Sidney Crosby was just an 18-year-old rookie the last time the Penguins missed the playoffs.
The first iPhone was still a year away from being released. "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter was at the top of the music charts the week those 2006 playoffs began. The fifth season of American Idol was at the top of the television ratings. The first Silent Hill film had just dropped. John Marino had his ninth birthday party during that postseason.
A lot has changed since April 2006.
One thing has remained consistent in the years that followed: The Penguins punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Penguins officially clinched a playoff spot Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena with a 6-3 win over the Islanders, extending their Stanley Cup playoff appearance streak to 16 seasons.
It's the longest active postseason streak in major North American pro sports. The streak is tied for the ninth-longest in NHL history, and the seventh-longest since the 1967 expansion. Of course, it's also the longest in the salary cap era.
"It's a remarkable accomplishment," Mike Sullivan said of this streak. "It's hard to make the playoffs. Half the league doesn't make it every year. There's a lot of good teams every season that don't make it. The fact that this organization has done it 16 consecutive years in a row, in my mind, is a remarkable achievement."
The Penguins have been dominant throughout this run. The Penguins' 725 regular-season wins, .639 points percentage and 3,860 goals scored all lead the NHL in that span. They've recorded 100 playoff wins since the streak began, the most of any team. Their three Stanley Cups in that span -- 2009, 2016, 2017 -- are tied with the Blackhawks for the most in the league.
The core of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang has been together throughout this run, with Malkin and Letang making their NHL debuts in the 2006-07 season, the first year of the playoff appearance streak.
Since the streak began, no player has more points in the regular season (1,303) or postseason (191) than Crosby. Malkin's regular-season points (1,141) are the fourth most of any player since then, and his postseason point total (174) ranks second only to Crosby. Letang ranks third in regular-season points (645) and second in playoff points (86) among defensemen.
Sullivan said that the streak is a credit to the culture the organization has cultivated, as well as those members of the core.
"These guys are driven athletes," Sullivan said. "They just have an insatiable appetite to win."
It would be easy to take something like clinching a playoff spot for granted, given how it's become the norm in Pittsburgh. It's become an expectation.
"At the beginning (of the streak), you work for it and it's a big accomplishment," Letang said. "But once you're in it, it's expected from our group. The ownership, people that we have in place every every year, they try to make the best team possible on the ice. And it's our duty to get us in the playoffs as players. We're pretty happy about that."
The Penguins know that it isn't a given every year, though.
"Every year is a challenge," Crosby said. "You need so many things to go right to give yourself an opportunity to play in the playoffs. It's not given to you, and you see how tight the league is, it's not easy. So you appreciate those opportunities, you work hard."
Crosby spoke about the sheer number of people who need to contribute each year just to get this point, and specifically mentioned "the guys who are in Wilkes right now" as a group who contributed to the Penguins' being able to clinch once again.
They've needed those contributions with the adversity the Penguins have faced this year. They've dealt with a number of significant man games lost due to COVID like every other team has. Crosby and Malkin both missed significant time at the start of the season due to injury. It was in November that the Penguins were second from the bottom of the Metropolitan Division standings.
"Trust me, (making the playoffs) was still expected," Letang said of the Penguins' mindset during that early stretch of the season. "Every guy that stepped in and tried to buy into the system, take on a bigger role did a phenomenal job. (Tristan Jarry) saved us a bunch of games. He's been unreal all year. There's a lot of credit due to a lot of guys."
The Penguins have six games left in the regular-season schedule. They currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division standings, five points behind the second-place Rangers (who have a game in hand) and five points ahead of the Capitals (who have two games in hand). They'd like to improve their place in the standings, and they think that will come as they try to "play the right way" down this last stretch in preparation for the playoffs.
"If we focus on our own game and try to accomplish what we want, that's going to give us the result," Letang said. "It's going to try to position ourselves better.
Officially clinching a playoff spot for a 16th consecutive season is an achievement worthy of recognition. But the Penguins are already looking ahead to their next goal.
"We're going to feel good about it tonight, but we're going to go back to work tomorrow," Sullivan said. "We recognize that really all we've done is given ourselves an opportunity to compete for what ultimately we set out to accomplish on Day 1 of training camp."
That's the Stanley Cup.
JOE SARGENT / GETTY
Jake Guentzel's stickchecked by the Islanders' Zdeno Chara in the first period.
