In Pittsburgh, the Penguins were playing to make sure they finished ahead of the wild card race. They just did complete that task with a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers in overtime.
The Pens finished one point ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes for third in the Metro Division.
The Pens will play the New York Islanders in the first round.
“I’m excited about the opportunity that we have,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think we have a real good hockey team. We just have to make sure that we play the game the right way and we compete, and we control what we can to be at our best.”
Say what you will about the Rangers, they had nothing to play for on Saturday, but looked to be having more fun than a sub .500 team ought to have.
“I just thanked [the players] for their effort,” Rangers head coach David Quinn said. “I said this before the game, this has been a great group to coach. Obviously not the season we wanted to have and certainly not the record we wanted to have. We certainly want to be playing past this point next year, but they gave it their all. It’s a good group to coach. They were attentive. Just proud of the way this ended.”
Ryan Strome scored in the extra session on a nifty snap shot from the left circle for the winner.
Alexandar Georgiev made 36 saves to get the win.
“I’m very proud. Everybody battled so hard. Obviously guys are fighting for their spots for next season. I think it’s going to be important for us to feel a bit more confident coming into next season,”Georgiev said after the game.
Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Nick Bjugstad were the Pens’ strikers.
Brendan Smith, Brady Skjei and Vladislav Namestnikov scored for the Rangers in regulation.
[WATCH: All Rangers vs. Penguins highlights]
Matt Murray made 26 saves in the loss.
“There was a lot of emotion,” Guentzel said. “It was just neat to get that one and get a big point for us. … There were a lot of ups and downs [in the third period]. I think when they scored that goal shorthanded, that was a pretty big down. It was kind of shocking. To come back and get that point, I think shows the character of our group.”
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