Well, the Pittsburgh Penguins have done it. Despite hockey fans doubting their ability to perform prior to the start of the season, it’s clear that they proved them wrong. With their victory over the New York Islanders Thursday, the organization has continued to make history. The Pittsburgh Penguins have just clinched their 16th consecutive playoff berth, the most in NHL history.
The Game Recap
The first period of the game saw the Penguins kicking the scoring off relatively early. Defenseman Kris Letang threaded the needle on a fantastic shot from the point. Then, Danton Heinen scored a beautiful goal as he received a pass from Brian Boyle after leaving the penalty box. In the second period, Zach Parise of the Islanders answered, but Jake Guentzel quickly responded with an immaculate feed from Sidney Crosby. The score was 3-1 heading into the third.
Image Courtesy of Joe Sargent/Getty Images
The third period was a barn burner. It was kicked off by Crosby potting his 29th of the season. However, it was then answered by Anders Lee, making the score 4-2 in favor of Pittsburgh. Then, Brock McGinn scored an empty net goal. The Islanders weren’t done as they clapped back with another goal. Finally, Guentzel scored yet again with only 10 seconds to go, finalizing the scored 6-3.
This game was a breath of fresh air for the team. They’ve been struggling as of late as they have only won two of their seven games in the month of April. This clearly wasn’t weighing on their minds too heavily as they came out guns blazing Thursday night. With only six games left in the season, the only thing the Pittsburgh Penguins can do is look towards the playoffs.
Playoff Picture
As of right now, it looks like the Penguins are going to have some stiff competition in the first round. As of right now, the most likely opponent the Penguins are going to face would be the New York Rangers. This season, the Rangers have given the Penguins a tough go of it as they’ve defeated Pittsburgh three games out of the four game season series. However, the team could easily rise to the occasion and get past the Rangers if they keep their heads up.
If not the Rangers, the other likely opponent would be the Carolina Hurricanes. Like the Rangers, the Hurricanes are loaded with talent. They’ve only played each other tree times with the Hurricanes walking away with two victories. Despite this, the Penguins have always seemed more composed and confident against Carolina, so this may be the ideal opponent.
It doesn’t matter who the Penguins face in the postseason if they don’t rise to the challenge. If they continue to struggle as they have, then the playoffs are going to be pretty short lived. If the team decides to pick their heads up and play as they did Thursday against the Islanders, then they will have a long and fortuitous playoff run. Only time will tell.
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2 comments
The premise of this article is incorrect. Penguins have not even made the playoffs 3 years in a row. They were not in the payoffs for 2020.
Hello,
I appreciate you taking the time to read my article and equally appreciate you providing feedback! According to both the National Hockey League and the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, the 2020 play-ins did count as the playoffs, making this one the 16th consecutive for the Penguins!