After four consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins have found themselves second in the Metropolitan Division and playoff-bound.

The Pens have blown away expectations for this season, as fans were expecting the team to push for a tank to boost their chances for a good draft pick.

This is one of the first seasons in a long time that there has been a visible effort from almost every player on the team. What’s most striking is the level of play from players who were not expected to have such strong seasons.

Notably, the newest addition to the team, Elmer Soderblom, has excelled with the Pens. In the 16 games he has played for the team, he has scored four goals and acquired eight points. For comparison, he previously played 39 games with the Detroit Red Wings prior to being traded, and scored a total of two goals and had a mere three points.

However, what the biggest challenge may be for the team is keeping that consistent team effort. This has been maybe the team’s biggest struggle for past seasons.

Goaltending and defense has contributed to the team’s inconsistency. And when the defense is so poor, it gets to a point where the offense cannot keep up with them. This kind of play cannot win in the playoffs.

Both goalies, Arturs Silovs and Stuart Skinner, have played extremely mediocre hockey lately. Skinner especially is far from what fans expected of him when he was traded to Pittsburgh, considering the Stanley Cup runs he made with the Edmonton Oilers. Oilers fans, though, had known about this mediocrity.

While goaltending isn’t helping their play, the Pens defense continues to make consistency more challenging. Defenseman Kris Letang struggled for a lot of the year, though he has played better lately.

If he, the rest of the defense, and the goalies find their way through this, the Pens may find themselves continuing past the first round of the playoffs.