PITTSBURGH — There was an ominous dark cloud hovering over the Penguins as they prepared for Game 7 Tuesday night against the indomitable surging force the Rangers had become in Games 5 and 6.
A palpable air of angst hung in the Penguins dressing room after the morning skate, with players sounding like they were talking themselves into believing that there was not more pressure on them despite that fact they lost a 3-1 lead on a seemingly-gassed Rangers team and the fact that they were expected to win Game 7 in their building, the Consol Energy Center.
“There’s enough pressure out there — outside pressure — all kinds of crap going around, so we might as well make it fun,’’ Penguins defenseman Matt Niskanen said before the game.
Niskanen made it clear the “outside pressure’’ and “crap’’ to which he referred was coming from the media, which has painted a picture of the Penguins as an underachieving team with two of the sport’s best players (Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin) that barely survived the Islanders in the playoffs last year, barely got out of the Columbus series in round one this year and was facing the prospect of blowing a 3-1 lead to the Rangers.
“No offense, but we’re not going to worry about the negativity going on outside the room on the morning of a Game 7,’’ Niskanen said. “We’ll worry about what we can control as a group and individually and try to play our best game of the series — our best game of the season hopefully — and see where it takes us.’’
Hours later, we found out where it took the Penguins: To the end of their season, when the Rangers beat them 2-1.
There has been heavy speculation in Pittsburgh that coach Dan Bylsma was coaching for his job Tuesday night. Now, with another early exit from the playoffs, that conversation will grow louder.
“Our ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup,” Bylsma said after the game. “We haven’t done that in five seasons. I haven’t contemplated what the price is going to be or anything toward the future yet.”
Blysma was hardly alone at fault. His stars failed him badly when it counted most.
Crosby and Malkin, winners of a combined two regular-season MVPs and four scoring titles (Crosby has four and Malkin seven) struggled to score goals in the past four series they have played that the Penguins have lost. They combined for just four goals in seven games against the Rangers in this series.
The Penguins, one of the most potent scoring teams in the NHL with the best power play in the league, scored just 14 goals in the series, one each in the last three games.
“There’s always questions, and when expectations are high and you don’t win, that’s normal,” Crosby, the Penguins captain, said after finishing the postseason with one goal in 13 games. “I’m sure there will be a lot of questions.”
Malkin said, “It’s rough right now. … We’ll see (about) next season.”
Crosby and Malkin were hardly the only culprits in the collapse.
Penguins defenseman Paul Martin, who had a standout series against Columbus, didn’t score a point against the Rangers. Niskanen had eight points against Columbus but just one against the Rangers. Left wing Chris Kunitz and defenseman Kris Letang combined for five shots all series.
Bylsma tried everything to jumpstart his team before Game 7. In an effort to shake his team out of its two-game funk, he had the team stay in a downtown hotel Monday night — a grasp-at-straws maneuver to try to create a bonding road mentality for his players, who dined together at a downtown steakhouse and watched the Bruins-Canadians Game 6 together.
“We’ve played well on the road in the playoffs so far, so if it brings back whatever vibe we had, hopefully it’s for the best,’’ Penguins forward Lee Stempniak said before the game.
The move didn’t work, and this is a game the Penguins would like to forget as quickly as possible.