Rather, the point I was trying to make was that a 6-game skid really turned up the heat on both management (re: what to do about Crosby, the way they’re handling information about it/him) and the players (re: start playing to win, girls). I don’t think you could watch those games without a pit in your stomach because you already knew how it was going to play out. Go up by 1, let that slip away, and only get your game back together late in the 3rd when the game was out of reach.

The Florida games were important because the team played with a cohesive, palpable sense of urgency in Sunrise, and they didn’t let the game get away in Tampa. In large part, we have Evgeni Malkin to thank for that. But if we can tally 2 more points tonight against Carolina, we’re moving in the right direction again.

It’s been an up-and-down season in a lot of ways, and the play of the Penguins has continued down that same path. But a 6-game skid followed by a 2- or 3-game win streak just isn’t going to cut it. Hell, the way the conference is shaping up, back-to-back losses of any kind are pretty much going to need to be avoided.

And here’s hoping they can pull it off.

I’m personally not an advocate for making such radical, large-scale changes like the ones you’ve mentioned in your comment. Like I said, this is really just dealing with a smattering of serious injuries and not coming from a place where the team isn’t performing to expectations. And, much like you, while I don’t see us returning to Cup form, I realistically think we’ve got a shot at any seed between 4 and 7. I’d frankly be shocked if we didn’t snag one of them.

Also, that Ottawa game sucked. Truly sucked.