Record - 46-25-11 (103 points), 3rd in the Metropolitan Division
Goals For: 272 (11th in the NHL), Goals Against: 229 (5th in the NHL)
Leading Goal Scorer - Jake Guentzel (40)
Leading Point Scorer - Jake Guentzel & Sidney Crosby (84)
Sixteen seasons. That's how long the Penguins current streak of playoff appearances is. It's twice as long as the next closest team, and the 10th longest streak of all time. Just when you think it's going to come to an end, they find a way to keep themselves in contention. The longevity of success that this franchise has sustained is nothing short of remarkable. With GM Ron Hextall being able to keep the core together for a few more years, the Pens are in a great position to keep the streak going. Once they get to playoffs, though, is a different story.
It's been four straight first round exits for the Pens with the most recent one coming at the hands of the Rangers. The Rangers were the better team, but the Penguins had more experience and they used it to their advantage for the first four and a half games. Despite not having their starting goalie Tristan Jarry for the first 6 games, and losing backup goalie Casey DeSmith in the triple OT win in Game 1, the team had a 3-1 series lead going into Game 5 at MSG. A little over half through the game, Pittsburgh held a 2-0 lead when everything changed. In a really weird and awkward sequence, Sidney Crosby took an elbow to the head from Rangers' defenseman Jacob Trouba when Trouba attempted to make a play on the puck. Crosby would end up missing the remainder of the game along with Game 6 due to a concussion. Shortly thereafter, the Rangers stormed back and scored 3 goals in 2:42. Jake Guentzel scored to tie it up 13 seconds later, but it was Filip Chytil's powerplay goal early in the third that proved to be the game winner.
Game 6 was back in the Steel City. The Penguins had another 2-0 lead in the second period when, once again, something happened that changed the course of the game. This time it was a bad penalty by forward Evan Rodrigues. While this definitely could have been a cross-checking call on Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren, it was also definitely a retaliation penalty on Rodrigues. You can call it soft if you'd like, but the refs will always make the call if you retaliate. That's something they teach you in peewees. Unfortunately, Rodrigues got his wires a tad too crossed, and a mere five seconds into the powerplay Mika Zibanejad scored to cut the lead in half. HC Mike Sullivan knew how costly that penalty was and he let Rodrigues know on his way back to the bench. This game was tied late in the third when the backup to the backup, Louie Domingue, let one in that he definitely wants back. The Rangers were able to hold on and force a Game 7 back in MSG.
Both Tristan Jarry and Sidney Crosby were back for Game 7 at the Garden. This was a wild back and forth game that required extra time after 60 minutes. Like the six games prior, this one brought more buzz and controversy throughout. First, it was a Jake Guentzel's goal that almost certainly looked like a high stick, but was deemed a good goal after review. Then late in the third period when Pittsburgh had a 3-2 lead, Alexis Lafreniere got tied up with Marcus Pettersson behind the Pittsburgh net. Pettersson's helmet comes off which means he has to go straight to the bench or try to put it back on. He initially looks for a call from the official before he high tails it to the bench. By the time Letang came on in Pettersson's place, Andrew Copp had won a puck battle in the corner and fed Mika Zibanejad who buried one over Tristan Jarry's shoulder. I'll be honest, I hate the new helmet rule. I understand it's purpose, but I hate it. On the flipside, as a player, you have to know that late in a Game 7 the whistles are away. Pettersson was never in a million years going to get that call. If anything both he and Lafreniere were to the box. If he had just went straight to the bench, Letang would have had an extra second to come on the ice and lend support to his partner battling for the puck. That obviously didn't happen and the Rangers ended up tying the game because of it. In the end, it was an Artemi Panarin wrister from the point on the powerplay that sent the Penguins home with yet another first round exit. Just an excruciating loss after having a lead in each of the elimination games.
I'm a firm believer in that if Crosby doesn't go down in Game 5, the Penguins win and advance to play Carolina in the second round. His injury changed the entire complexity of the series. Even with a third string goalie in net, Crosby being out for two games, and Rickard Rakell and Brian Dumolin missing most of the series, the Pens were in a prime spot to win. They just ran into a hot goalie and even hotter powerplay in the last three games. You can't hang this one on HC Mike Sullivan given the circumstances injury-wise. It could have happened to any other coach, and I think it was the right decision by Ron Hextall to keep him around for another three years.
There was another significant decision to be made by Hextall this offseason which was to either keep the veteran core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang together or start working towards a rebuild. There was a lot of speculation as the playoffs progressed whether they'd be able to work out a deal with Malkin and Letang, but Hextall got it done. He was able to sign Letang to a six-year, $36.6 million deal to keep the 35 year old in Pittsburgh for the remainder of his incredible career. It's a lot of years for a guy his age, but when you're one of the main reasons why three championship banners are hanging in PPG Paints Arena, you deserve to get the bag. Same with Malkin, although his negotiations were a tad trickier. Within a few days of the start of free agency a deal was yet to be made between the Penguins and the future Hall of Famer. He was set to test the market when the two sides eventually agreed to a four-year, $24.4 million deal. Malkin certainly took a pay cut as I'm sure there were several teams out there that would have paid top dollar for the 36 year old. But at the end of the day he wanted to remain in Pittsburgh.
Hextall wasn't done there. He was able to sign trade deadline acquisition Rickard Rakell to a six-year extension. Rakell wasn't lights out for Pens after being traded from the Ducks, but now he's had a full offseason to get fully acclimated to his new team. The Pens also got better on defense. They acquired veteran blue liner Jeff Petry in a trade with Montreal, Ty Smith in a trade with New Jersey, and Jan Rutta via free agency. The Smith trade is a little risky as they had to give up John Marino to get him, but there's still plenty of upside adding Smith to a group of veteran defensemen.
If there was ever a team in a "win now" mentality it's the Penguins. They're all in to make another run. They know the clock is ticking and that they aren't getting any younger. If they aren't able to get it done within the next couple of seasons, it's unclear what will happen to this team. In an ideal world, Sid, Geno, and Letang all retire in a Pens' sweater. I just don't know what the likelihood of that is if they aren't able to make any noise in the playoffs this season or next. Right now, though, they're still very dangerous. As long as they have Sidney Crosby, this team can contend for a Stanley Cup title. Obviously, he can't do it alone, but the impact he brings to a team and its locker room is irreplaceable.
All it will take for this club to make a real run at the Cup this season is to stay as healthy as possible and get hot at the right time. Both are easier said than done, and we know the health concerns that linger over players like Malkin, Bryan Rust, Jason Zucker, and even Sidney Crosby. But we've seen what can happen when this team heats up. If the stars align, they have everything they need to bring a sixth Stanley Cup to the city of Pittsburgh, and the fourth in the Crosby/Malkin/Letang era. Let's see if they're able to get it done.
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