from Katie Strang of ESPN,

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Pittsburgh Penguins: The Pens' playoff chances never seemed to be in peril despite a multitude of injuries during season, but the team is now clinging for dear life to a wild-card spot in the East. The Pens are currently tied with the Detroit Red Wings with 95 points, though Pittsburgh has one more non-shootout win than the Wings. But beyond the Wings, the Pens still have plenty to worry about, with an inspired Ottawa team -- that they face on Tuesday – trailing by just three points.

The Detroit Red Wings' depth: The good news is that the Red Wings got back Pavel Datsyuk on Saturday versus Minnesota after the veteran star missed the previous two games with a lower-body injury. The bad news is that the team’s giant 3-2 win against the Wild resulted in the loss of one of their most effective forwards in Justin Abdelkader, who missed Sunday’s match with a hand injury. Hopefully for the Wings, Abdelkader will return swiftly, as the team is already ailing without Tomas Jurco and veteran Erik Cole, both of whom are sidelined with upper-body injuries. Things have gotten dire quickly for Detroit following Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Capitals; the Red Wings have dropped to the second wild-card spot in the East.

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Strang on the Western Conference...