ELMONT, N.Y. — The Pittsburgh Penguins’ regular-season finale — a 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena — did not mean anything as it pertained to the playoff picture.

After all, the Penguins were formally eliminated from postseason contention Tuesday.

But Wednesday’s game still commanded significant gravity for Penguins forward Jeff Carter as it was the final game of his 19-year career as he announced his retirement.

“This was it,” Carter said. “I kind of knew coming in at the start of the year that this would probably be it. It was time. A lot of fun. I wish we could have gotten this one tonight and finish it off with a win here.”

Selected as a starter for the game, Carter played in front of his family who attended the contest, viewing it from a luxury suite. Longtime Los Angeles Kings teammate Jonathan Quick, now a New York Rangers goalie, was also in attendance.

Carter scored his 12th goal of the season — and 442nd of his career — in the third period to tie the score 4-4.

After the game ended, Islanders players lined up to shake Carter’s hand. When he was named third star of the game, his Penguins teammates surrounded him and tapped their sticks in appreciation.

While the final two years of his career as a member of the Penguins have hardly gone as hoped, Carter, 39, has a highly impressive resume, having skated in the league since he debuted with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2005-06.

A two-time All-Star, Carter appeared in 1,320 career games and scored 851 points (442 goals, 409 assists).

Having played the sport for the better part of more than 30 years in his life, Carter has no immediate plans in his post-hockey life.

Except one.

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“I’m going to be a dad,” said Carter, who indicated he and his family have made the Pittsburgh area their permanent residence. “You miss a lot being a hockey player. You’re in and out and away. You’re not really there. My family, all hockey families, they sacrifice a lot for us to live out our dreams. I’m going to be home, be a dad for a little while and figure it out from there.”

In addition to the Flyers and Penguins, Carter also skated for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings. With the Kings, he helped that franchise win its first two Stanley Cup titles in 2012 and 2014. He also won a gold medal with Canada in the 2014 Olympics.

The Penguins acquired Carter via trade in April 2021, and he quickly became a favorite of fans who dubbed the 6-foot-3, 219-pound forward as “Big Jeff Carter.”

After leading the Penguins with four goals during a brief six-game first-round loss in the playoffs to the Islanders in 2021, Carter’s first full season with the Penguins in 2021-22 saw him post 45 points (19 goals, 26 assists) in 76 games while primarily serving as an effective third-line center.

“(Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang), a lot of these guys that I battled against for a long time,” Carter said. “To be on the other side of it and to hang with them day to day and be teammates, it’s been unbelievable. I said to (teammates) that I think coming here gave me a couple of extra years. I can’t thank them enough. It’s been great.”

By 2022-23, Carter’s production waned as did enthusiasm for him by fans. By the end of the campaign, he had seen his role reduced to being a fourth-line winger.

He entered 2023-24 as the target of considerable scrutiny and adjusted to life as a fourth-liner with some degree of success.

This season, he had 15 points (11 goals, four assists) in 72 games.

“He’s accepted any role and anything that’s been asked of him and done a really good job with any of that,” Crosby said. “He’s got great leadership, and he’s a guy that’s really important in this room.”

Poignantly, Crosby stepped aside and allowed his longtime friend to take the opening faceoff in Wednesday’s game.

“Kind of grew up playing with Team Canada together,” Crosby said. “Then played against him when he was in Philadelphia. A bit of a rivalry there. Things change. He’s just had an amazing career. He’s the same guy that I remember meeting when I was 16. A lot of poise, a great guy in the room, brings it every single night. He’s had an amazing career. When you look at everything that he’s accomplished, he’s basically won everything possible.

“He’s got a pretty amazing resume.”

Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.