Penguins Stay Scorching Hot

I know so far that I have failed to blog about hockey this whole year that I have had this blog, but I'm doing it now.  I don't have the best hockey knowledge, but I'm still going to talk about it.
The Pittsburgh Penguins had a great weekend, beating two Metropolitan Division rivals. First, on Saturday night, the Penguins beat the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center 6-0.  Then, this afternoon they beat at home the rival Philadelphia Flyers 6-2.  Combined, the Penguins beat two playoff contenders 12-2 in the same weekend.  Both of these games came without starting goalie Marc-Andre Fluery, who missed both games with a concussion. 
It has been an up-and-down year for the Penguins, who got off to a terrible start.  They started off 0-3, recovered, but were under five hundred for a while in December and January.  During that time, Mike Johnston was fired and got replaced by Mike Sullivan, which has turned into a great move.
On Tuesday, March 8th, the Penguins lost at the Islanders 2-1.  They were 34-24-8 after that game, with 76 points, and were in a Wild Card spot.  It didn't look like they were going to do much in the Playoffs, if they even made it.  But, they ripped off six wins in a row against Metro opponents.  This includes learning of Evgeni Malkin being called out for 6-8 weeks on March 12th.  After losing those six, they lost a home dud against the New Jersey Devils 3-0.  But, they continued to win, and have now won six in a row.  This means they have won 12 of 13, and have picked up 24 points in that span.  They now sit five points ahead for second place in the Metro over the Rangers, who the Penguins took two road games against during this 12-1 stretch.  They are also seven points ahead of the Islanders, who still have five games left compared to the Penguins' three.
A big reason is Sidney Crosby.  After a slow start, he is a big reason for the Penguins success.  He has a point in 17 of 18 games, which is not a coincidence.  He now has 82 points, including 33 goals and 49 assists.  They are peaking at the right time, but injuries are a big problem.  What will happen to Fluery?  When will Malkin return?  We will see as they gear up for the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs.