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Disappointing Penguins season comes to fitting end with loss at playoff-bound Islanders | TribLIVE.com
Penguins/NHL

Disappointing Penguins season comes to fitting end with loss at playoff-bound Islanders

Seth Rorabaugh
Seth Rorabaugh
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The Islanders’ Simon Holmstrom (left) and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby scuffle for the puck during the first period Wednesday.
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The Penguins’ Rickard Rakell (left) celebrates his goal against the Islanders with Michael Bunting during the first period Wednesday.
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The Penguins’ Jansen Harkins (center) tries to maneuver through a crowd of Islanders players during the first period Wednesday.
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The Penguins’ Bryan Rust (left) tries to keep control of the puck during the first period against the Islanders on Wednesday.
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The Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin (71) celebrates his second-period goal against the Islanders with teammates Wednesday.
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Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic looks back at the puck during the second period of Wednesday’s game against the Islanders.
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The Penguins’ Sidney Crosby (right) lays a hit on the Islanders’ Sebastian Aho during the second period Wednesday.
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The Penguins’ Jack St. Ivany (right) commits an interference penalty on the Islanders’ Ruslan Iskhakov during the second period Wednesday.

ELMONT, N.Y. - There isn’t a one-size-fits-all reason for why the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2023-24 season ended without a playoff berth.

They lost way too much for a lot of reasons.

That trend continued on through to the literal ending of the regular season as the Penguins were defeated, 5-4, by the playoff-bound New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Wednesday.

The Penguins finished the season with a 38-32-12 record and 90 points.

“There’s going to be close games where it’s 50/50 that can go either way as it is for every team,” Penguins forward Lars Eller said following Wednesday’s morning skate. “But I think the nights where you’re playing good and you have multiple-goal leads, those are the key ones to win. The nights where you are better than the other team, you’ve got to find a way to win those games. For me, there (were) a lot of those games where we didn’t close out.”

The Penguins failed to close out this game. But they also failed to start in an appetizing fashion as they allowed Islanders forward Brock Nelson, a steady nemesis, to open the scoring 4:56 into regulation with his 34th goal of the season.

Pushing play into the offensive zone on the right wing, Islanders forward Simon Holmstrom chipped a backhand pass by the stick of Penguins defenseman Kris Letang to the far side of the crease. Nelson barged his way past backchecking Penguins rookie forward Valtteri Puustinen and tapped a forehand shot by goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic’s right skate. Holmstrom had the only assist.

The Penguins tied it, 1-1, via forward Rickard Rakell’s 15th goal at 18:29 of the first period.

Recovering a loose puck in the neutral zone in front of the visiting bench, Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea dished it to Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin, who gained entry into the Islanders’ zone on the left wing and tapped a pass forward for onrushing linemate Michael Bunting. With Islanders defenseman Samuel Bolduc providing resistance, Bunting fed the puck above the left circle for Rakell, who fired a far-side wrister that found an avenue past goaltender Ilya Sorokin’s glove. Bunting and Malkin tallied assists.

Malkin supplied the Penguins with their first lead of the contest by scoring his 27th goal during a power-play sequence 6:14 into the second period.

Accepting a pass on the left half-wall of the offensive zone, Penguins forward Sidney Crosby sauntered his way into the lower left circle and dished a clever pass to the far side of the crease where Malkin adjusted his left skate and directed the puck into the cage. Officials initiated an automatic review to ensure Malkin did not use a distinct kicking motion and found the score to be legal. Crosby and defenseman Erik Karlsson had assists.

Puustinen appeared to score on a breakaway at 7:05 of the second frame but the Islanders issued a coach’s challenge claiming the sequence to be offside. Officials viewed the footage and confirmed those accusations, nullifying the score.

The Islanders had a would-be goal euthanized by officials at 11:35 of the second period. A puck initially shot by Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock caromed into the cage, but officials determined the puck was kicked in by Nelson.

Islanders forward Casey Cizikas did score a valid game-tying goal at 13:19 of the second.

Making a strong effort to keep a puck in the offensive zone on the left point, Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov lobbed a wrister toward the cage. Establishing position in the left circle, Cizikas deflected the puck with his stick past Nedeljkovic’s glove on the far side for his 10th goal. Romanov and Bolduc registered assists.

