The Penguins played their last game of the season against the New York Islanders on Wednesday, April 17th at the UBS Arena. This had not only been their last game of the season, but it had also been Jeff Carter’s final NHL career game, who’s retiring. Carter scored a huge goal for the Penguins in his final game, which was a close game but they lost 5-4. Following this game, Carter announced his retirement after 19 NHL career seasons. Ilya Sorokin made a total of 40 saves for New York, and he also stopped Sidney Crosby’s penalty shot with only 30 seconds remaining.
Penguins lineup against the Islanders:
O’Connor – Crosby – Rust
Bunting – Malkin – Rakell
Smith – Eller – Puustinen
Harkins – Carter – Puljujarvi
Joseph – Letang
Pettersson – Karlsson
Shea – St. Ivany
Nedeljkovic
Jarry
Islanders lineup against the Penguins:
Cizikas – Horvat – Wahlstrom
Holmstrom – Nelson – Palmieri
Lee – Pageau – Iskhakov
Martin – MacLean – Clutterbuck
Romanov – Bolduc
Pelech – Pulock
Reilly – Bortuzzo
Sorokin
Varlamov
Brock Nelson started the scoring early into the opening frame at 15:04 with his 34th goal of the season. He scored off a backhand feed by Simon Holmstrom, scoring from the low slot on the rush. With 1:31 remaining in the first, Rickard Rakell tied it 1-1 when he beat Ilya Sorokin under the glove at the top of the left circle, Sorokin being screened. This had been Rakell’s 15th goal of the season.
On the power play at 13:46 of the second period, Evgeni Malkin scored the tie-breaking goal to put Pittsburgh in front 2-1. Sidney Crosby’s pass had deflected off him at the right post. Casey Cizikas made it a 2-2 tie when he deflected Alexander Romanov’s point shot from the slot. Putting the Penguins back in the lead, Valtteri Puustinen stole the puck from Adam Pelech in the slot to strike his fifth NHL goal. With only 16 seconds left on the clock, Kyle Palmieri had put them back into another tie with a one-timer off a feed by Brock Nelson. This goal marked his 30th of the season, tying his NHL career-high.
Samuel Bolduc broke the 3-3 tie, putting the Islanders back in front on a power play at 18:24 of the third. Bolduc’s one-timer had deflected in off Ryan Shea’s skate. Ruslan Iskhakov recorded the secondary assist on the goal, giving him his first point in his NHL debut. Scoring a much-needed goal, a very special goal in fact, Jeff Carter scored his final goal to tie it 4-4. He jammed the puck in past Ilya Sorokin at the left post off a pass by Sidney Crosby from the right circle. Simon Holmstrom went for the 5-4 final with 5:34 left on the clock off a backhanded pass by Kyle MacLean and beat Alex Nedejkovic over the blocker at the low slot.
Jeff Carter on his thoughts throughout the day and his final NHL career goal: “It was kind of a weird day. I couldn’t sleep, just felt odd, but I was excited for the game. My family got to come in, which was great… just a weird day all around,” – “That was really nice. When ‘Sully’ put me out there, I knew I wasn’t leaving the net… Pretty special moment to get one there at the end. Something I’ll remember, for sure.”
Sidney Crosby on the game, not making playoffs, and what Jeff Carter meant to the Penguins: “It meant a lot. I think it would have been nice to put in that penalty shot, extend it a little longer,” – “I think the immediate feeling, like you said, the last few weeks have been really good… but it’s 82 games for a reason, and if it was a few more, we might have been in the playoffs… that push was just a tad too late. I think that you have to appreciate and respect the way we did that, and I think everyone in here did everything that they could to try to get us in the playoffs,” – “A lot. He’s got so much poise, a lot of experience… He’s won everything there is to win. The Calder Cup, Stanley Cup Olympics… He just had an amazing career, and I think that poise and experience was felt right away. I played with him in World Juniors when I was 16… He hasn’t changed that much since then, to be honest with you. Just a great guy to have and brings it every single night. He’s just a winner.”
Notes:
– Evgeni Malkin recorded both a goal and an assist, and both Sidney Crosby and Michael Bunting recorded two assists.
Crosby had his 470th multi-point game and tied Ron Francis for the ninth-most in NHL history. He also finished the season with a six-game point streak, a total of 10 points recorded during the streak (three goals, seven assists).
– Alex Nedeljkovic made a total of 27 saves for Pittsburgh in his 13th straight start.
– Since being drafted, Jeff Carter played a total of 19 NHL seasons in his career. He won two Stanley Cup Championships, both with the Los Angeles Kings, and he also won the gold medal at the Sochi Olympics with Canada. Carter played in two NHL All-Star games.
Carter finished his NHL career playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Los Angeles Kings.
– Simon Holmstrom, Brock Nelson, and Samuel Bolduc all had a goal and an assist… The New York Islanders will be taking on the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference First Round, beginning on Saturday.
– In the first period, Jean-Gabriel Pageau had left due to an undisclosed injury. There were no updates.
– Anders Lee had been a late scratch due to personal reasons.
– Kyle Palmieri ended the regular season on a seven-game point streak, a total of 10 points in the streak (six goals, four assists).
