ELMONT, N.Y. — Tuesday night, a wild few minutes of NHL action ended with the Penguins finishing outside the playoff picture for the second year in a row.
The Penguins arrived here on Long Island in need of help from a pair of Eastern Conference competitors to make the playoffs. And at 9:30 p.m. ET, it appeared they might just get the outcomes required to still have a shot on Wednesday.
Pittsburgh needed Washington and Detroit both to lose to have a chance to get in the playoffs with a win over the New York Islanders here Wednesday night.
The Red Wings trailed by a goal in Montreal and the Capitals were tied with the Philadelphia Flyers, who needed a regulation win to keep their own hopes alive.
But in a span of two minutes of real time, the Red Wings scored with 3.3 seconds left to send their game to overtime. Then the Flyers, perhaps unaware the Red Wings had just eliminated them, pulled their goalie to try to beat the Capitals.
The Capitals hit their empty net and went on to win, eliminating the Penguins and locking themselves into the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, as Penguins fans were fuming online at their bitter rivals from Philly for pulling their goalie anyway, the Red Wings beat the Canadiens in a shootout. That made the empty-net drama moot as far as the Penguins were concerned. They would have been eliminated anyway because the Red Wings got a win.
With the Penguins now out, Wednesday’s game in New York is meaningless.
The hockey operations department must now turn its attention to the offseason after a disappointing 2023-24 season. The Penguins face important questions about their coaching staff, an uncertain goalie situation and much, much more.
For an early look at what lies ahead this summer, here’s an offseason preview.
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and @mattvensel on X
First Published: April 17, 2024, 2:16 a.m.
Updated: April 17, 2024, 2:34 a.m.
