NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins at Montreal Canadiens - Source: Imagn
The 2024-25 season has been a rollercoaster ride for Rickard Rakell and the Pittsburgh Penguins through 37 games. After a 7-12-4 start that saw them sit near the bottom of the league standings, the Penguins have turned their season around, going 9-4-1 since.
The turnaround has been led by the Penguins' first line of Rakell, Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust. All three forwards have produced over a point per game during their hot stretch.
Despite the recent success, they remain outside the playoff picture looking in. This makes every game for the rest of the season important should they want to make it to the dance.
Therefore, a 6-3 loss to a divisional foe in the New York Islanders on Saturday night was unacceptable for the Penguins. Rakell knows that is the case and his team needs to be better moving forward.
