The Pittsburgh Penguins went into Philadelphia with their backs against the wall.

For them, it was far from unfamiliar territory. After digging themselves into a 3-0 hole during their first round series against the Flyers, the Penguins had rallied to win Games 4 and 5. Yes, they had received some lucky bounces along the way, but with back-to-back wins under the belts, the pressure was starting to shift towards the eastern side of the state.

But the odds of the Penguins finding a way to pull off the reverse sweep, the odds were still most certainly against them. In the more than century long history of the NHL, over 200 teams have fallen down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On just 26 occasions, the team trailing 3-0 was able to force a Game 6. But only ten times had a a team in that situation been able to force a Game 7. Those were the rare members of history the Penguins were hoping to join.

In Game 6, the Penguins fought every inch of the way to keep their season alive. They traded chance after chance with the Flyers, helping set up an instant classic of a goaltending duel between Pittsburgh’s Arturs Silovs and Philadelphia’s Dan Vladar, one that spanned three scoreless periods and the bulk of an overtime frame.

Nearly 80 minutes of scoreless hockey had set up a face-off in Penguin territory. Second prior, Silovs had just made one of the most amazing saves you will ever see. Facing a point-blank chance from Porter Martone, Silovs dropped his stick to extend his blocker hand, denying Martone and shutting the door on the Flyers, just as he had done 31 times before.

Time and time again, Silovs had bailed the Penguins out. And with much of the offensive pressure taking place in Philadelphia’s end, it felt like eventually, the Penguins were going to break through. A ticket back to Pittsburgh for an electric Game 7 was within their grasp. The chance at history was there. You could feel it.

Less than a minute later, the goal horn was blowing and the cheers were deafening as Cam York launched his stick 30 rows deep into the crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Blink, and the fairytale falls apart.

That’s all the Penguins did in overtime: blink. But in overtime, that’s all it takes. It’s the beauty, and the curse, of playoff hockey.

Silovs, after putting up one of the best goaltending performances this franchise maybe has ever seen, wound up on the losing side. The Penguins, having woken up too late, were lining up for a somber handshake line.

Had the Penguins split games more evenly during this six-game series, perhaps we might look at it differently. But this was a series of extremes. The suffocating low the fans in Pittsburgh felt after watching their team stumble through the first three games, to seeing them surge for two straight, only to fall in the most dramatic environment the sport can provide.

But I don’t want the joy of this season to get lost in the shuffle of the postseason blues.

This team, this front office, this coaching staff gave Sidney Crosby and the core in Pittsburgh the one thing the national media mandated and the hometown fans hoped for: another shot at the playoffs.

How that shot went is something we can discuss more in the following days and weeks, but they got to the tournament. And along that process, they were still able to still help set up the next era of Penguins hockey.

Ben Kindel, the 11th overall pick, was one of only three players from this summer’s draft to get consistent playing time in the NHL. The other two were the top two picks. As a teenager, Kindel had a 35-point season and played well above his age.

Elsewhere, the Penguins acquired a promising young winger in Egor Chinakov, who broke out of his shell after coming over from Columbus and was nearly a point-per-game player for the Penguins.

Again, how the playoffs went is a different conversation. But there’s a lot to be excited about for the future of this team. There’s still plenty of names I didn’t even mention.

And for how the year ended, we can’t forget simply how fun this season was to watch. It’s something that won’t show up on any stat sheet, or any record book, or front-page headline. But think back to the last three seasons of Penguins hockey. Think back especially to last season. That was not fun to watch by any stretch of the imagination.

This year’s team, run, and style was far more fun than the recent hockey that’s been played in Pittsburgh. And at the end of the day, isn’t that why we watch sports? To be entertained?

The season might have ended in the blink of an eye, but the progress and enjoyment of this season was year-long. And that shouldn’t be lost, even if the final game of this 2025-26 campaign leaves a bad taste in our mouths.

On to next year.