What Went Wrong: Another Era Ending in Pittsburgh?

Here's the thing. Yes, I'm a Colorado Avalanche fan, but I'm a hockey fan first. When the Pittsburgh Penguins reached the playoffs this year, I was very happy. Remember: for 16 years straight, it was playoff hockey in Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, that's the trio. 16 straight years, three Stanley Cups, a lot of amazing moments. The streak ended in the 2022-23 season, and we would see three straight years without the Penguins in the Sweet 16, but this year saw a resurgence, with a new coach.

The Penguins were back in, and they have home ice due to finishing second in the Metropolitan Division. Even better, it's them against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Battle of Pennsyivania is back; West vs East! Plus, Sid had a history of really owning the Flyers, so it was looking good for the Penguins in this one.

And then the Flyers won Game One. And Game Two. And Game Three. All of a sudden, the Penguins were three down in this series, but Games Four and Five saw the Penguins fight back. Two straight wins to force this thing to return to the eastern side of the Keystone State. Game Six was such a gritty (no pun intended) battle. No score after 20, after 40, and yes, after 60. Penguins had their chances in OT, as did Philly, and while Porter Martone's shot was snatched away, Cam York's wasn't.

So the series was over. The Penguins' season is over. But is it truly over for this iteration?

Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin. Most marriages haven't lasted as long as this trio has in Pittsburgh. Is this their final year together? It might be. Malkin's current deal ends in two months; he'll be a UFA on July 1, 2026. Crosby has one more season after this one until he's a UFA, but Letang? He'll be there a while. He's signed through 2027-28, so he has two more years, and he'll be 40 next season, as will Malkin. That's how it looks now, but chances are, Crosby and Malkin will fix it so they all end up retiring together. I can see that happening.

As far as stats, they were interesting. By Crosby's standards, he underperformed, but he still led the Penguins in points with five (G/4A). Malkin had three points, but two of them went in the net. Letang had only two points, but not only did both of them go in the net, they were both GWGs! Rickard Rakell had four points (G/3A), Connor Dewar had a pair of goals, and Bryan Rust only had two points. I mentioned underperforming, that's what Egor Chinakhov did. He showed out in the regular season, but in the playoffs: no points, and he was a -4. Erik Karlsson had three points (G/2A) but he was also a -4.

In net, Stuart Skinner (who Pittsburgh traded Tristan Jarry for) was the start for Pittsburgh's first three losses: 0-3 record, 3.08 GAA, .873 SV%. Yikes. They made the swap for Game Four, with Arturs Silovs taking over, and he was a gem. Silovs went 2-1 with a .939 SV%, and a 1.52 GAA. That Game Six performance, even in defeat, helped those numbers--he only gave up the one goal in almost 80 minutes in net!

So with this defeat, the Penguins still haven't won a playoff series since 2018. The Penguins need to get young, they really do. They have way too many thirtysomethings on that team, and a lot of them are thirty-fivesomethings. I think that's all they need to do; get some youth on that team. I do think we'll see the Penguins back in the playoffs again, but while we do, we better drink in any moments with that longtime trio, because they are very close to retirement.