The Pittsburgh Penguins were eliminated from playoff contention after the New York Islanders defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Wednesday.
The Penguins had the longest active postseason streak of any North American sport, appearing in the playoffs for 16 consecutive years, before this season’s failure.
The Penguins had a myriad of issues throughout the season, struggling with injury, goaltending issues, and inconsistent play.
Penguins’ problems:
• Can’t trust goaltending
• Blue line = bad
• Bottom six = Even worse
• GM = Incompetent
• Too slow
• Too small
• Too many players with no heart
• Bad contracts for years
• Too old
• Coaching stubbornnessThis is just off top of my head.
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) April 12, 2023
The Penguins join the Washington Capitals on the outside looking in. The Capitals had made the playoffs eight consecutive seasons before being eliminated on April 4. The Penguins, as of April 12, were the oldest team in the NHL with an average age of 31. The Capitals were the second oldest at 30.9.
This marks the first time both Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby missed the postseason since their rookie years in 2005-06.
The Capitals had unintentionally helped the Penguins stay in contention after defeating the Islanders 5-2 on Monday. They tweeted a Homer Simpson GIF at the team.
Thanks. Don’t let this go to your heads.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 11, 2023
The next night, however, the Penguins lost a must-win game against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks 5-2, giving the Islanders control of their own destiny. The Panthers and Islanders both owned the regulation wins tiebreaker over the Penguins. With Pittsburgh at 90 points and both Florida and New York with 92-plus, the Penguins’ result in their 82nd game of the season would have no impact on the standings.
We’re so sorry, Pittsburgh. We feel awful for you.
Really.
