The Pittsburgh Penguins still believe they’re capable of returning to the Stanley Cup playoffs next spring, and it certainly is premature to dismiss the possibility just yet.

The Colorado Avalanche beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen earned his 10th career hat trick as he competed in his 600th game.

Better editions of the Pittsburgh Penguins than this year’s model certainly would’ve had trouble with the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night. That’s a team with recent Stanley Cup pedigree, and they played like it at PPG Paints Arena en route to a 6-2 win.