One day later, Pittsburgh received 8-1 odds to win next year’s Stanley Cup, according to Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.
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Carl Hagelin scored his second of the playoffs into an empty net at 19:46 to seal it.
Which, according to some Penguins, made Sunday night’s 2-0 Cup-clinching win over the Nashville Predators in Bridgestone Arena even more rewarding.
The Penguins, who defeated the Sharks in six games in last year’s Final, became the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. Geno’s 28 points are tied for the sixth-most of any player in a single postseason since the lockout and are the second-most of his playoff career (trailing the insane 36 points he dropped in 2009, when he won the Conn Smythe). “But I’m really proud of this team and the way we played, the way we handled things when we faced some adversity throughout the series”. Having a third pair and a fourth line that you can play regularly alongside elite players, in any position, who can take over the game seems to be a winning formula.
The win made the Penguins the first team in almost two decades to repeat as champions while Crosby became just the third player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in consecutive years as Stanley Cup MVP.
That doesn’t include Crosby also winning the World Cup of Hockey title before this season started, along with tournament MVP.
Another reason to give Crosby the trophy is the part he played in the emergence of rookie winger Jake Guentzel. “But they have Kessel, who may score as many goals as Alex Semin did”. Guentzel finished just one goal short of the National Hockey League record for most goals by a rookie during the Stanley Cup Playoffs behind only Dino Ciccarelli, who finished with 14. Fleury will nearly certainly play elsewhere next season and defenseman Justin Schultz is a restricted free agent but may have played himself into a contract too rich for the Penguins to match. He has also earned the right to navigate the Penguins through the expansion process and go for a third straight.
“I don’t think (it means) a whole lot”. With a true No. 1 defenceman in the line-up, Pittsburgh’s one weakness will become a definite strength again. “I’ve never been shot up for a celebration, but I was tonight”. They won three Game 7s, including two this year, and swept exactly none of their eight series. But the best move Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford might have made at this year’s deadline was the one he ended up not making. Crosby still could play for another 10 years if he remains healthy.
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Murray would not have had the opportunity to see action had veteran Marc-Andre Fleury not been pulled after allowing four goals on nine shots in a 5-1 loss to Ottawa in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. He has won two Stanley Cups in two opportunities, and he is a huge asset for Sullivan. The only other franchise that comes close is the Chicago Blackhawks, who won three cups from 2010 to 2015. He’s been so supportive over the last couple years. “I think I was able to come back not only quicker but stronger than before”.
