There is nothing for the Pittsburgh Penguins to gain with what remains of the 2024-25 campaign, at least not from the perspective of contention for the upcoming postseason that they were mathematically eliminated from Sunday.

But that doesn’t mean the members of this flawed roster have any intention of simply going quietly into the offseason without offering everything required of being professional hockey players.

Such was the case Tuesday in a 5-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at PPG Paints Arena.

In a matchup of two teams bound for early summers, Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry stopped 26 shots in his second shutout this season as his record improved to 15-11-6.

The result extracted something of a toll, however, as Penguins rookie forward Rutger McGroarty did not complete the game with an undisclosed injury. He was hobbled after blocking a shot and did not record a shift beyond the 19 minute, 9 second mark of the second period.

There was no substantive word on his status, but he was spotted wearing a walking boot on his left foot while leaving the team’s facilities at the arena.

The impassioned pursuit of a playoff berth is easy to understand. But how do players on teams with expired postseason aspirations remain motivated when their unappetizing fate has been determined?

“Because at the end of the day, this is what we do,” Penguins forward Bryan Rust said after Tuesday’s morning skate in Cranberry. “This is what we love to do. This is what we want to do. This is our job, and we’re expected to do this.

“Obviously, things are in an unfortunate circumstance. When you feel like you’re playing for nothing, you’re always playing for something. You’re playing for next year and some things that might work for next year, whether it’s line combinations or (defensive) pairings or little tweaks systems-wise. You’re playing for the guy next to you and whatever situation he might be in, whether he’s a new guy or a free agent or a guy who didn’t have the year he wanted. You’re playing for that guy to have a strong end of the year and have as much confidence going into next year. You’re looking for that confidence going into the offseason and into next year.

“There’s a lot of guys in here fighting for something. As pros, we’ve got to work hard.”

Penguins forward Sidney Crosby put in the necessary work to open the scoring at 19:44 of the first period with his 31st goal of the season during a power-play sequence.

After Crosby won a draw in Chicago’s left circle, Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk settled the puck at the near point and then maneuvered to the high slot before offloading a pass to the left half-wall for Rust. Turning to his left, Rust dished the puck low to the left of the cage for forward Rickard Rakell, who one-touched a forehand pass to the inner rim of the near circle where Crosby chopped something of a clunky one-timer to the far side that fluttered by goaltender Spencer Knight’s glove. Rakell and Rust had assists.

Power play goal for Pittsburgh!

Scored by Sidney Crosby with 00:16 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust.

Pittsburgh: 1Chicago: 0#CHIvsPIT #LetsGoPens #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/XsGTXVTnBK

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 8, 2025

Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson scored his 11th goal of the season and 200th of his career 4:45 into the second period.

Stealing the puck off of Blackhawks rookie forward Frank Nazar at the center point of Chicago’s zone, Rust reversed course and moved up the right wing wall before feeding it to rookie forward Ville Koivunen near the right corner. With Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic offering a wide passing lane above the crease, Koivunen accepted the charity and dished the puck to the left of the blue paint where Karlsson was able to deposit an easy wrister by Knight’s blocker on the near side. Koivunen and Rust registered assists.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Erik Karlsson with 15:15 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Ville Koivunen and Bryan Rust.

Pittsburgh: 2Chicago: 0#CHIvsPIT #LetsGoPens #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/jHRZOFvjRN

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 9, 2025

“I don’t know if it is actually a milestone though, but I’ll take it,” Karlsson quipped. “Been fortunate to play for a long time and score some goals over the years. Hopefully, I’ve got another 100 in me.”

The hosts went up by a field goal when defenseman Kris Letang logged his ninth goal at 4:28 of the third period.

Accepting a pass at the right point of the offensive zone, Letang initiated a give-and-go sequence by dealing the puck to forward Evgeni Malkin in the high slot. Drawing in a pair of defenders, Malkin slid the puck back to Letang surging through the right circle. Approaching the cage, Letang lifted a wrister that clunked off the left side of Knight’s mask and banked into the cage. Malkin and defenseman Conor Timmins tallied assists.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Kris Letang with 15:32 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Conor Timmins.

Pittsburgh: 3Chicago: 0#CHIvsPIT #LetsGoPens #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Mp3zic2V54

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 9, 2025

Penguins forward Kevin Hayes got in on the act with his 12th goal at 7:42 of the third frame.

Chasing down a puck in front of the visiting bench, Penguins forward Danton Heinen spun to his right and centered a pass to Hayes. Gaining the offensive blue line, Hayes chugged down the slot, avoided a poke check attempt by Blackhawks defenseman Wyatt Kaiser and lobbed a wrister. Knight got his glove on the puck but allowed it to bobble into the cage. Assists went to Heinen and linemate Connor Dewar.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Kevin Hayes with 12:18 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Danton Heinen and Connor Dewar.

Pittsburgh: 4Chicago: 0#CHIvsPIT #LetsGoPens #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/D8U7nvb3pt

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 9, 2025

Hayes added another goal to cap the scoring at 18:13 of the third.

Penguins forward Noel Acciari chipped a puck out of his own left half-wall to the neutral zone for Hayes between the penalty boxes. Spinning away from Blackhawks defenseman Kevin Korchinski, Hayes fed the puck to Heinen, who gained the offensive zone and veered to the left wing. Heinen held, held and held the puck until he chipped it to the front of the crease where Hayes deflected it with his backhand by Knight’s glove. Heinen and Acciari accrued assists.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Kevin Hayes with 01:47 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Danton Heinen and Noel Acciari.

Pittsburgh: 5Chicago: 0#CHIvsPIT #LetsGoPens #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/3F6fexvkBj

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 9, 2025

With 13 goals, Hayes matched the total he posted as a member of the St. Louis Blues last season. Does he put any weight in that tabulation?

“Not really,” Hayes said. “I focus more on doing the right things every night, every game where you can be consistent where your teammates and coaches know exactly what they’re going to get from you. Goals are just a bonus.”

Jarry prevented the opposition from scoring any goals for the second time in four starts after previously shutting out the Ottawa Senators in a 1-0 overtime win March 30.

Jarry was more fixated on his team bouncing back from a 3-1 road loss to the Blackhawks on Sunday, however.

“First and foremost, we had a good bounce-back game,” Jarry said. “Chicago played well in their building and we were able to play well in ours. So, it was kind of back and forth. But I thought the guys were doing a really good job tonight just letting me see the puck and giving me the shots that I needed.”

The Penguins needed to do a lot more throughout the course of the 2024-25 campaign to be playoff contenders. But that doesn’t mean they’re ready to give up on the season with a trio of games remaining.

“That’s the toughest part,” Jarry said. “You’re playing to play those extra games after April and beyond. I think that’s the toughest part, trying to stay motivated in these last three that we have now. I thought the team did a great job tonight, and I think it’s just sticking to it and keep improving.”

Notes:

• The Penguins went more than 20 years between shutouts against the Blackhawks. Sebastien Caron made 31 saves in a 1-0 win at the Mellon Arena, Dec. 29, 2003. Forward Tomas Surovy scored the only goal.

• Karlsson (109 points) surpassed forward Maxime Talbot (108) for a share of 84th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.

• Penguins forwards Boko Imama (bicep), Blake Lizotte (undisclosed injury), Tommy Novak (undisclosed injury) and Philip Tomasino (concussion) as well as defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok (healthy) were scratched.

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