Owner Mario Lemieux thrust his hands into the air in triumph high up in an arena suite and later hugged his superstar on the ice.
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Chris Kunitz came up with the defensive play of the period when his speed on a backcheck helped thwart a breakaway chance for Joel Ward.
“I think the best way I can describe it is, like I said, I have a greater appreciation this time around”, said Crosby. “It’s not easy to get here”. That it took another seven years for the Penguins to claim the title again shows just how hard this trophy is to win. You need the puck to draw a penalty, and the Sharks never had the puck in the final, most important 20 minutes of their season.
Several players on Pittsburgh won their first ever championship, including Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin, Patric Hornqvist, and Daley.
Crosby, the eventual Conn Smythe Trophy victor for playoffs MVP, added his 13th assist of the postseason campaign on the final goal as well. Early in his career he went out and got points and did everything but that didn’t make him satisfied. “He was our best player – by far”.
It marked the fourth time in franchise history that the Penguins won the coveted Stanley Cup but just like the previous three (1991, 1992 and 2009) they had to celebrate on the road. Most importantly, their two superstars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby had tremendous seasons. There was no second celebration in the Crosby era – until now.
Even as Murray took on the role as the team’s No. 1 from Fleury over two months this spring, the long-time Penguins netminder provided plenty of wisdom and encouragement to his young partner. 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. Struggling to score and in 5th place in the Metropolitan division, the Pens fired second year head coach Mike Johnston and replaced them with their AHL affiliate’s head coach – Mike Sullivan.
He was considered a key part of the team’s secondary offense, anchoring the bottom line with rookie Tom Kuhnhackl and fellow veteran Eric Fehr for most of the playoff run. They followed that up with a six-game victory over the Washington Capitals in the second round, and a seven-game victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals. But the opportunity slipped by without any Sharks shots on net, as they finished the series with one power play goal on 12 tries in six games.
The Sharks could only praise the Penguins after seeing them lift the Cup.
While Cole found it hard to pinpoint one major factor in the turnaround – “I don’t think you can say one thing specifically” – it was impossible not to think of Sullivan when he spoke.
Jones made a couple more fantastic stops on the way to the second intermission, and despite the Sharks controlling the puck for a good portion of the contest, the Penguins were the ones consistently getting the best chances.
Sidney Crosby clutched the Stanley Cup close and seemed to not want to let go.
“The end is like hitting a wall”, coach Peter DeBoer said.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Back in December, the Pittsburgh Penguins looked like a lost team bound to miss the playoffs.
“I see a mature leader that played the right way every night, regardless of whether he got points or not, and he led the team that way”, Recchi said.
Dumoulin took advantage when his point shot beat Jones for a rare soft goal allowed by the Sharks’ netminder.
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The Toronto, Ontario product then had 1 goal and 6 points through 15 games played during the 2016 postseason.
