Crosby & Penguins Return to Playoffs, Karlsson Joins

0:00It's April 17th. Welcome in. This is NHL News today, where team coverage meets AI. Pittsburgh Penguins are back in the playoffs after missing out the last three years, and they're hosting the Philadelphia Flyers for Game 1 on. Saturday at 8 p.m. Eastern. Sydney Crosby, the 38-year-old captain who's won three Stanley Cups, hasn't seen postseason action in 1,434. Days since their last game in 2022. That drought ended their 16 straight playoff runs from 2007 to 2022, but now Crosby leads a familiar core with Evgeny. Malcolm, Chris Lattang, Brian Rust, and Rickard Raquel as the only holdovers from that squad. Eric Carlson, the 35-year-old defenseman, traded to Pittsburgh last summer, brings his own playoff chops with 53 points in. 67 games, his last one back in 2019 with San Jose. He stuck around despite trade buzz and earned team MVP honors with 66 points this season.

1:00Carlson's faced tough luck against these penguins before, getting knocked out by them in playoffs with Ottawa in 2013 and 20. 17, but now he calls Crosby and company teammates, praising their playoff elevation while they hype his game-changing plays. With Crosby, Malcolm, and Lattang marking 20 seasons together as the longest tenured trio in North American pro sports, the penguins are locked in, and hungry to extend their run deep into May and June.