Sidney Crosby clutched the Stanley Cup close and seemed to not want to let go. The early playoff exits.
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Crosby looked especially revitalized after a slow start, thanks partly to the December coaching change to Sullivan, who was also part of their unlikely success story.
But the lynchpins were the holdovers from the last championship squad – Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Letang, who played critical minutes on the depleted, no-name Penguins blueline.
In a wild celebration, on enemy ice, the Penguins won their fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history, clinching the best-of-seven series with a 3-1 victory over a game but ultimately overmatched San Jose Sharks’ team Sunday night. Having won seven years ago at a young age, you probably take it for granted a little bit.
“When you have so much turnover the last couple years like we had it’s not easy just to throw a bunch of guys together and develop that chemistry, that trust”, Crosby said.
Biddeford native Brian Dumoulin, a defensemen, contributed to the Cup victory with Pittsburgh’s first goal and is believed to be the first Maine-born National Hockey League player to be on a Stanley Cup champion.
All that was left was for Crosby to accept the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP and then the Stanley Cup.
“It was pretty special”, Daley said.
Curiously, when the Penguins last won the Stanley Cup in 2009, Dan Bylsma was also a mid-season coaching replacement, guiding the team to an 18-3-4 regular-season record before going on their championship run.
The hiring of Mike Sullivan sparked Crosby, who was given more room for creativity, and that helped the team regain its form and make the playoffs. But a series of concussions cost Crosby nearly an entire season and a half, and there were those playoff disappointments that included twice blowing 3-1 series leads. Crosby said he wasn’t thinking about 2009 all that much when he held the trophy for the second time. “For them to be able to come through this year and win their second Cup is big. Hopefully there’s a few more for them”.
This didn’t seem like it would be a season to remember back in early December when the Penguins were the near the bottom of the standings in the Eastern Conference and coach Mike Johnston was sacked.
Kessel, who led the Penguins with 22 points, was among the key additions made to the roster over the course of the previous year, joined by Carl Hagelin (16 points in the playoffs), Nick Bonino (18 points), and Trevor Daley, among others.
The Penguins were in control for nearly the entire final. They did not trail until Game 5 at home and responded to a strong push from San Jose in the clincher to avoid a decisive seventh game.
It was not the greatest goal Jones has given up in the series, but he shut the door the rest of the first, enabling San Jose to get to the intermission down just a goal.
“You dream your whole life for this”, said Kessel, the former Maple Leaf who led the Penguins with 22 points this postseason.
San Jose’s struggles to penetrate were epitomized by managing only one shot on goal during the first 19 minutes of the final period – a wrist shot by Logan Couture at 3:45. Martin Jones made 24 saves and was San Jose’s best player for the series. Coach Peter DeBoer knew it, too, even coming out of the Western Conference, home to plenty of flash. Pittsburgh’s G Matt Murray needed one more win to tie Cam Ward (Carolina, 2006), Ron Hextall (Philadelphia, 1987) and Patrick Roy (Montreal, 1986) with the most – 15 – for a rookie goalie in playoff history.
“He was unbelievable for us all season”, Couture said.
Crosby’s dominance was evident throughout the final game as Pittsburgh spent most of the time when he was on the ice in San Jose’s zone. Dumoulin delayed at the left point, turning Sharks’ penalty-killing forward Melker Karlsson around, then fired through the right winger’s legs and past the screened Jones at 8:16.
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The Sharks tied it early in the period when Couture beat Murray with a big shot for his 30th point of the postseason.
