Closing thoughts on the 2025-26 Penguins playoff experience

PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 27: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins looks on against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Five of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 27, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images The Pittsburgh Penguins playoff run and 2025-26 season came to an end on Wednesday night with a 1-0 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. It is a frustrating loss, mostly because the Penguins were the better team for most of the game, including the third period and overtime.

It was the third consecutive game in the series where they got better, played better, and seemed to be tilting the ice in their favor. Each game it felt like there was a big breakthrough about to happen, and then they simply ran out of time for it to happen. If it had gone to a Game 7, you would have had to have liked their chances.

But there will be no Game 7, and it is not really because of what happened on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. It is because of what happened in Games 1-3, and specifically in Games 1-2 on home ice. Those games count just as much as the later games, and in some ways they count even more.

When you put yourself into a 3-0 hole, you are leaving yourself with no margin for error the rest of the way. Literally, zero margin. You have to be nearly perfect and get some breaks.