I see Pittsburgh being the opposite of last year and waking up just in the right time, making the playoffs unfortunately. They will not have ton of success in the playoffs, but they just have the momentum right now to make it. Hopefully I'm wrong.
Their schedule is pretty tough, but also means that they control their destiny. @ Washington, Tampa, @ Toronto, Detroit, Boston, Nashville, @ Islanders.
So their entire schedule are playoff teams or teams on the playoff bubble with them. So could be good or bad depending how you want to look at it. Odds are still heavily in favor of that pick being in the 11-13 range as they would have to jump 3 teams in the standings in the final week and a half of the season.
That said, they still have a lot of elite talent and can make a run as much as anyone else. This is why I have so staunchly been on get the pick now rather than let generational talents like Crosby, Malkin, Karlsson, etc. get another kick at the can after a well rested summer and a potential "Last Dance" season for Crosby where they go all in.