3 Periods: Stretch vs. Metropolitan foes highlights Penguins' need to be better in-division

Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas has been preaching the need for the club to improve play within the Metropolitan Division literally since Day 1 on the job.

“I think that the major focus, No. 1, is inside our division,” Dubas said June 1, 2023, during his introductory press conference with the Penguins. “That’s the way I always looked at things. Rather than try to stack ourselves up against all 31 other teams, let’s focus on our division. Let’s focus on trying to win our division. We play the most games there.

“That’s what’s going to set our playoff seeding. We’ve got to be inside the top three to lock ourselves in, and our goal is going to be to win the division.”

That seems like a prudent way to approach things, but for the Penguins under Dubas’ tenure, it’s been easier said than done.

As the Penguins (23-25-9, 55 points) conclude February with four straight matchups against divisional foes, beginning Saturday at home vs. the Washington Capitals, they have gone 4-9-4 vs. Metropolitan opponents.

For Dubas and the Penguins, becoming more formidable against the Metropolitan Division remains a work in progress.

What Dubas inherited

The Penguins’ woes against such teams as the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes predate Dubas’ arrival in Pittsburgh as general manager.

During the final season when his predecessor, Ron Hextall, was at the helm, the Penguins were decent against Metropolitan Division opponents, finishing with a 10-10-6 mark in 2022-23.

However, for a club that saw its 16-season playoff appearance streak end, with the Penguins having missed the cut by only two points, in-division slip-ups loomed large.

Against the Hurricanes that season, the Penguins were winless (0-2-2).

They also failed to beat New Jersey (0-3-1), with only one of those defeats being a one-goal affair.

Granted, they fared better vs. the New York Rangers (2-2). But they were winless against the New York Islanders (0-3-1).

In total, vs. playoff-qualifying Metropolitan opponents, they went 2-10-4.

Improvement in 2023-24

The Penguins improved considerably in-division last season, going 13-8-5 against Metropolitan foes.

Within that overall record was a combined 7-6-2 performance against the Hurricanes, Rangers, Islanders and Washington Capitals, who all represented the Metropolitan Division in the postseason.

Still, the Penguins failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second straight season, this time missing out by three points.

Regression or redemption?

Plenty of in-division play remains for the Penguins, who would profit greatly from winning as many of those contests as possible, considering their current position outside the Eastern Conference playoffs picture.

Following their visit from the Capitals on Saturday, the Penguins host the Rangers on Sunday before back-to-back games vs. the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday and Thursday.

The Penguins have nine more opportunities vs. Metropolitan opponents through the end of the regular season, which concludes April 17 at home against the Capitals.

Were the Penguins to manage regulation wins in all nine of those games, they’d finish with a 13-9-4 record against divisional teams, nearly identical to how they performed in 2023-24.

More likely is some combination of wins and losses, meaning the Penguins are probably on track to regress by year’s end against familiar divisional foes.