Who will the Penguins play in the playoffs (AP photos)
For the first time in four years, playoff hockey is back in Pittsburgh Penguins territory, and it didn’t arrive quietly. A 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night sealed their return, snapping a three-season absence that once felt unthinkable for a franchise built on consistency.
This is a group that had made 16 straight postseason trips before the slide, a run that dated back to Sidney Crosby’s rookie year. Now, after months of uneven hockey, they are back where they believe they belong.
Penguins clinch playoff spot and await first-round opponent
The path here was anything but smooth. Pittsburgh stumbled through an eight-game skid in December and looked out of answers more than once. Yet, when the Eastern Conference race tightened in late March, something shifted.
They won five of their next six games, pushing themselves into control of their own fate.
“A couple weeks ago [we realized] it’s really in our hands [because we] play a lot of the teams in it,” said Connor Clifton. “We figured it was going to work itself out, and first and foremost it’s about us and getting points and we’ve done that, so it’s been good.”Few saw this coming. Preseason projections had the Penguins as long shots, with doubts swirling around an aging core.
But Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are still here alongside Crosby, now two decades into a shared run that has outlasted almost everything in modern pro sports.The difference, though, may be behind the bench. First-year coach Dan Muse has brought a steady hand to a room that needed it. Hired by Kyle Dubas after years as an assistant, Muse has quickly earned trust.“He’s been great: Calm there behind the bench, and he’s just a really personable guy, easy to talk to away from the rink,” said Justin Brazeau.
“Any time you create that atmosphere in here, it’s not too tense or anything like that. I think guys are just willing to go out there and play free.”There have been contributions across the lineup. Rookie Ben Kindel made the jump at 18, while Erik Karlsson continues to produce deep into his 30s. Crosby, as expected, remains the constant.Asked about the team’s resilience, Muse kept it simple. “I ascribe it to the locker room, our leadership, our captain.
I think it’s these guys. I think you need to have that in order to find success. I think that stems from this locker room.”Now comes the next question. The Penguins will open the playoffs at home after securing second place in the Metropolitan Division, with the Philadelphia Flyers or the Columbus Blue Jackets likely waiting.The drought is over. The noise is coming back. And in Pittsburgh, that still means something.
