It’s the first time since 2007-08 that each Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby won’t compete for the Stanley Cup.
PITTSBURGH — There’s an important trade in the Eastern Conference playoff panorama this yr.
For one, it is the first time since Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby’s rookie seasons in 2005-06 that Pittsburgh won’t be in the playoffs. Their failure to clinch a place ended a 16-year run, the longest in skilled sports activities.
It’s additionally the first time since 2007-08 that each Ovechkin and Crosby won’t compete for the Stanley Cup.
That’s an important bite of NHL historical past, and the Penguins and Capitals blended for 4 Stanley Cups all over that span.
Pittsburgh’s destiny was once sealed on Tuesday due to a stunning loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Locked on Penguins podcast host Hunter Hodies cautions Pittsburgh enthusiasts to not position the blame on Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, or Kris Letang, however reasonably on control for now not striking the accompanying portions round them to get the process performed.
The Capitals have been tied with Nashville for the second-longest playoff streak, they usually had been eradicated neatly ahead of Pittsburgh.
Locked on Capitals podcast host Dan Holmi mentioned the myriad of accidents this workforce confronted and the way that factored into their total end result, and likewise which avid gamers must get dealt in the offseason and which avid gamers they must prioritize in returning.
It alerts a converting of the guard in the East, in particular the Metropolitan Division. The Carolina Hurricanes had been beautiful just right for a couple of years, and the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers are neatly on the upward thrust.
It got here all the way down to the twine between the Penguins and the New York Islanders, with the latter doing simply sufficient to get it performed.
Still, the Penguins held their destiny in their very own fingers and simply had to beat the Blackhawks and the Columbus Blue Jackets to get in.
Changes may be coming for this workforce this summer season, with the core 3 avid gamers below contract for two extra seasons and time working out to win every other Cup.
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