Frustrated Penguins lament 'failure of a season' after missing playoffs

The Pittsburgh Penguins' 2022-23 campaign ended with a whimper after they dropped their season finale to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Head coach Mike Sullivan admitted that his side's 3-2 overtime loss was a difficult one to assess, given that the Penguins were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2006 the day prior.

"It's been a long time since this group has been in this type of a game," he told reporters postgame. "I always believe there's something to play for, but obviously when you're officially eliminated from the playoffs, it's a whole different experience."

Prior to this campaign, the Penguins had made the postseason for 16 straight years, good for the longest streak across all major North American pro sports.

Captain Sidney Crosby offered a typically diplomatic take after his team failed to make the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season.

"I think, regardless of that, it's just disappointing," Crosby said. "I mean, I think that's the motivation when you start camp and start the season. That's what you're playing for. So to not have the opportunity, it's disappointing.

"But it's something you have to earn, and we didn't do that."

Pittsburgh finished the season with a 40-31-11 record and a .555 points percentage, its lowest since 2005-06.

The Penguins had difficulty stringing victories together all campaign long. They won three consecutive games or more on just three different occasions and went on losing skids of four-plus contests four times.

Forward Jason Zucker pointed to that inconsistency as Pittsburgh's Achilles' heel.

"Overall, it was a failure of a season. … I have a lot of belief in this group," he said, per National Hockey Now. "Obviously, we didn't do enough to have success this year, and that's on us. It's nobody else's fault but our own."

He added, "You can start looking through the season, the amount of points and leads and games we gave away. ... Ultimately, that hurt us."

Despite the disappointment, Sullivan is confident his team can bounce back in 2023-24.

"The culture is strong enough (to rebound) because the expectations are high and the standard is high," he said. "When you don't live up to them, all of us feel it."

He continued, "Nobody likes this feeling. I believe we'll be more determined than ever to try to right this ship and get this thing moving in the right direction."

The Penguins made a major change Friday morning, firing general manager Ron Hextall, president of hockey operations Brian Burke, and assistant general manager Chris Pryor.