The Penguins are starting to feel different………

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Is this a mirage?

Are the Penguins actually an interesting team to take serious as a fringe playoff level team?

In the midst of a four game winning streak, the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2-0 at the eight-game mark are off to their best start in seven seasons.

The hot start to the season has been much more than a lucky start behind good to great goaltending. If Pittsburgh was grinding out 3-2 wins, blocking a million shots a game and say be the John Tortorella 23/24 Philadelphia Flyers and playing low-event hockey, it would be much easier to say this is nothing to at least be intrigued about.

But, Let’s call it what it is, this has been a really impressive start for a club outsiders have pegged to be in prime lottery draft position for Gavin McKenna come spring of 2026.

It feels like it’s been years where the Penguins have felt this in-sync, where you have the top-2 lines creating offense like this but also have others under them filling complementary roles exceptionally well. The 2025-2026 Pittsburgh Penguins shockingly feel like an actual good hockey club and it’s coming back to swings in games.

Where this group has excelled truly in seven of eight games is when they’re getting outplayed, they are finding ways to weather the storm with a response. Last night it was a tic-tac-toe power play goal and Tristan Jarry again closing the door in the waning moments, an area late in games that had previously been close to derailing his NHL career.

Tuesday night vs Vancouver, Pittsburgh showed a classic case of what’s been different with this year’s group. Last couple seasons way that first period started, Pittsburgh ends up getting blown out of the building. Instead, you had consecutive shifts from the 4th line of Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari grind down the Canucks down low on and completely flip momentum. Not many complaints about the likes of Lizotte, Acciari right now…….

In Thursday’s 5-3 win over the Panthers, Pittsburgh got obliterated in shot attempts (FLA 62- PIT 37) and were minus-10 in scoring chances. Yet Pittsburgh was only minus-4 in high danger chances and outscored the Panthers 3-to-1 at even strength. Why to be intrigued is the Penguins have tied up some loose ends structured wise and have combined it with not taking away from pushing the play. And there has been much improvement in creating offense off the rush.

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