COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It's over.
For the first time since the 2005-06 season, the Penguins will not be in the NHL postseason.
The Islanders on Wednesday clinched the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 4-2 win over the Canadiens in their final game of the regular season, eliminating the Penguins from playoff contention.
The Penguins were in control of their own destiny as recently as Tuesday. The Capitals gifted the Penguins a massive opportunity on Monday with a 5-2 upset win over the Islanders, setting the stage for the Penguins to earn their own way into the playoffs. All the Penguins had to do was win their last two games against the two teams against the very bottom of the league's standings -- the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets. The Penguins' 5-2 loss to the Blackhawks on Tuesday handed control right back to the Islanders.
An Islanders' regulation loss on Wednesday and a win in any fashion by the Penguins in Columbus on Thursday would have secured the Penguins a playoff spot. But the Islanders' win now makes that regular-season finale against the Blue Jackets completely and totally meaningless.
It's the first time for many of these Penguins players being in a situation like this.
When the Penguins last missed the playoffs in the 2005-06 season, it was Sidney Crosby's rookie season. They were well out of it that year -- last in the Eastern Conference by a 12-point margin and out of the playoffs by 34 points. A second-year pro Crosby and a rookie Evgeni Malkin would lead the Penguins to a playoff berth the following season, narrowly missing out on an Atlantic Division title. Kris Letang made his NHL debut during that 2006-07 season as well, but spent most of the year in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He became a regular NHL player in 2007-08, eventually joining Crosby and Malkin as a core group that would lead the Penguins to three Stanley Cup wins.
Only the Blackhawks (3) won as many Stanley Cups as the Penguins did in those 16 seasons. No NHL team had more playoff victories than the Penguins' 103 in that span.
During the 16-year streak of Penguins teams that earned a spot in the postseason, the Penguins went a combined 728-386-125 in the regular season. They won the Stanley Cup three times and lost in the Stanley Cup Final once. They were eliminated in the Conference Finals once, the second round three times, and the first round seven times. They were eliminated in the NHL's "qualifying round" in the 2019-20 as part of the NHL's restart from the pause on the season from COVID, but their appearance in the play-in round counted as a postseason berth for all statistical purposes.
The 16-year postseason appearance streak the Penguins had was the longest in all major North American professional sports. The New York Red Bulls in the MLS hold the new longest-active streak at 13 consecutive seasons. They are followed by MLB's LA Dodgers and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury (tied at 10 each), and the NBA's Boston Celtics and NFL's Kansas City Chiefs (tied at eight).
The Predators and Capitals held the next-longest active postseason appearance streaks in the NHL at eight seasons, but both teams failed to make the postseason this year as well. The Bruins and Maple Leafs now are tied for the longest active streak in the NHL at seven seasons.
This marks the second time since Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins became the Penguins' AHL affiliate in 1999 that both teams missed the playoffs in the same year. The last time both teams missed the playoffs in the same season was 2001-02, the year before Wilkes-Barre went on a 16-year playoff appearance streak of their own. The Penguins' ECHL affiliate Wheeling Nailers missed the playoffs that season as well, and are also out of a playoff spot this season.
Up next for the Penguins is the NHL's draft lottery, which is set to be held on May 8. Since teams can only move up a maximum of 10 spots in the lottery, the Penguins won't be in contention to win the No. 1 pick and the right to draft Connor Bedard. As of right now, the Penguins have the 14th-best odds in the lottery at 1.5%, and the highest they could possibly pick is fourth overall. The draft is set to be held on June 28-29 in Nashville, Tenn. The Penguins have a first-round pick, a third-round pick (the Devils' pick, not their own), a fifth-round pick, a sixth-round pick and two seventh-round picks (belonging to the Panthers and Maple Leafs, not their own).
