NEW YORK – The Pittsburgh Penguins emptied the tanks.

With their iconic captain and All-Star goaltender (and however you want to describe Rickard Rakell) taking to the ice after being sidelined by various maladies, the Penguins dressed as strong of a lineup as they have in weeks (or at least the previous six games).

Such is the gravity of Game 7.

But with Sidney Crosby, Tristan Jarry and Rakell in the lineup, the Penguins lost to the New York Rangers in overtime on Sunday, 4-3, at Madison Square Garden and dropped their first-round series, 4-3.

A goal by Rangers forward Artemi Panarin on a power-play opportunity at 4 minutes, 46 seconds of the overtime period — his third of the playoffs — was the difference.

For the Penguins, the defeat brought their season to a halt as they failed to win a playoff series for the fourth consecutive season. And given the pending unrestricted free agent statuses of franchise pillars Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, it might have brought an end to the most successful era in the history of the franchise.

Crosby (Game 5) and Rakell (Game 1) each returned after suffering presumed head injuries earlier in the series while Jarry played for the first time being waylaid by a right foot injury April 14.

But it wasn’t enough as the Penguins lost despite being up in the series, 3-1, at one point.

“It’s disappointing,” Penguins forward Jake Guentzel said. “We were right there. We put ourselves in a good spot to be up 3-1. It’s just disappointing to think about that we had a lead in each game (Games 5, 6 and 7) and to give that away. Just an amazing group. We believed the whole time. It just didn’t go our way.”

The way the Penguins will take after this setback appears to be an uncharted course. With new ownership and several pending unrestricted free agents this upcoming offseason, it’s hard to imagine the franchise not making major alterations after failing to win a playoff series for the fourth consecutive year.

It’s a possibility their players acknowledged but weren’t quite ready to process in the aftermath of Sunday’s crushing defeat.

“They’re generational players,” Jarry said in regards to the triumvirate of Crosby, Malkin and Letang. “Pittsburgh’s lucky enough to have three of them for the past (16) years. It’s the bond that they’ve created throughout the team. It’s something that’s irreplaceable. It’s a business. But I think if they’re able to come back, they definitely will. There’s a bond between them and I think that’s unbreakable.”

The Rangers broke the ice first 7:36 into regulation. After Penguins defenseman John Marino failed to keep a puck in the offensive zone at the right point, Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad claimed possession and generated a two-on-one rush with linemate Chris Kreider against Marino’s partner, Marcus Pettersson. After gaining the Penguins’ blue line on the left wing, Zibanejad avoided a diving poke check attempt from Pettersson and fed a pass to the right circle for Kreider, who stroked a one-timer past the glove hand of Jarry on the near side for his fifth goal of the postseason. Zibanejad had the only assist.

The Penguins’ second power-play unit tied the game late in the first at the 18:51 mark.

From the Rangers’ right circle, Penguins forward Jeff Carter forced a pass toward the crease that was partially deflected by the stick of Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren. The puck bounced on net and was initially stopped by goaltender Igor Shesterkin. On the ensuing rebound scramble, Penguins forward Danton Heinen batted the puck over the goal line for a moment before Rangers defenseman Adam Fox quickly swept it away with a backhand.

Play continued until off-ice officials halted proceedings at the 19:17 mark approximately. A brief video review confirmed Heinen’s score, his third of the postseason and restored the clock to 18:51. Carter and forward Evan Rodrigues registered assists.

Another power-play goal, this time by the top unit, put the Penguins in the lead, 2-1, at 10:18 of the second period.

From above the Rangers’ left circle, Crosby faked a slapper and then slid a pass to linemate Bryan Rust low in the circle. Turning to the net, Rust forced a pass to the slot that was once again deflected by Lindgren and hopped up. Above the crease, Guentzel performed something of a “hacky-sack” kick with his right skate then knocked the puck into the cage at a height close to the crossbar.

On-ice officials ruled a goal and an automatic video review of the score upheld the call for Guentzel’s eighth goal of the playoffs. Rust and Crosby claimed assists.

Good fortune on the Rangers’ behalf tied the game, 2-2, only 65 seconds later. From above the Penguins’ left circle, Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller snapped off a wrister that glanced off of Carter’s stick then the right skate of Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson before sliding past a scrambling Jarry for Miller’s first goal. Assists went to Rangers forward Andrew Copp and Ryan Strome.

