Game of the week: Penguins vs. Islanders

The NHL playoffs are right around the corner, and all the playoff positions are filled and ready for the postseason.

Despite their late-season surge, the Pittsburgh Penguins will just barely be missing out on playoff action this season.

This will be the second straight year that Mike Sullivan’s Penguins will be missing the playoffs.

The Pens had a valiant effort, winning six out of their last eight in the month of April so far.

Another impressive thing to note is that they were also sellers at the deadline, by trading star player Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes.

So knowing the Penguins didn’t add anyone to make a run, and taking the wild card race down to the wire is certainly something nobody saw coming.

Pittsburgh needed help, but could not get any. They needed the Washington Capitals and the Detroit Red Wings to lose in order to stay alive.

The Capitals ended up claiming the final wild card spot thanks to their 2-1 over the Philadelphia Flyers.

That win also eliminated the Detroit Red Wings in the process, despite them winning against the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 in a shootout.

This upcoming matchup is now meaningless for both teams, as the New York Islanders have already claimed the third seed in the postseason bracket.

Despite the disappointing end to the season for Pittsburgh, they would not be close to where they ended up without Sidney Crosby.

Crosby has been putting up incredible numbers at age 36.

He has racked up 42 goals and 50 assists. Sid also has 92 points heading into the final regular season game.

Crosby has also made history down the stretch of the year, hitting 1000 career assists against the Capitals.

The assist was cashed in with a game-winning goal by Erik Karlsson, and it managed to keep the Pens playoff hopes alive at the time.

Knowing Crosby still has the elite talent, fans of the Pens should be optimistic that they can build around him for next year.

As for the Islanders, they will be looking towards postseason action.

They have also been red hot, winning seven out of their last eight games, with their one loss being a shootout loss against their division rival New York Rangers

They will be looking to end the season on a high note.

A key to the Islanders' success has certainly been their goaltender tandem, Semyon

Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin.

Both goalies have been playing outstanding during the month of April. They haven’t allowed more than two goals in every game this month except for the 3-2 loss against the Rangers.

They will need to continue to play strong heading into the first round, as they will be going up against the Carolina Hurricanes.

With this game not meaning anything in terms of standings, these teams will want to end their seasons on a good note, even with their seasons ending in different results.

Ben Barker is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email bsb5566@psu.edu.