WILLIAMS: Fourth place tempting to imploding Penguins

With the injury-depleted Pittsburgh Penguins imploding, maybe they would be better off dropping to fourth place in the NHL’s rugged Metropolitan Division.

The defending Stanley Cup champions are anything but ready for opening the postseason against one of the league’s top two teams — the Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue jackets.

Wednesday at home, the Penguins dropped their fourth straight game, losing 5-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks who tied the Blue Jackets in points with 105. The Penguins have 103 and the Capitals 108 heading into last night’s game in Colorado.

The NHL’s playoff format has the second- and third-place teams in each division facing each other no matter how much better they are than the qualifying teams in the Atlantic Division.

Right now, the Penguins and Blue Jackets would meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs that begin on April 12, with Columbus having home-ice advantage.

The fourth-place New York Rangers have 97 points and should be one of the Eastern Conference’s wild-card seeds. If the Rangers finish fourth, they most likely would be seeded seventh in the conference and take on the winner of the Atlantic. Right now, the Montreal Canadiens (95) have a four-point edge on the Ottawa Senators (91).

Facing the Canadiens or Senators first is a lot more tempting than trying to oust the Capitals or Blue Jackets, even though history favors the Penguins in playoff match-ups with those division rivals.

The key to the Penguins fortunes is how quickly they can get some of their regulars back into the lineup. Among those not playing in Wednesday’s embarrassing loss were Evgeni Malkin, Carl Hagelin, Kris Letang, Trevor Daley, Olli Maatta and Ron Hainsey.

The Blue Jackets are the surprise of the season, led by goaltender Sergei Bobvrosky’s 41 (and counting) wins. Columbus could win its first division title, but the schedule doesn’t favor the Jackets. After tonight’s game in Raleigh, N.C., against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Blue Jackets’ next three opponents are the Blackhawks in Chicago, the Capitals in Columbus and the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins’ next game is Friday in Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. The Rangers have to win if they have any hopes of surpassing the Penguins.

Those games will be fascinating for Mahoning Valley hockey fans to watch as are the four remaining contests at the Covelli Centre.

The USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms, who had a seven-point lead on the Green Bay Gamblers just three weeks ago, control their own destiny in the race for the final spot in the Eastern Conference. But the Phantoms can no longer afford to split weekend series if they want to play past April 8.

The Phantoms and Gamblers each have 68 points, but the Phantoms have a game in hand. Their magic number to clinch is seven (points earned by the Phantoms or not earned by the Gamblers).

Three wins and an overtime loss (two games against the Lincoln Stars this weekend, two against Team USA next weekend) and Youngstown will have its fourth playoff berth in eight seasons.

But the time to win is now.

Tom Williams is a sportswriter at The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Williams_Vindy.