Crosby hopes the end of the Penguins’ season doesn’t end with Malkin

Philadelphia — Sidney Crosby was the last player Pittsburgh Penguins‘ After they were eliminated from the locker room Philadelphia Flyers In overtime of Game 6 on Wednesday night, he slowly shifted gears before facing another offseason of uncertainty. Was this the last game that Penguins superstar Core Crosby, Evgeni Malkin And Kris Letang play together?

“It might be a little early for that. We’ll have a few days to digest everything and evaluate stuff,” Crosby said after the Flyers. 1-0 win The Battle of Pennsylvania gave Philadelphia a 4–2 series victory.

They have been teammates since 2006, when Crosby was in his second season. The Penguins won the Stanley Cup three times during their era. They are the longest-tenured trio of teammates in North American sports history, surpassing the records of Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada. New York Yankees (17 seasons) three years ago.

Crosby led the Penguins with five points in six games against the Flyers. Malkin had two goals and an assist. Letang had two goals, both game winners.

Crosby, 38, is signed through next season. Letang, 39, is signed through 2028. But Malkin, 39, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Malkin has expressed his desire to stay with the Penguins next season and said last month that he and general manager Kyle Dubas would talk about his future after the playoffs.

Both Letong and Malkin were unavailable to the media after Game 6. Standing near Malkin’s empty stall, Crosby said it’s “probably hard to put into words” what they meant to him as a teammate.

“Honestly, it’s something we’re probably just getting used to, but I think they’re like family. I think that’s the best way to describe it,” Crosby said. “We’ve had some great wins, some tough losses like that. In the end, though, it’s been a long time that we’ve played together. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to play with them as long as we have. Hopefully we can continue.”

Dan Muse watched Crosby, Malkin and Letang from afar before coaching them this season.

“You hear how people talk about these three guys and then you see it live and it’s special. I mean, to do what they’ve been doing for so long, at such a high level, they just continue to rise and find different levels,” he said.

Muse said having the trio on the same team for 20 seasons is an underrated achievement in sports.

“I honestly don’t think the three of them get enough credit for doing this together for so long,” he said. “This hasn’t happened before in North American sports and there’s a reason for that: because it’s ridiculously difficult and it’s very unusual and it takes special people to be able to do it.”

The Penguins rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to push the Flyers to Game 6 in Philadelphia. The game turned into a great goaltending duel between Pittsburgh Artur Sylve (31 saves) and Philadelphia and Vladar Flyers defenseman up (42 saves) Cam York Silloves snapped a shot for the game-winner at 17:32 of overtime.

It was the first playoff series win for the Flyers since 2020. Philadelphia is about to face off Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh hasn’t won a playoff series since 2018. It was the Penguins’ first appearance in the playoffs since 2022, a season when many pundits didn’t make the postseason in Pittsburgh’s preseason predictions.

“I think we understand the expectations, that kind of thing,” Crosby said. “But I think when we have time to look back on the season, there’s a lot to like. Maybe that’s the reality.”