• Letang opened the scoring with a shot from the point that beat Ilya Sorokin glove side:
• Danton Heinen, after serving a minor penalty for a slashing penalty, was sprung on a breakaway coming out of the penalty box by a Brian Boyle pass, and capitalized on the opportunity. Just great awareness by Boyle here:
• Zach Parise got the Islanders on the board in the second period with a one-timer that got by the glove of Tristan Jarry. The Penguins regained that lead before the end of the middle frame when Jake Guentzel converted on a 2-on-1 with Crosby:
• Guentzel and Crosby teamed up for another goal to open the third period, playing hot potato with the puck on the rush up ice before Crosby finished it off
That goal from Crosby eventually stood to be the game-winner, the 78th game-winner of his career. Crosby is now tied with Malkin and Jaromir Jagr for the most game-winning goals in Penguins franchise history.
• Anders Lee cut the Islanders' deficit to two goals with just 2:37 left in the game, poking a puck past Jarry five-hole.
• The Islanders pulled Sorokin in favor of the extra attacker after that, and Brock McGinn tallied an empty netter.
• The Islanders again pulled Sorokin, and Zdeno Chara scored to bring the Islanders back within two. It was Chara's first goal of the season, and his first in an Islanders uniform since Jan. 12, 2001. That goal was the Islanders' second goal in a 4-3 loss to the Penguins. Mario Lemieux opened the scoring in that one, Alexei Kovalev had the game-winner.
• Guentzel closed out the game with an empty-netter, his second goal of the game.
• Both Evan Rodrigues and Bryan Rust played after leaving last game early with non-COVID illnesses.
• Rust skated on Jeff Carter's wing, and Rickard Rakell stuck on the top line alongside Guentzel and Crosby after finishing last game there. They just can't break that line up right now, they're playing too well together. Rakell and Crosby were showing great chemistry together, that line was a threat anytime they were on the ice.
• Rodrigues initially took Malkin's spot on the top power play unit, but was replaced by Rakell later in the game.
• With Crosby recording a goal, and the assists on Letang's goal and Guentzel's first goal, Crosby has hit the 80-point mark for the 11th time in his career, the most 80-point seasons of any active player. He has the seventh-most 80-point seasons in NHL history.
• Guentzel had a four-point night, with two goals and the primary assists on Letang's goal and Crosby's goal. His 78 points on the season is a new career-high.
• Barry Trotz was asked about what he's seen from Guentzel's development over the years, and he used that opportunity to praise Crosby.
"(Guentzel) is an intelligent player," Trotz said. "He's got some finish, he moves the puck. I've seen a lot of games of (Guentzel and Crosby), but it seems that anybody you put with Sid seems to develop. He's one of the best teachers you're gonna find. You look at the number of guys that he's had, almost every winger. The thing that Sid does is he makes the people that he plays with better, and that's the sign of a great player."
• Teddy Blueger recorded assists on the goals by Heinen and Blueger, giving him a new career-high in points, with 24.
• I thought this lone fan behind the desk on the first intermission broadcast was pretty funny:
AT&T SportsNet
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
THE THREE STARS
As selected at PPG Paints Arena:
1. Jake Guentzel, Penguins LW
2. Sidney Crosby, Penguins C
3. Kris Letang, Penguins D
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• Nathan Beaulieu, defenseman, was injured before he was acquired from the Jets at the trade deadline and is expected to remain sidelined for at least the remainder of the regular season. He resumed skating earlier this week
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Jeff Carter - Bryan Rust
Brock McGinn - Teddy Blueger - Danton Heinen
Evan Rodrigues - Brian Boyle - Kasperi Kapanen
Mike Matheson - Kris Letang
Brian Dumoulin - John Marino
Mark Friedman - Chad Ruhwedel
And for Trotz's Islanders:
Anders Lee - Brock Nelson - Anthony Beauvillier
Josh Bailey - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Kyle Palmieri
Zach Parise - Mathew Barzal - Kieffer Bellows
Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Ross Johnston
Zdeno Chara - Noah Dobson
Adam Pelech - Ryan Pulock
Andy Greene - Grant Hutton
THE SCHEDULE
The team practices Friday, noon, in Cranberry, then flies to Boston for the game Saturday, 12:38 p.m., against the Bruins. Dave Molinari's making the trip.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.
