COLUMBUS, Ohio — The cannon blasted late at Nationwide Arena, calling Thursday’s game to an end. But no one blinked. The battle was already over.
Technically, it was lost Wednesday. But when identifying the start of their demise, you could point to a late December loss to Detroit. Or when the Penguins gagged up late leads to the New York twice Islanders twice in a span of four days. Or any of their inexplicable letdowns against inferior foes in recent weeks.
Had any of those outcomes been different, the Penguins would have been playing for something Thursday at Nationwide Arena. Instead, there they were, skating in a meaningless game. It was a foreign feeling for their core players.