Puustinen finally got a goal at 14:37 of the second frame.

From center point of the offensive zone, Karlsson tossed a wrister on cage that Sorokin stopped. The rebound hopped out to the crease where Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech tried to skate it out of danger only to have Puustinen jump in and claim possession. Moving in, Puustinen fired a wrister by Sorokin’s glove for his fifth goal. There were no assists.

The Islanders persisted and tied the game again, 3-3, late in the second period at the 19:44 mark with forward Kyle Palmieri’s 30th goal during a power-play scenario.

Stealing a clearing attempt by Penguins forward Bryan Rust at the center point of the Pittsburgh zone, Islanders defenseman Mike Reilly moved the puck to the top of the right circle. From there, Nelson fed a seam pass to the opposite circle for Palmieri, who dropped the hammer on a one-timer that beat the blocker of an outstretched Nedeljkovic on the near side. Nelson and Reilly registered assists.

The Penguins issued a coach’s challenge claiming the sequence should have been halted due to the puck being played with a high stick, but officials found nothing to verify those suspicions and upheld the score. Due to the unsuccessful challenge, the Penguins wound up with a delay of game penalty.

On the ensuing power-play sequence, the Islanders regained a lead 96 seconds into the third period.

Taking a pass at the top of the Penguins’ right circle, Bolduc boomed a one-timer toward the cage. Trying to box out Cizikas above the crease, Shea inadvertently deflected the puck into the cage with his left skate. Bolduc was credited with his second goal off assists from Pulock and rookie forward Roman Iskhakov.

Carter, who later revealed he was playing in the final game of his NHL career, scored his 11th goal of the season – and the 442nd of his career – at 10:56 of the third period during a power-play sequence.

Settling a loose puck in the Islanders’ right circle, Crosby snapped a pass through a phalanx of bodies amassed at the crease. Stationed to the left of the blue paint, Carter showed the forehand side of his stick blade and deflected the puck in. Crosby and Bunting had assists.

The Islanders secured victory at 14:27 of the third period via Holmstrom’s 15th goal.

Stealing a puck from Karlsson in the Penguins’ left circle, Islanders forward Kyle MacLean swooped around to the slot and then slid a clever backhand pass to the inner rim of the left circle for Holmstrom who gripped and ripped a wrister by Nedeljkovic’s blocker on the near side. The lone assist went to MacLean.

Crosby had a chance to tie the game late in regulation at 19:30 of the final frame, but his penalty shot attempt was snuffed out by Sorokin.

In his 13th consecutive start, Nedeljkovic made 27 saves on 32 shots as his record fell to 18-7-7.

During Nedeljkovic’s run as the team’s undeclared starter in lieu of Tristan Jarry, the Penguins went 8-2-3, allowing them to flirt with a playoff berth.

It was a valiant surge at a vital time. But not enough to overcome the follies that punctuated the majority of 2023-24.

“The season is long,” Crosby said. “The immediate feeling, the last few weeks, have been really good. But it’s 82 games for a reason. If it was a few more, we might have been in the playoffs. We ran out of runway. That push was a tad too late.”

Notes:

• Carter was in the starting lineup and took the opening draw at the encouragement of Crosby.

“Just take the draw,” Crosby said of what he told Carter on the faceoff. “He just asked me what I wanted. I said, ‘I don’t usually play the wing, so do what you like.” That’s something I think we’ll all appreciate, especially him.”

• Carter’s goal was his 100th point as a member of the Penguins.

• Rakell (110 points) surpassed forwards Wayne Bianchin and Petr Sykora as well as defenseman Jim Johnson and Paul Martin (109 each) for 83rd place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• The Penguins scratched forwards Emil Bemstrom, Radim Zohorna and rookie defenseman John Ludvig.

• The Islanders dressed an irregular lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Forwards Mathew Barzal, Pierre Engvall and Hudson Fasching were scratched to rest up before the playoffs while forward Anders Lee was scratched for personal reasons.

• Iskhakov was recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Wednesday afternoon and made his NHL debut.

Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.

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