PITTSBURGH — The postseason matchup that felt inevitable for weeks will come to fruition after all.
With a 5-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the regular-season finale, the Penguins have clinched third place in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh will open the playoffs against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
After an 82-game marathon that began back in October, the Penguins (46-25-11, 103 points) entered the final game of the regular season with plenty of unanswered questions.
Who would they play in the postseason? Maybe more importantly, how would they play after a month of lackluster performances?
But less than seven minutes into the game, they eliminated any drama.
Evgeni Malkin, Evan Rodrigues and Marcus Pettersson all scored within the first six-and-a-half minutes to set the tone. Soon, Columbus starting goalie Jean-Francois Berube had been chased and replaced by Elvis Merzlikins. For good measure, Kris Letang tacked on a second-period goal to set a new single-season career high with 68 points and Brian Boyle netted his 11th goal of the season.
Now, the Penguins will take a considerable step up in competition in the first round of the playoffs.
In four regular-season matchups against the Rangers, the Penguins went just 1-3. In the first meeting on Feb. 26, the two teams engaged in a tight-checking, playoff-style staring contest at PPG Paints Arena with elite goaltending and just one goal scored on the power play by Malkin.
However, the Rangers swung the regular-season series by sweeping the final three games. New York’s potent transition attack was an ever-present threat. Their frustrating forecheck consistently hemmed the Penguins into their own zone. And Igor Shesterkin showed why he’s the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top netminder.
In total, Shesterkin allowed just four goals in the four games, including just one single 5-on-5 tally. After shutting out the Penguins on April 7, the Rangers netminder waved goodbye to the Penguins as they departed the ice.
Those inconsistent outings against the Rangers have fallen right in middle of the Penguins’ late-season slump. Entering Friday’s season finale, the Penguins had won just six of their previous 17 games. Friday’s result was just the fifth time this month the Penguins have won.
While Friday was just one game against an opponent looking ahead to a tee time, the Penguins showed several elements that have been missing of late.
Look no further than the first three goals.
Since coming back from offseason knee surgery, Malkin has shown that he still has elite offensive skills during stagnant situations like the power play. However, coach Mike Sullivan recently admitted that Malkin’s 5-on-5 play has been “sporadic.”
By following his own rebound, Malkin notched his 20th goal of the season. It was just his second even-strength goal during the month of April. The potent one-two punch of Sidney Crosby and Malkin has propelled the Penguins to 16 consecutive postseason appearances. If the Penguins want to make noise this year, they’ll need the second part of the combination landing, especially at even-strength.
On the second goal, Berube tried to poke the puck out of trouble. Instead, he handed it right to Rodrigues, who buried his 19th goal of the season. Rodrigues was one of the surprises of the season early on, netting 15 goals through the first 33 games. At that point, he was the poster boy for role players stepping into more prominent positions to help the Penguins succeed in the absence of star power.
However, his season shifted. Entering Friday, he had just one goal in his last 48 games, as he became a prime example of the secondary scoring drying up. More bounces like this from the bottom six will be critical in the playoffs.
Finally, on the third goal of the game, Pettersson jumped up into the play to bury a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle. He later provided a primary assist on Boyle’s second-period goal.
For a big part of the season, the Penguins counted on consistent defensive pairs to help the become one of the NHL’s stingiest defensive teams. But of late, Pettersson and others have been inconsistent. Friday was one last step forward continuity and consistency on the back end.
Now after building momentum in the final game of the regular season, the Penguins will look to carry that over when it matters.
