Apr 6, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Ilya Mikheyev (95) celebrates after scoring a third period empty net goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins at United Center. (Talia Sprague-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/19013d90-e729-4224-a0e0-dcd63d51d712.jpeg] Apr 6, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Ilya Mikheyev (95) celebrates after scoring a third period empty net goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins at United Center. (Talia Sprague-Imagn Images) Unfortunately for the Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/its-only-been-six-games-but-rutger-mcgroarty-is-the-real-deal], they will be hitting the links early for the third consecutive season. With a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks] on Sunday, the Penguins were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive season, which puts them just one season shy of the four-year non-playoff stretch from 2002-06. For a franchise that has seen the success that Pittsburgh has, losing is not something the Crosby-era group, in particular, has been accustomed to. That's why it's important for the team to maintain the winning culture within their locker room [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/well-begin-to-shift-to-the-execution-with-assets-collected-dubas-eyes-the-next-phase-for-penguins-hockey] as they transition to the next phase of young talent. "Obviously, we're not where we want to be, and we all understand that," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "We know where we're at. We know where we want to go. We've got to keep working towards that, and that's what we're trying to do." This one was a back-and-forth affair for a lot of the evening, as chances were traded throughout most of the game. Although the Penguins pressured at various points, Chicago capitalized on odd-man rushes and were able to get behind the Penguins' defense in the latter half. With just a minute and five seconds to go in the second period, the Blackhawks got a shorthanded two-on-one when Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson pinched to try to keep the play alive in the attacking zone. Frank Nazar capitalized to give Chicago the 1-0 lead. It's Only Been Six Games. But Rutger McGroarty Is The Real Deal. [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/98f3fb67-129b-430f-8018-e3e124397e7e.jpeg] It's Only Been Six Games. But Rutger McGroarty Is The Real Deal. Yes, it's only been six NHL games for <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> rookie forward Rutger McGroarty. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/its-only-been-six-games-but-rutger-mcgroarty-is-the-real-deal] Then, midway through the final frame - and after a flurry of Penguins' chances - Blackhawks forward Ilya Mikheyev managed to get behind Penguins' defenseman Conor Timmins for a breakaway, and he beat goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to put his team ahead, 2-0. Rickard Rakell did add a power play goal a few minutes later for his 34th of the season - tying his career-high set in 2017-18 with the Anaheim Ducks - but it didn't prove enough, as Mikheyev added the empty-netter with 56 seconds left to secure the win. "I just don't think we matched their energy," Nedeljkovic said. "I mean, the game was right there. I just think they had a little bit more juice than we did." Apr 6, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Rickard Rakell (67) and Chicago Blackhawks center Teuvo Teravainen (86) battle for control of the puck during the first period at United Center. (Talia Sprague-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/5a0a529b-6246-49cb-a6fe-a6b37cd7a5a1.jpeg] Apr 6, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Rickard Rakell (67) and Chicago Blackhawks center Teuvo Teravainen (86) battle for control of the puck during the first period at United Center. (Talia Sprague-Imagn Images) Against one of the league's worst teams - as Nedeljkovic said - the Penguins just couldn't match the energy they had against two of the hottest teams in the league in their two games prior, when they took the St. Louis Blues to overtime Thursday [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/game-day/mcgroarty-scores-first-nhl-goal-in-penguins-5-4-overtime-loss-to-blues] and beat the Dallas Stars, 5-3, on Saturday [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/game-day/crosbys-hat-trick-powers-penguins-5-3-win-over-stars]. "We weren't even close to the team we were [Saturday]," Sullivan said. "It was one of those nights where we just didn't seem to have the energy. I didn't think we did as good a job managing it also. There's going to be some nights where, maybe, you don't have your legs or you don't have your A-game, so to speak. But you have to acknowledge it, recognize it, and manage the game appropriately and be yourself. I just didn't think we were diligent enough in that area." In addition, captain Sidney Crosby's 12-game point streak drew to a close. During his streak, he registered 11 goals and 20 points. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwquDfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
