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Conor Sheary has produced as part of the Penguins' top line.
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True or false: Momentum heading into postseason a real thing?

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

True or false: Momentum heading into postseason a real thing?

Several Penguins players said following Wednesday’s morning skate that it’s vitally important for the team to play well down the stretch in order to build momentum heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Is that accurate or simple a cliché?

Probably the former more than the latter.

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And nobody knows it quite last year’s Penguins, who went 8-2-0 over their final 10 games and parlayed that into the franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup.

Sidney Crosby battles with Chicago right winger Tomas Jurco on Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena.
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“We saw it last year,” Brian Dumoulin said. “We were playing really good hockey. It carried us throughout the playoffs, when we were confident and playing well. Right now is kind of a different situation, where we’re a little bit banged up, but guys still want to be coming in and playing their best hockey and carrying that into playoffs.”

Since the previous lockout, the past 11 Cup winners have finished with a points percentage of .655. No team had as many as the 2015-16 Penguins’ eight wins, while 10 of the 11 had a points percentage of .600 or better.

The current Penguins team was 0-1-2 in its previous three games before Wednesday night’s marquee matchup with the Blackhawks, the only team under that .600 threshold with a 4-6-0 record over its last 10 regular season games two years ago.

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Which means a 5-1-1 mark over the final seven games would be necessary for the Penguins to hit that .600 points percentage.

“We have to find a way here to get a little better, maybe get a little physical and get prepared for the playoffs,” Patric Hornqvist said.

It won’t be easy, as five of those seven teams occupy a playoff spot entering Wednesday’s games, with a sixth, the Carolina Hurricanes, four points shy of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

“I think we need to find the way we want to play and play a little bit more consistently than we have in the past few games here,” Bryan Rust said. “That comes with trying to stay the course, and hopefully things come.”

Jake Guentzel is injured after being hit by Rasmus Ristolainen of the Buffalo Sabres during the first period at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. Guentzel, who suffered a concussion, practiced with the Penguins Tuesday for the first time since he was injured.
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Sheary, Ruhwedel return

Turns out Conor Sheary only missed the better part of one of the Penguins’ worst losses of the season.

After logging just 3:56 against the Flyers on Sunday because of a lower-body injury, Sheary was healthy enough to play Wednesday against the Blackhawks.

He assumed his familiar spot on Sidney Crosby’s wing, this time the left, a partnership that has been beneficial for both of them.

Crosby had eight goals in eight games entering Wednesday, all of them since Sheary returned from an upper-body injury, after a stretch where Crosby scored eight in 25 games.

Sheary, meanwhile, has come back strong from another injury, to his upper-body, with four goals and 15 points in his last 13 games.

No more returns from injury would be just fine by Sheary.

“I don’t know what I have to do,” Sheary said. “I think I have to get as much karma as I can. I want to stay away from the injury bug that’s going around.”

Also returning was defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, who missed the past two games with an upper-body injury. Ruhwedel starting the game on a pairing with Ian Cole.

Hainsey, Guentzel progressing

Defenseman Ron Hainsey (upper-body) and forward Jake Guentzel (concussion) shed their non-contact jerseys for Wednesday’s morning skate.

While neither played against the Blackhawks, their returns do not appear to be far off.

“Feeling better,” Hainsey said. “The closer it gets, getting back into a regular routine will be exciting.”

That explains that

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan shared an interesting anecdote from his season with the Blackhawks (2014-15) on the player development side.

It explains what the Penguins did last season: going all in with speed and acquiring players who fit that mold.

“They go out and get players that serve that identity,” Sullivan said of Chicago. “That’s important. Pittsburgh has a similar philosophy in the sense that we know what we are. Our hockey operations department acquires players that can play to the identity of the Pittsburgh Penguins.”

Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.

First Published: March 29, 2017, 5:20 p.m.

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Conor Sheary has produced as part of the Penguins' top line.  (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)
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