The Pittsburgh Penguins had nothing but love for each other their season ending.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' season came to an end after a third-straight loss to the New York Rangers in the opening-round series. Dropping a 3-1 lead never leaves a good taste in anyone's mouth, but the players never failed to mention the effort the team put in.
After a tough overtime loss in Game 7, both Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel had positive things to say about the Penguins work on the ice.
"I thought we did a really good job throughout the series of getting better and getting leads," Crosby said. "The only thing we couldn't do is put them away when we got leads. Whether that was defending against it or getting that next one, that ended up being a big difference."
That 3-1 lead will hurt, but at some point, the Penguins controlled every game in this series. They just couldn't find the winning goal late in the final matchups of the series.
"We put ourselves in a good spot, being up 3-1," Guentzel said. "Just disappointing to think about that we had a lead in each game and gave that away. Just an amazing group. We believed the whole time. It just didn’t go our way."
Falling in the opening round will never be easy, but as the team reflected, it was all love for each other and their efforts.
"I can't say enough about this group," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "I just think the world of them. They're a privilege to coach. I told them that after the game. It stings when you lose because you care so much and want these guys to succeed. [The loss] isn't from a lack of effort or care."
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