Sweet 16: The Penguins' Playoff Streak Continues

There are only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Penguins had a chance to clinch a spot on Tuesday with a regulation win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday, April 12, but the game went to OT and later a shootout, with the Islanders winning. With the point, the Penguins entered Thursday's rematch with the chance to clinch with a win of any kind, but they took care of it in regulation. A 6-3 victory over the Isles, and once again, the Penguins are playoff bound.

For the Pittsburgh Penguins, this is their 16th straight playoff appearance. Sixteenth! Think about how long that is. The last time that Pittsburgh missed the playoffs was the 2005-06 season, which was not only the first season back from a crippling lockout, it was also Sidney Crosby's rookie season! Outside of sports, one of my favorite shows, Supernatural, premiered that season on what would be known as The WB for the final year (it's been The CW since the 2006-07 TV season). Even that show ended in 2020, but the Penguins' playoff streak marches on. Pittsburgh's streak is not only the longest current streak in the NHL, it is also the longest current streak in any of the four main North American sports leagues.

The last 15 postseasons have seen the Penguins reach the Stanley Cup Final four times, and win Cups in 2009, 2016, and 2017. However, they have hit a lull in recent seasons. 2018 saw them defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening round, but the Metropolitan Division's final round saw the Crosby-era Penguins finally defeated by Alex Ovechkin's Washington Capitals, who went on to win the Stanley Cup that year. Since then, the Penguins were swept in Metropolitan Semifinals by the Islanders in 2019, the 2020 bubble saw them actually defeated in the Qualifying Round by the 12th seeded Montréal Canadiens, and in 2021, the Penguins suffered another first round defeat against the Islanders. The early exits have caused Pittsburgh's back-to-back Cups to nearly become distant memories, but as long as the team's core was together, they had a chance.

Let's talk about Sidney Crosby, shall we? To say I am a Sidney Crosby fan would be an understatement; he's my favorite non-Avalanche player in the league. It amazes me that I watched Crosby's journey for this long; it seems like yesterday that he was drafted, but it's been 17 years. Crosby is an absolute legend, he has done it all. Three Stanley Cups, two Hart Trophies, two Art Ross Trophies, eight All-Star selections, two Rocket Richard Trophies, two Conn Smythe Trophies, two Olympic gold medals for Canada, and a partridge in a pear tree. All of that, and he's not even 35 years of age yet!

As usual, Crosby is leading the way for the Penguins this season; 29 goals, 51 assists, 80 points total. Not far behind him is his linemate, Jake Guentzel, who has 78 points, but 37 of them are goals, giving him the team lead. They've played most of the season without Evgeni Malkin, but he has managed to scrape up 37 points in 37 games this season. Kris Letang continues to be the blue-line leader for the Penguins with 63 points (8 G/55 A). Regarding team offense, the Penguins' 3.29 goals average is 9th overall in the league, but their power play (20.9%) is middle of the pack. However, their 86.1 penalty kill percentage trails only the Carolina Hurricanes in the entire league, but they've only scored three shorthanded goals.

If there was one question regarding the Penguins this season, it was in net. We all remember how Tristan Jarry fared in the 2021 playoffs; it was a shaky performance, with the centerpiece being a terrible giveaway that led to an OT goal scored by the Islanders' Josh Bailey in Game Five. So how has Jarry fared this season? So far, he's done very well: 34-18-6, 2.42 GAA, .919 SV%, and four shutouts. Not bad. Jarry's 34 wins only trail the overall league lead by two (Juuse Saros leads with 36), but even so, he's in good company on the list; goalies such as Saros, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Darcy Kuemper, and Sergei Bobrovsky. Jarry's backup, Casey DeSmith, has also done well: 8-4-5, 2.94 GAA, .906 SV%, two shutouts. Pittsburgh's team GAA of 2.71 is sixth in the league.

Now while other teams are looking to prove that they can go far and can win the big one, the Penguins have already done that, several times. All they need to prove is that they can still do it, that they've still got it, the window hasn't closed. It hasn't been easy. Despite their past set of back-to-back Cups, they've won only one playoff series since then. The Penguins look like they are destined to face whoever finishes as the runner-up in the Metropolitan Division, which will be either the Hurricanes or the New York Rangers by the looks of it. Either matchup will be delicious in the Metro, and in either regard, the Penguins will be in for a hell of a fight in the Division Semifinals.

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