Jake Guentzel scored his 40th goal late in the third period, tying the game with the Rangers 3-3 and leading to overtime, where the Penguins lost, 4-3. But Guentzel’s goal helped the Penguins earn one point in the standings and clinched third place in the Metro Division, which means they will start their Stanley Cup playoff run against the second-place New York Islanders. Sidney Crosby scored a goal and assisted on Guentzel’s goal, giving him 100 points on the season.
The Penguins’ loss gives the Islanders home-ice advantage for the series, which will begin later this week, with the NHL to announce the schedule today. New York went from the team which gave up the most goals in the league last year to the team which gave up the least this year, reflecting the defensive-minded nature of new coach Barry Trotz, who led the Capitals to the Stanley Cup championship last year.
Pittsburgh played last night without the injured Brian Dumoulin, Chad Ruhwwedel, and Zach Aston-Reese, who are all skating again but not practicing with the team yet.