A short-handed goal by an unlikely source put the Penguins back in the lead. Rodrigues, who took a costly retaliatory penalty roughly 48 hours earlier that touched off a 5-3 comeback win for the Rangers in Game 6 at PPG Paints Arena, stole a pass attempt by Rangers forward Filip Chytil and created his own breakaway. Fending off a desperate pursuit by Miller, Rodrigues approached the net and shuffled a backhander past Shersterkin’s glove for his third goal. There were no assists.

The Penguins appeared to be closing in on their first playoff series win since dispatching the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the 2018 postseason, but a quirky rule played a key role in the Rangers forging a 3-3 tie at 14:15 of the third period.

As the Rangers moved the puck around the offensive zone, Pettersson and Rangers forward Alex Lafreniere engaged in a wrestling match behind the cage. That interaction resulted in Lafreniere using his right arm to yank Pettersson’s helmet off.

Pettersson protested Lafreniere’s actions to officials but his objections fell on deaf ears. As play continued, Pettersson, by rule, retreated to his bench and was replaced by Letang.

Rule 9.6 in the league’s rule book states:

“A player on the ice whose helmet comes off during play shall be assessed a minor penalty if he does not exit the playing surface, or retrieve and replace his helmet properly on his head (with or without his chin strap fastened), within a reasonable period of time.”

As Letang scurried onto the ice, Marino lost the puck in his own right wing boards thanks to pressure by Copp who claimed possession and fed a pass to the right circle. Settling the puck, Zibanejad chopped a forehand shot over Jarry’s left shoulder on the near side for his third goal. Copp claimed the lone assist.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not mince words on the rule regarding Pettersson’s helmet.

“I think it stinks,” Sullivan fumed. “He has to come off (the ice). His helmet got pulled off intentionally, but that’s the rule.”

Crosby didn’t offer much more in the way of diplomacy when discussing the sequence.

“A terrible rule probably ends up being the difference,” Crosby said.

In overtime, a daring rush into the offensive zone by Miller resulted in Penguins forward Brock McGinn taking a holding penalty and granting the Rangers a power-play opportunity.

Panarin, one of the sport’s truly nonpareil talents, took full advantage.

Controlling the puck at the high slot, Fox offloaded it to Panarin on the right wing. Moving into the right circle, Panarin lined up Marino and Letang for a screen and snapped a wrister past Jarry’s glove on the near side to give his team a second-round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes. Fox and Zibanejad had assists.

Jarry, who hobbled considerably while wearing an icepack on his damaged right foot during his postgame media availability, made 26 saves on 30 shots in the defeat.

“He did an unbelievable job,” Crosby said of his goaltender. “It’s not easy coming in with that much pressure playing that position. Knowing the circumstances, he did a great job.”

The Penguins had ample opportunities to close out the Rangers once they established a 3-1 series lead. In Games 5 and 6, they were up 2-0 in the second period before falling in identical 5-3 losses. And they had a late advantage in Game 7.

“We played the right way,” Crosby said of his team, which had a 45-30 advantage in shots on Sunday. “You look at Game 5, we had a tough span of a few minutes. Game 6, probably even a shorter span than that when they get back in the game. (Sunday), we were on the wrong end of some bad bounces. We played a great game tonight. We played some good hockey throughout the series. We didn’t get that next goal (Sunday). That was probably the difference.”

By the time the Penguins gather for training camp in September, they could look very different.

Sunday’s hard-fought loss may have been the final time on the ice for these Penguins.

“You know this league is a business,” Guentzel said. “You never what’s going to happen. You have guys that have been here for a long time and they mean so much to Pittsburgh and our team. It’s tough to say what’s going to happen now but it’s wait and see.”

Notes:

• Penguins assistant coach Mike Vellucci, who oversees the team’s forwards and penalty kill, missed the game after being placed into the NHL’s protocols for covid-19. According to Sullivan, Vellucci, 55, had a “rough day” but was feeling better as Sunday progressed.

• For the first time in franchise history, the Penguins have lost five consecutive playoff series:

2018 - Second round vs. Washington Capitals, 4-2

2019 - First round vs. New York Islanders, 4-0

2020 - Qualifying round vs. Montreal Canadiens, 3-1

2021 - First round vs. New York Islanders, 4-2

2022 - First round vs. New York Rangers, 4-3

• Guentzel’s eight goals were one short of forward Mario Lemieux’s franchise record for a single series. Lemieux had nine in seven games against the Flyers in the 1989 Patrick Division final.

• The Penguins lost a Game 7 on the road for the first time in franchise history (6-1).

• The Penguins are now 31-34 all-time in playoff overtime games.

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