Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang have been playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins for almost two decades now. During this time period, their team has had lots of success and even won three Stanley Cups. Some people believe that these players will end up in the Hall of Fame one day – but it looks like their time together may finally be over.
Buddy Robinson and Andres Athanasiou scored goals only 26 seconds apart in the third period, which was enough for the terrible Chicago Blackhawks to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2.
The Penguins were hoping to win their last two games against Chicago and Columbus so that their playoff streak could be extended by 17 years.
Petr Mrazek stopped 38 shots and Robinson scored a goal, which gave Chicago the advantage. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh still has an outside chance of making the playoffs since they only have one game left to play. The Florida Panthers sealed one of the two wildcard spots in the Eastern Conference after Buffalo and Pittsburgh both lost their games. The Penguins can be eliminated completely if the New York Islanders win or get an overtime victory against Montreal on Wednesday.
Malkin and Letang had hoped that last summer they might keep one of the most successful teams in recent history together. But, six months of uneven performances culminated in a single game against a team who hadn’t won since St. Patrick’s Day and is now hoping to win the upcoming draft lottery.
The Penguins were hoping to have control of their future and success, but it didn’t work out in the end. Malkin had scored his 27th goal of the season which seemed to boost up the team’s morale, however, during the last 10 minutes of the game, the Blackhawks scored four times! They are now hoping to get their hands on the No. 1 pick in the draft so they can choose Connor Bedard.
Robinson grabbed a puck that was bouncing around in the area close to the goal and then shot it past Tristan Jarry. This put the score at 2-1 with only 9:38 minutes left of playing time.
Afterwards, Athanasiou was hanging out behind Pittsburgh’s net when he took a shot at Jarry who, to everyone’s surprise, ended up allowing the puck to hit him and roll across the goal line.
Connor Murphy, Tyler Johnson and MacKenzie Entwistle also scored goals for Chicago.
Athanasiou said that the Penguins were all striving for a position and this created a chance for some of the members in their team to really make an impact. Danton Heinen also scored, and Jarry managed to block 22 of the shots sent his way. The Penguins are usually used to getting ready for playoffs at this time of year during the last days of the regular season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have seen lots of success recently, but in the 2014-15 season they almost did not make it to the post-season. They only managed to qualify for the postseason that year by winning their last game against the Buffalo Sabres. But sadly, their run ended with a quick loss to the New York Rangers. Mike Johnston was then replaced as head coach in December by Mike Sullivan and this change brought two Stanley Cups after that. Unfortunately, the last five years have been much less successful though.
It’s been almost three years since Pittsburgh last won a playoff series. This year, they might not even get the chance since they haven’t been doing so great other than a pretty decent couple of weeks in November and December.
But then something good happened: They won three out of four games, which gave them more confidence about their position and hope for the future. Now, however, those hopes may have gone away again.
The Penguins were controlling the game against the Blackhawks, but Chicago’s goalie Mrazek did a great job thwarting any chances they had. However, when Malkin scored and let out a loud yell of joy, it seemed like he was going to help the Penguins take control.
Robinson made a goal, which was his sixth in 61 matches played since 2015 with four different teams. Then soon after, Athanasiou scored too and the team from Pittsburgh felt really down. Letang then said that in the third period they got frustrated and messed up by giving away chances. It’s such a bummer for them to accept that result.
When the horn sounded, the Penguins had a special ceremony for their fans on fan appreciation night. This usually happens before the playoffs begin, but it’s hard to say if they will make it this year. Malkin said they still have hope, though. Next up is the Blackhawks who will finish their third season with a loss against Philadelphia.
Penguins hockey players are wishing that the last game they have to play in Columbus on Thursday will be an important one and it’ll show in the final rankings.
