It proved not be enough Wednesday, though, in a large part because of Flyers goalie Dan Vladar, who made 42 saves, including 23 in the third period and overtime, to post his second shutout of the series. That prevented the Penguins from scoring long enough for York to find a way to win the game for Flyers with his floating wrist shot from the right point that sailed in past screened goalie Arturs Silovs.
“It’s unfortunate,” Crosby said. “I thought, especially the second half of that game, we had some really good looks. We’re a shot away from going back to Pittsburgh for Game 7. So, it just comes down to bounces sometimes. Putting yourself in that position is tough, but I think we all had a lot of belief that we can dig ourselves out of it.”
Crosby, Letang and Malkin did their best to extend the Penguins season, and potentially their time as teammates, a little longer. They helped Pittsburgh (41-25-16) qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2022 in what many expected to be a rebuilding season. Then, they were among the Penguins’ best players in the playoffs as well, as they have been for much of their 20 seasons as teammates, including winning the Stanley Cup together in 2009, 2016 and 2017.
Crosby had five points (one goal, four assists) in the series. Letang scored the winning goals in Game 3 and Game 4. Malkin had three points (two goals, one assist). It wasn’t enough for the Penguins to pull off a miracle comeback, so soon they will need to determine the answer to the question that’s been hanging over them all season.
Will Malkin be back?
Crosby, 38, is signed for one more season and Letang, 39, has two more seasons left on his contract, but Malkin, 39, is the final season of a four-year, $24.4 million contract he signed with Pittsburgh in 2022.
Malkin’s agent J.P. Barry and Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas agreed to put off contract talks until the offseason, which arrived when York’s goal hit the back of the net. Malkin has said multiple times that he wants to return for at least one more season, including as recently as last Friday, after the Penguins lost the first three games to the Flyers.
“I say the same thing: I want to be here, I want to be part of the team next year too, and I want to be retired in Pittsburgh,” he said. “But it’s not my choice. You know, it’s Kyle’s decision and it’s the new owners probably too.”
Although Crosby wasn’t ready to talk postgame about the possibility of Malkin not returning, he did reflect on what it’s meant to him to be teammates with him and Letang for so long. They’re the first trio in the history of North American professional sports to play together for 20 seasons and that’s not something Crosby takes lightly.
“It’s probably hard to put into words, honestly,” Crosby said. “It’s something that we’ve probably just gotten used to. I think they’re like family. That’s the best way to describe it. We’ve had some great wins, some tough losses like this. Ultimately, though, that’s a long time that we’ve played together and just so appreciative for the opportunity to be able to play with them as long as we have, and, hopefully, we can keep going.”
Seeing Crosby, Malkin and Letang up close in his first season as Penguins coach gave Muse a greater appreciation for the connection between them and how they’ve been able to have so much success.
“It’s just special,” he said. “When they’ve been doing what they’ve been doing for this long at such a high level, continuing to be able to elevate their games, especially when things get hard and it’s late in the season, and whether it’s fighting to clinch a playoff spot, or when your team needs to dig out of a hole during the regular season or in the playoffs, they just continue to elevate and find different levels.
“I honestly don’t think the three of them get enough credit for the fact that they’ve been doing it together for this long.”