Missing the playoffs for the second straight season, will the Pittsburgh Penguins make the postseason again in the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin era? It’s not crazy to wonder.

The Penguins have a lot of soul searching. Will there be an easier year to make the playoffs again than this season and they still fumbled a playoff spot in losing a number of winnable games? There is a myriad of games the Penguins will look back on and be sick to their stomach. Internally the Penguins felt coming into the season they were around a 101-point team, team sources said. They are going to be off that mark by around 11-13 points.

For all of the optimism over the last three weeks, everyone is a year older, they are likely to run it back with the same head coach that hasn’t won a series since 2018, has been plagued for at least two years of poor system play, blown leads and embracing young players. Not to mention there are major goaltending questions moving forward, among other areas that have to be addressed.

But, this three-week run has at least delivered some important developments the Penguins can be optimistic about when trying to improve the roster this off-season.

Among them:

— Combined with wildly inconsistent first 65-68 games, this great 12 game or so run should be a good glimpse for Kyle Dubas of how to improve the roster of what works and what doesn’t with this group when targeting a certain style group of players to this mix. The good ones learn from their mistakes and the pressure will be on Dubas.

— The Jake Guentzel trade wasn’t a disaster by any means. Michael Bunting emerged immediately as a Patrick Hornqvist type the Penguins have lacked for years and his net-front presence, wall play and smarts to get to the tough areas, ignited Evgeni Malkin on the second line who the Penguins can have some level confidence they can get another quality year out of him when mid-season the organization was becoming very concerned with Malkin big icture. Bunting also added a much-needed dimension for a perimeter power play that become more of a threat with the addition of Bunting and subtraction of Guentzel. Then there’s the hope inside the organization that top Penguins prospect Ville Koivunen acquired in the Guentzel trade, emerges next season as a young up and coming player the Penguins desperately need in their lineup. Pittsburgh strongly believes he can push and win a spot in the top-9. A bonus is Vasily Ponomarev could make it three players from the Guentzel trade the Penguins have as regulars in their lineup next season.

— The emergence of Drew O’Connor. O’Connor has checked every box of what the Penguins had been lacking. Suddenly the Penguins might have a 23-25 goal a year player in O’Connor next season who you can play anywhere in the lineup. His 200′ and offensive game made huge strides over the last month of the season and Pittsburgh has themselves an impact Top-9 forward they didn’t realize they had.

— Jack St. Ivany has also been quite the development over the last 10+ games. Excellent hockey sense for a young defenseman who the Penguins have already trusted late in games, St. Ivany’s emergence solidifies a hole on the right side the Penguins felt they had prior to the season on the third pair. He’s locked himself into getting a one-way contract from the Penguins this summer.

— Erik Karlsson — I will die on the hill that Karlsson is going to have a huge season in year two as a Penguin. Karlsson’s emergence over the last 12-13 games has a chance To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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MORE BUZZ

— Pittsburgh starting Alex Nedeljkovic is them pointing their middle finger at Tristan Jarry. If you really believed Jarry was still your guy next season, you’d thank Nedeljkovic for the run he gave you and you’d give Jarry this game out of respect of being your No. 1 and that’s an opinion from multiple To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Pittsburgh in right move is scratching Emil Bemstrom who is three goals away from the Penguins relinquishing a 2026 third round pick to Columbus.

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— Players inside the room feel this is Jeff Carter’s final game of his excellent NHL career as Carter has hinted to some of the core he is [hide] likely done, sources say. The ball, though, will be in Carter’s corner if he wants to return. Mike Sullivan certainly wants him back; Penguins management is expected to leave the door open for him to return this summer as he’s also a great presence for young players. [/hide]

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