PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pens close out a third straight season missing the playoffs beating Washington 5-2. In some ways the better play at the end has made this harder while Bryan Rust reaches a milestone and a look at the final numbers.
The season ends as the Pens won three of the last four, four of the last six and points in six of the last eight games. The first reaction from Bryan Rust to those numbers are that they should have won more games earlier in the season.
· six-game losing streak in October
· losing six of seven in November
· dropping seven of eight from New Years’ Day until mid-January
· losing eight of nine from February 8 until March 9.
“That’s a tougher pill to swallow that if we would have played a little more like this through the first, large part of the year, maybe we’d be playing on Saturday,” Rust said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t.”
Milestone
The goal was to keep playing, but a major personal highlight for Rust in 2024-25. The 32-year-old had his first 30-goal season, actually getting to 31.
“It’s really cool,” Rust said Thursday night. “I’m obviously really proud of it. I never thought I would score 30 goals, maybe 30 over my career when I first got in the league. It’s proof, I’ve been working hard and can do it and get to the next milestone.”
“I did not imagine that,” said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan. “When I was coaching Rust in Wilkes-Barre, he was on our second line and he wasn’t even on our power play. He was a penalty-kill, energy, checking guy in Wilkes-Barre.”
Sullivan said Rust’s work ethic is remarkable and used the word remarkable again when describing his career. Sullivan, and Rust, said he learned a lot from Sidney Crosby and benefitted from watching how Sid approaches the game. Rust said he’s learned how to study the game to be ready for any possible scenario.
“He’s just a terrific hockey player,” Sullivan said.
Notes
· Crosby scored his 33rd goal and with an assist gives him 91 points on the season. It’s his third consecutive year of 90-plus points and ninth time he’s reached that number in his career.
· Forward Rickard Rakell reached 70 points for the first time in his career and 35 goals is a new high
· Pens finished 34-35-12 (80 points), seventh in the Metropolitan Division ahead of only the Flyers, by four points.
· Pens were tied with the fewest road wins in the Eastern Conference, 13
· Pens were the only team in hockey to lose as many as six shootouts
· Pens finished 20th in goals scored (237) and third in goals allowed, 285 (worst in the Eastern Conference)
· Pens power play finished sixth (25.6%), while the penalty kill was 17th (78%)
· Since 2018-19, the Pens have had two seasons with winning records, 2020-21 (37-19) and 2021-22 (46-36)