Penguins eliminated from playoff contention, 16-year postseason run ends

The Pittsburgh Penguins failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2006, ending a 16-year postseason run, which was the longest streak in the NHL.

The Penguins (40-31-10) were eliminated from contention when the New York Islanders defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Wednesday.

It’s the first time since Sidney Crosby‘s rookie season that the Penguins did not make the playoffs. It’s the first time center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang have missed.

Pittsburgh played 190 playoff games and won 103 from 2007-22, the most in the NHL in each statistical category. The Penguins reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2008, and won the Stanley Cup in 2009, 2016 and 2017.

Here is a look at what happened in the 2022-23 season for the Penguins and why things could be better next season.

The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Tristan Jarry, G; Dmitry Kulikov, D; Brian Dumoulin, D; Nick Bonino, F; Josh Archibald, F; Jason Zucker, F; Danton Heinen, F

Potential restricted free agents: Ryan Poehling, F; Alex Nylander, F; Drew O’Connor, F

Potential 2023 Draft picks: 6

What went wrong

Lack of secondary scoring: The Penguins’ top six forwards — Jake Guentzel (35 goals), Crosby (33), Rickard Rakell (28), Malkin (27), Zucker (27) and Bryan Rust (20) — have accounted for 66 percent of the team’s total goals (170 of 259). The only other two players in double digits in goals are Jeff Carter (13) and Letang (11). None of Pittsburgh’s defensemen have at least 40 points (Letang has 39 in 63 games). Entering Wednesday, the Penguins were 28th in goals from defensemen (29) and 23rd in points from defensemen (162).

Deadline deals didn’t work: The Penguins acquired forward Mikael Granlund from the Nashville Predators on March 1, and then acquired Bonino from the San Jose Sharks and Kulikov from the Anaheim Ducks on March 3 before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline. They have received a total of one goal, five assists and 28 games played from those three players. Granlund, acquired for his versatility and ability to add secondary scoring, has five points (one goal, four assists) in 20 games. Bonino was acquired for his ability to center a bottom-six line, kill penalties and provide some offense. He has played in three games with zero points. He has missed 17 straight with a lacerated kidney. Kulikov played in four games, had one assist, and then missed 14 straight because of a lower-body injury.

Too many ups and downs: The Penguins have run hot and cold all season, with four spurts of solid, winning hockey and four that featured inconsistent, mostly losing hockey. They were 4-0-1 in their first five games, but 0-6-1 in their next seven. They followed that with their longest sustained hot streak, going 15-3-2 from Nov. 9-Dec. 20. But then it was 2-6-2 in the next 10, followed by a run of 6-2-3 in 11. Then came a four-game losing streak, all in regulation, from Feb. 17-23. But optimism picked up again in advance of the deadline, when the Penguins went…