Penguins built for three-peat
STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS HAVE THE STAR POWER AND THE CHEMISTRY
It was a half- hour after the Pittsburgh Penguins had won their second consecutive Stanley Cup and the general manager of the team — the man who hired the head coach, who last year brought in Phil Kessel and this year traded for Ron Hainsey, while refusing to trade Marc- Andre Fleury — couldn’t stop smiling.
They told Jim Rutherford this couldn’t be done.
“People said at the start of the year and all through the year that it’s hard to repeat,” said Rutherford. “But we always said, ‘ nobody said that you can’t.’ And our guys were determined. We kept the same group together. They knew how to win these big games. They came in here and won this game. They know how to step up. It was a gutsy, determined group of guys.”
The team was without injured Kris Letang for the entire playoffs, had a threadbare defence, and seemed to be running on fumes after having played more hockey than any other team in the last 24 months.
“I t hink t his one was harder than last year,” said Rutherford. “Yeah, especially with the pressure on us and with how many guys we had playing hurt. It was certainly more stressful for me this time around. I haven’t been breathing that good for the last two months, but now I can breathe.”
Here are five reasons why the Penguins could pull off the rare three-peat:
SID AND GENO
From Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr playing together, and then Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
If it wasn’t enough that the Penguins had the best player in the world, they have another who some might consider to be the second best. Certainly, that is the way it looked in the playoffs.
Malkin led the playoffs with 28 points, while Crosby, who won his second straight Conn Smythe Trophy, was second with 27 points. There was only one game where both were held off the scoresheet.
“They’re two players of a very select few in the league that single- handedly have an ability to change the outcomes of games,” said head coach Mike Sullivan. “That’s how good they are. But I do believe that just in my time in Pittsburgh with them, I think they’re appreciative of one another.”
KRIS LETANG
Somehow, someway, the Penguins won a Stanley Cup without a No. 1 defenceman. The way that they spread out the minutes was reminiscent of the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes, a team that had Rutherford as the GM.
“When Letang went out I said to our guys, ‘ Don’t worry. We can do this,’ ” said Rutherford. “You’ve got to get the guys playing the right amount of minutes, you have to have them playing within themselves.”
Letang, who underwent surgery for a herniated disc in his neck before the playoffs began, will be back for next season. With a true No. 1 defenceman in the lineup, Pittsburgh’s one weakness will become a definite strength again.
JAKE GUENTZEL
No one knew much about the curly-haired rookie when the playoffs started. But after he led the post- season with 13 goals, including five game- winners, Guentzel was in the running as Pittsburgh’s MVP. The question now i s whether i t was a flash- in- the- pan performance or the start of something special?
MONEY IS NO MATTER
Nothing splits up a potential dynasty more than the salary cap. But the Penguins are in decent shape.
If t he Penguins t rade or lose goalie Marc- Andre Fleury to the expansion draft, they would have an additional US$ 5.75 million to play with. The team has to re- sign restricted free agents Conor Sheary and Justin Schultz, as well as find a couple of depth centres, but they should still have plenty of money left to sign a second- pairing defenceman such as Kevin Shattenkirk or Karl Alzner.
MATT MURRAY
It’s hard to imagine that the Penguins would have won the Cup — or even advanced past the first round — had Rutherford traded Fleury at the deadline. But while Fleury stepped in while Matt Murray was recovering from an injury, it was once again Murray who pushed a team that was routinely outshot and outchanced over the hump.
“He was in a zone the last two games,” said Rutherford. “When he’s like that, you can’t score on him.”