Tim Benz: Fitting end to playoff hopes as Penguins miss postseason without even playing

It’s only fitting that the Pittsburgh Penguins’ playoff hopes came to a sudden halt Tuesday, thanks, in part, to a blown third-period lead and an inability to win in overtime.

It didn’t matter that — in this case — it wasn’t even the Penguins that blew the lead or lost in the extra session.

No, this time, it was the Montreal Canadiens. Again. For the second time in as many nights, Montreal dropped a 5-4 decision to the Red Wings after holding a third-period advantage.

That result was the cherry on the sundae after the Washington Capitals clinched the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth with a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Either of those outcomes on their own would have eliminated the Penguins as they sat idle Tuesday. The fact that both happened within a short succession of time was just a little bit more indignity to the moment.

As was the fact that former Penguins Daniel Sprong and David Perron were the two players who helped push the Detroit-Montreal game to overtime with third-period markers.

Perron’s goal came with just 3.3 seconds left.

DING DONG! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/UlU4Jy8Bv9

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 17, 2024

DAVID PERRON! pic.twitter.com/wIktKsj0K5

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 17, 2024

The Pens needed both the Red Wings and the Caps to lose Tuesday in order for their regular-season finale against the New York Islanders to matter Wednesday night. But that didn’t happen. So for the second consecutive season, the Pens will miss the playoffs after making them every year from 2007-22.

The best Pittsburgh can do is finish with 90 points, in 10th place of the Eastern Conference. It won’t matter in terms of playoff seeding (since the Red Wings finished out of the playoffs in ninth behind the Caps as well), but the Pens will be looking up at Detroit (91 points) in the final standings because of the point they barfed up to the Wings on Thursday when they blew a 5-3 third period lead at home.

Even though the Pens beat the Caps twice with victories of 4-0 in October and 4-1 in April, they also lost 6-0 at home to their Metropolitan Division rivals in March and got down 4-0 before losing 4-3 to the Caps in January.

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So the Pens had their chances to do better against the teams they needed to edge in order to make the playoffs. That’s to say nothing of losing 6-3 in Detroit on Oct. 18.

Or, instead, we could focus on the three games the Penguins lost with multi-goal leads against Calgary, Colorado and Columbus since the calendar flipped to March. Or any game they could’ve won if their 31st-ranked power play (14.6%) wasn’t so bad. Or if they could’ve been at least average among playoff-contending teams when it came to winning games in 3-on-3 overtime instead of failing to win in that period 12 times.

The point is, any time a pro sports team needs to rely on help to qualify for the postseason and fails to get it, it’s not about the help letting them down. It’s about what the organization itself didn’t do to secure a spot on its own.

And there is no lack of areas where this year’s Penguins team could’ve been better.

But, I get it. We are spoiled around here when it comes to getting help when we need it. The Steelers got a miracle win from the Tennessee Titans to upset the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 18 this year to make the NFL playoffs. In 2021-22, it was the Jags helping the Steelers by shocking the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18 so the Steelers could squeak in. Rex Ryan’s Buffalo Bills upset the New York Jets during the final week of the season to aid the Steelers in 2015-16.

No such luck for the Penguins this year. But what are we going to do? Harbor resentment that the 30-win Canadiens couldn’t close the deal? Or that the rival Flyers, winners just twice in their final 11 games, were going to beat the Caps?

Nah, the Penguins’ elimination isn’t about bad breaks from other teams in Game 82. It’s about bad play too often over the first 81 contests.

Now, unfortunately for the Pens, Game 82 has been rendered irrelevant for the second year in a row — after the franchise had qualified for the playoffs for 17 straight seasons.

And, for once, I can’t even take solace in saying, “Well, at least the Flyers lost.”