The Pittsburgh Penguins lost again on Tuesday night — a 5-4 home overtime defeat at the hands of the divisional rival New York Islanders — as the wheels continue to fall off in Pennsylvania.

The Pens are now 24-21-8, second-last place in the Metropolitan Division, and a full eight points back of the final wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference.

Kyle Dubas and the front office might have no choice but to sell ahead of the Mar. 8 NHL Trade Deadline. And, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, outside of the core, everyone is in play.

“Not that they’ve raised the white flag, but with losses mounting, the Penguins have no choice but to listen as contenders reach out ahead of March 8. What I’m told from front-office sources across the league is that GM Kyle Dubas is listening on pretty much everyone on his roster aside from his core guys,” LeBrun asserted on Wednesday.

“Among the players the Penguins are listening on is veteran winger Reilly Smith, a Cup champion with Vegas a year ago and exactly the type of player contenders look for at the deadline. The tricky thing, though, is that he’s not a rental. He has one more year on his deal at $5 million next season. But that’s appealing for some teams; for example, a Carolina front office that prefers not going the rental route. Bigger picture, the Pens are in listening mode because they have to be.”

Penguins faltering at absolute worst time

Dubas is watching as his team continues to struggle mightily out of the All-Star break; the Penguins have lost two in a row and seven of 10 in what is maybe the most crucial stretch of the season.

With multiple teams all fighting for precious few playoff berths, the chances are quickly dwindling that the Pens will be able to right the ship in time to get into the dance.

Because of that, it looks like the Reilly Smith experiment could be ending a lot sooner than either player or club anticipated. But the big question remains pending UFA Jake Guentzel, who is on the shelf for just under a month after getting injured against the Florida Panthers last week. Pittsburgh has eight more games before the Mar. 8 NHL Trade Deadline, and those could decide the future of the lifetime Penguins star.

The next two weeks will also tell us whether this franchise will be going all-in for the playoffs, or blowing it all up ahead of what could be a very long offseason.