Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have just about done it all over the last 20 years. Of course, they have the three Stanley Cups. All those Conn Smythe’s that come along with it. Crosby recently crossed into the top-5 for NHL playoff scoring. Malkin has the most playoff points of any Russian. In a world where it’s very hard to win (note the celebrated career of Anze Kopitar ended with his Kings advancing out of the first round just three times during his 20 years), the Penguins 105 playoff wins are the most since the 2003-04 lockout.
Finding new ground to tread at this point of their illustrious careers is difficult, but they have a chance tonight to achieve something that the trio has never done: win three games in a row while facing elimination. The Penguin franchise has won three games facing elimination before – most notably in the 1992 opening round series against the Washington Capitals — the current Big Three has not.
The Pens have had some series comebacks in this era, they erased an 0-2 hole to Washington in 2009 and a 2-3 deficit against the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final. They also pulled a gutsy comeback from a 2-3 series against Tampa in the 2016 Eastern Conference Final. Despite that, they’ve never won three-straight games while facing elimination, their only chance coming in 2012 when they failed to do it in Game 6 against Philadelphia. They’ll get that opportunity tonight in Game 6 against the Flyers to get it right this time. They’ll hope after that to go all the way for the rare ‘reverse sweep’, a talking point and opportunity that must be earned today.
Surely the plan for the Penguins wasn’t to fall in an 0-3 hole that almost no teams ever end up recovering from, but they’ve found an opportunity to have a ‘first’ for perhaps the last time when it comes to making a historic comeback and put their names with the few teams in history to dig all the way out.
“I think that it’s quite clear, the situation for us. It’s win or go home, so I think that urgency, that desperation, whatever you want to call it, I think is brought out in everybody,” Crosby said. “It’s brought some of our best hockey because of it. We’ve just got to keep going here.”
Crosby, naturally, has been at the forefront of the comeback effort by posting two multi-point games in the two wins the team needed to get to start tipping the scales and pressure back the other way.
“It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone in this room,” coach Dan Muse said after Game 5. “When things get hard, when backs are against the wall, there’s no doubt in my mind that [Crosby is] going to do everything possible to help this team win a hockey game.”
Letang, who celebrated his 39th birthday during the series, is also giving it his all and tipping the scales. His minutes are up and he’s come through with two goals that have stood as game winners. That turnaround from his rocky early part of the series has made a huge difference in keeping the team’s chances alive.
Malkin, still facing contract uncertainty if the Pens will offer him a contract for next season, was the team’s best player in the early part of the series, scoring two goals and adding an assist in the first three games in efforts to get the Pens on track.
Fourth liner Connor Dewar had one of the most poignant quotes following Game 5 that speaks to the mindset of the group.
“We’re just fighting to stay together,” Dewar said. “Every win is a few more days together. We’re going to scratch and claw as long as we can.”
Stay alive for a couple more games and days and the 2025-26 Penguins just might be able to achieve something that even the illustrious Big Three has yet to accomplish in terms of winning the most games with their backs to the wall.