“It wasn’t easy getting here, especially the way things started out”.
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Keith as you all know was the Conn Smythe victor so the fact that he was able to score the opening goal was fitting, and it was a very fundamental play of following your own shot to score which made it that much sweeter. The group that poured over the boards and onto the ice at the end of a 100-game plus marathon of a season appears to be well-appointed for the future thanks to moves by general manager Jim Rutherford to build around his two stars. He was also awarded the Conn SMYTHE trophy for his hard work in the playoffs. He said Crosby’s Penguins can cheat and float sometimes. This year was a little bit different with [Couture’s first half injuries], and moving around a little bit from center to wing, and things like that.
Justin Williams of the Kings led all players in post-season scoring with 25 points.
Even though no National Hockey League team has repeated as Stanley Cup champion in 18 years, the Pittsburgh Penguins appear to have a better shot than most.
“They can all really skate, when you look at Crosby and (Evgeni) Malkin and Kessel and Letang, Hagelin we acquired down the stretch”. The game is expected to win the night in the advertiser-coveted P18-49 demo (1.9) among broadcast networks when the final numbers are confirmed tomorrow. They know 2009 was supposed to be the first of many, which is maybe why they didn’t cherish it as much as they should have.
“It’s so hard to win it year after year”, said Lemieux, who won back-to-back titles and Conn Smythe trophies as a player for Pittsburgh. A similar celebration after the Penguins’ 2009 championship – scheduled seven years ago to the day – drew almost 400,000 fans.
Having depth allowed the Pens to put players in the roles where they would most succeed.
It was all part of the identity forged after Mike Sullivan replaced Mike Johnston as coach in mid-December. Crosby wrecked Games 1, 2 and 6. “We all love being around each other”, Joe Thornton said. “When he came in, it really changed how we played the game”.
The Penguins were in control for nearly the entire final. On NBC, the four games averaged a 34.3 rating in Pittsburgh, up from the average Pittsburgh rating on NBC in 2008 (34.0; 4 games) and 2009 (32.2; 5 games).
As for the Penguins being a faster team than San Jose throughout the series, Jones said: “Yeah, they’re a quick team”.
“You dream your whole life for this”, said Kessel, the former Maple Leaf who led the Penguins with 22 points this postseason. It’s up to you to decide if it tastes better than the Roethlis-Burger.
Sharks forward Dainius Zubrus tripped the Pittsburgh defenseman 7:50 into the first period. One factor was certainly the teams. A year ago at this time, he was enjoying the offseason after an abbreviated Calder Cup playoff run with AHL Wilkes-Barre.
“They had the ability to get out in front and score the first goal”, Thornton said. This time with a 3-1 win in San Jose against the Sharks.
Time and time again, he snuffed out the Penguins’ chances from point-blank range, often by scrambling from one side of the net to the other and extending his leg pads just enough to block an apparent goal.
Melker Karlsson returned for the Sharks after only missing a couple of shifts with an apparent leg injury.
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The turnover this season was a major reason for the turnaround in fortunes after six straight years of playoff disappointments.
