Penguins GM: 'No need to panic' about missing playoffs

Following a pair of losses on home ice over the weekend, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said he believes his team's recent struggles are just a blip on the radar.

"I am not worried about missing the playoffs," Rutherford told The Athletic's Josh Yohe on Monday. "This is a good team, and we'll be just fine. We're just fine."

He added: "There's no panic here, and no need to panic. We have a good hockey team and we have the guys to get out of this. And we will."

The Penguins soared to the top of the Metropolitan Division with a 13-4-2 surge to kick off the new year, but a 2-8 record since has caused Pittsburgh to slide down the standings.

The club sits third in the division, five points back of the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers, and holds a three-point edge on the Columbus Blue Jackets, who occupy the East's top wild-card seed.

Rutherford made some big moves leading up to the trade deadline, adding Jason Zucker, Patrick Marleau, Conor Sheary, and Evan Rodrigues. The acquisitions, along with key players returning to the lineup, led some to suggest the Penguins would challenge for the division title down the stretch, but that hasn't been the case.

"The determination from this team, as a whole, was greater when we had people out," Rutherford said. "We were winning then and we were so determined. We didn't look that way as much recently."

The Penguins return to action Tuesday versus the New Jersey Devils, then have a trio of important games against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes, and New York Islanders later in the week.

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