The 2022 postseason was disappointing for Pittsburgh Penguins forward Danton Heinen.

When you get eliminated in overtime of Game 7 in the first round, it can’t be labeled as anything other than disappointing.

But it certainly went better than the 2021 playoffs for Heinen.

And definitely the 2020 playoffs.

That’s because Heinen was a spectator for each of those postseasons as a member of the Anaheim Ducks.

In fact, before this spring, Heinen’s most recent postseason appearance came with the Boston Bruins when he lost the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, also in seven games.

“Being out of it for a few years, it’s (stinks) watching when you’re not in it,” Heinen said a few weeks ago. “You can’t take it for granted. It’s not easy to get in. But once you’re in, everybody has a shot. I’m just super grateful to be back.”

The Penguins seemed grateful for what Heinen offered in their first-round loss to the New York Rangers.

In seven games, he had three goals — third-most on the team — and all three were fairly important scores.

First, he scored the winning goal in Game 3 of the series, a 7-4 home win. After linemate Evgeni Malkin knocked Rangers defenseman Patrik Nemeth off the puck, Heinen claimed it and fired a forehand shot past goaltender Alexandar Georgiev.

Then, in Game 4, a 7-2 home win, Heinen scored the Penguins’ fifth goal of the contest that stymied any notion of a comeback attempt after the Rangers scored their second goal.

And in Game 7, which the Penguins lost in heartbreaking fashion 4-3, Heinen scored a power-play goal towards the end of the first period that allowed the Penguins to overcome an early one-goal deficit.

“I’m just grateful,” Heinen said. “It’s a lot of fun to play in these games. And not everybody gets to do it. I’m just trying to take it all in, stay in the moment and be grateful and have as much fun as I can out there.”

Heinen had a fair amount of fun during the regular season. At least as much fun as a career-best 19 goals can generate.

Appearing in 78 games, Heinen, who turns 27 on July 5, produced a total of 33 points and offered a pretty fair return for someone who was cut loose by the Ducks as a restricted free agent during the 2021 offseason.

After Anaheim opted to not extend a qualifying offer to Heinen, he became an unrestricted free agent and was signed to a one-year deal by the Penguins for $1.1 million.

This offseason, Heinen is once again a restricted free agent. But he’s in a much better position than he was a year ago.

“I got a good opportunity here,” Heinen said. “I got to play with some great players. For me, it was a step forward for sure.”

With injuries hobbling top-six wingers Jason Zucker and Rickard Rakell throughout various portions of the first round, Heinen was inserted onto the team’s second line which was primarily centered by Malkin.

“Danton’s been a real good player for us,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’ve moved him up and down the lineup. He has good offensive instincts. He has finishing capability, and he’s a conscientious player. He can play on both sides of the puck. … We felt he was deserving of the opportunity to play in the (top-six forwards). He’s earned that opportunity through his performance. He’s had a good year for us.”

It remains to be seen if Heinen will have a second year with the Penguins. Much larger issues — namely unrestricted free agents such as Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang — will dictate how the Penguins proceed this offseason.

But Heinen certainly seems to be in good standing with management.

“Danton came in, did a real good job for us,” Penguins general manager Ron Hextall said. “It was kind of a ‘prove-it’ contract for him, and he did a real good job for us. So we’ll evaluate that one as we move forward here.”

Heinen isn’t terribly eager to move anywhere else.

“I got a little bit of confidence back,” Heinen said. “I saw the puck go in a little bit more. That helps mentally, for sure. The main thing is just a little bit of confidence and knowing that you can produce.”

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