Penguins out for Stanley Cup repeat
THE Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators have spent the past six weeks in a postseason battle of attrition that will culminate with them locking horns in the Stanley Cup finals.
The marquee matchup bet ween the ailing defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins and the first-time finalist Predators features two National Hockey League teams t hat ref use to let adversit y get in t he way.
The resilient Penguins have two superstars up front, a ragtag group of blue liners and a proven playoff goalie as they seek to become the first backto-back champion since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998.
The Predators are looking to make history as the biggest underdog to win the Stanley Cup. They weren’t supposed to be in this conversation when the season began, especially after trading away franchise player Shea Weber in June.
But their run to the final has united their players behind a red-hot goaltender and galvanised an entire city.
The teams head into Game 1 in Pittsburgh at 7am on Tuesday morning Cambodian time with sterling playoff records as the favoured Penguins are 12-7 and are coming off three days’ rest after eliminating the Ottawa Senators in seven games.
Nashville, who were seeded 16th at the start of the postseason, are 12-4 as their Cinderella run through the 2017 playoffs brings back memories of the Calgary Flames’ improbable run to the finals in 2004.
The Sidney Crosby-led Penguins are not only chasing their second Cup in a row but their third in nine seasons.
‘Hardest trophy to win’
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said they are ready to go to war against Nashville.
“It’s a great opportunity, and our veteran guys know it,” Sullivan said. “They’ve been around the game a long time, and understand when they have something special, and we believe we have that with the chemistry of this team.
“We did it last year, and we’re finding ways to do it again. But this is the hardest trophy in sports to win, in my mind. It’s a war of attrition.”
Pittsburgh is a team built on speed. But its success in the 2017 postseason has been based on their ability to juggle lines and line-ups.
Despite a steady string of injuries, they somehow found a way to eliminate Columbus in five games, Washington in seven, and Ottawa in a double overtime thriller on Thursday.
They already knew they were going to be without their top defenceman Kris Letang for the duration of the postseason with neck problems. Patric Hornqvist, Justin Schultz, Tom Kuhnhackl and Chad Ruhwedel each missed most or all of the semifinals against Ottawa. Schultz returned for Game 7, scoring a goal and adding an assist on the overtime winner.
Goaltender Matt Murray led the Penguins to the Cup last season and appears to be ready to do the same. Murray started these playoffs sidelined with an injury, but when Marc-Andre Fleury’s game started to slide, Murray stepped back in.
Like the Predators, the Penguins have been getting scoring f rom some unlikely sources. Chris Kunitz was the Game 7 hero, scoring his second of the game in the second overtime period to send his team to the finals.
Those were Kunitz’s first goals in 35 games, dating back to mid-February. Over the years the veteran forward has shown to have great chemistry with his Canadian linemate Crosby.
This is the first time Nashville has reached the Stanley Cup final in franchise history. They entered the playoffs as a distant seed but they are no doubt for real.
Their intense, aggressive style in front of all-star Finnish goaltender, Pekke Rinne, draws comparisons to the 2004 Calgary Flames, who lost in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In order for the underdog Predators to beat Pittsburgh they are going to have to get scoring from all four lines, and Rinne is going to have to be the better of the two goaltenders.