Hockey fans will recall the Detroit Red Wings and Penguins facing each other in consecutive Stanley Cup Finals (2008 and 2009), with each team winning once.
Fast-forward to 2026 and the fortunes of these once-proud franchises have taken a dive, with both contesting near the bottom of the chase just to make these Cup playoffs.
If those playoff began tomorrow, both would be in the field, which would break a nine-season absence for the Red Wings and a more modest three-year run on the outside for the Penguins.
The prediction site moneypuck.com gives the Penguins a 76 percent chance of making the field, but only 35.8 percent to survive the first round.
The Red Wings are a 63.8 percent pick to make it, and only 27.4 to make it past the first round.
To borrow from the movie “ Dumb and Dumber,” so, you’re telling me there’s a chance.
If I were betting on such a thing, I’d suspect the Penguins will slip in, but the Red Wings will not.
The Penguins currently sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 81 points. The New York Islanders are third with 81 points, but have played one more game, so that’s the tiebreaker for now.
The Red Wings, with 80 points, are in the second wild-card spot, behind Boston, which also has 80 points, but has played one fewer game. Close behind Boston and the Red Wings are the Columbus Blue Jackets with 79 points and the Ottawa Senators with 75. Of note, the Senators have played two fewer games than the Red Wings and one less than each Boston and Columbus.
The Penguins fortunes have been hampered by the injury-related absence of Sidney Crosby, a malady suffered in the Olympics at the hands of serial offender Radko Gudas, who currently is serving a five-game suspension for a knee-on-knee hit that ended the season of Toronto’s Auston Matthews.
Speaking of suspensions, the Penguins also have been playing without Evgeni Malkin, who got hit with a five-game penalty for mistaking the head of Rasmus Dahlin for a pinata and hitting it with his stick.
Malkin can return Monday, when the Penguins play at Colorado, generally considered the best team in the league. Crosby initially was expected back sometime this month.
Despite the absences of high-profile players, the Penguins have shown some guts, including rallying from a 2-0 deficit to win Saturday night vs. Utah to get a win. That, and a monster comeback win against Boston last week, have given the Penguins four points that have kept them in a playoff position.
The Red Wings also have some key injuries, including to center Dylan Larkin, who was a member of the U.S. gold medal winning team in Olympic hockey. But, even before losing Larkin, the team has looked to be about to go on another March collapse, for the third straight season.
Detroit led the Atlantic Division as of Jan. 24 and now is almost out of the playoff field. It’s a familiar scene to frustrated Red Wings fans as their team cannot finish out games, even when leading late or playing inferior competition.
The good news Saturday was the Red Wings erased a two-goal deficit in the third period vs. a strong Dallas team, The bad news is the Red Wings found a way to lose in overtime.
Circle March 31 on your calendar. The Red Wings play at Pittsburgh that evening, by which time the Red Wings likely will have played themselves out of playoff position.
The Penguins might need the two points desperately themselves by then as they will be coming off a stretch in which they will have played Colorado and Carolina twice each, as well as one game each with Dallas, Ottawa, the New York Islanders and Winnipeg.
Getting a gift two points could be just what the Penguins need. Think of it as another Red Wings-Penguins game that means something, at least for one side.
Sam Ross Jr's site 