April 6. For the updated scenarios after the games on April 7, click here.

Their 83 points, at that stage, were equal to what the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers had, but tiebreakers put the Islanders third in the Metropolitan Division and the Flyers outside the playoff picture.

The free-falling Flyers then lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets (the Blue Jackets!) 6-2, keeping them from passing the Penguins. The Islanders beat the Nashville Predators 2-0, keeping hold of third place in the Metro, two points ahead of the Penguins.

The Penguins, Islanders and Flyers each have five games left.

The Penguins still have to work to remain in a playoff spot, of course, and they could yet move into that third spot in the division — they conclude the regular season with a road game against the Islanders. And getting into the Stanley Cup playoffs is just the first big step.

However, being where the Penguins are with less than two weeks left in the regular season is quite a feat after what has mostly been an inconsistent season full of frustrating moments.

Consider that when the hockey world woke up on March 27, the Penguins were nine points out of a playoff spot, with five teams to pass just to get into the second wildcard position.

They since have gone 5-0-1, and others in the same playoff chase have wilted. In addition to the Flyers, the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings have fallen back. The Penguins also have passed the Washington Capitals, who are just one point behind them with a game in hand.

But there the Penguins sit. In a playoff spot. Hey, anything is possible. Someone might wake up Sunday morning with that winning lottery ticket worth more than $1 billion, too.