nossagog Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 I don't necessarily consider myself a typical Penguins fan, a typical hockey fan or a typical fan of any team in general. Yes, I love my team, just as much as any fan of any team. But I'm also pretty much a realist. I see things the way that they really are, and try not to wear homer goggles when I watch the Penguins play. So yes, I hoped with my fans heart that the Penguins would win the Stanley Cup. But if you'd have asked me at the beginning of the season if the Penguins could repeat, my fan brain would say YES, but the realist in me would say I have my hopes. Hockey is just such a hard sport to win a championship, for a single season, let alone win it in two consecutive seasons. Sure they have some star power to help them on this team, but it not all about the star power. Its about the grinders. Its about the secondary scoring. Its about the young guns. Its about the goaltending. Its the team coming together at the right time. It about sacrificing the body. Its about puck luck. Its about overcoming injuries. Its about . . . . . Let's just say there's a lot. It has to take a lot out of you. And to do it two years in a row is beyond what a reasonable person could hope for in this day and age. This Penguins team had to run a pretty tough gauntlet in the post season to win the Cup. Round one against the Columbus Bluejackets with a physical team and a Vezina quality goaltender. A physical team that tries to wear down teams with an ultra physical style of play. Round two against the Washington Capitals. A team built to win the cup now with just as many stars and another Vezina quality goaltender. Round three against the Ottawa Senators and another extremely physical team. And the Stanley Cup Final against a team with perhaps the best top for defenders in the league and yet another Vezina quality goaltender. It was not an easy path, and they did it without one of their key components on moving the puck out of the defensive zone in Chris Letang. The realist in my just can see how they manage to win those four series with the defense that was fielded. I mean really, which of these names scares you from the blue line. Ollie Maatta, Ron Hainsey, Ian Cole, Trevor Daley, Brian Doumolin and Justin Shultz. They're not stars by any means, most considered average at best, but as a whole they did enough. Any of those players could go in the expansion or free agency, and they probably would not be missed as they could easily be replaced. But they were all invaluable as a whole for the playoffs. So as a fan, I'm sitting here this morning extremely happy, but also in a slightly depressed. First of all its over, and I have this sinking feeling at the end of each season as there is so much invested in time with watching and rooting for this team. Now there is no more hockey for several months. And once again there is the realist in me the looks forward and has to do the calculation of odds of their making it to this point again. It just seems to be too high a climb to do it, again. So I think I'll just sit back and enjoy this for a while. I'll start to embrace the hate come some time in August. A few notes, stats and fun facts to top things off this morning. Last night was the 87th game of these Stanley Cup Playoffs. 87, how did Uncle Gary fix that. Matt Murray has won his second Stanley Cup as the starting goaltender, as a rookie(NHL first). Jake Guentzel led the Stanley Cup Playoffs in goal scoring this season as a rookie. Jake Guentzel ties the all time record for points by a rookie in single playoff season. The Penguins have won five Stanley Cups, with all clinching games being on the road. Crosby is the third player to win the Conn Smythe in back to back seasons. Pens won with the first and last picks in the 2005 NHL entry draft. 1st Crosby(Conn Smythe winner) and last Hornqvist(Cup clinching goal). If you haven't heard it enough on the broadcasts, Pens are the first back to back champions in the salary cap era. Mike Sullivan is the second coach in NHL history to win Stanley Cups in his first two seasons. Mike Sullivan is the first American born coach to win two Stanley Cups. Chris Kunitz now has the most Stanley Cup championships for current active players. Chris friggin Kunitz. The Pittsburgh Penguins tie the Edmonton Oilers for the most Stanley Cups by a non original six team. 5 And NO, there is no truth to the rumor that Regis slept with Sid and the cup last night. Gonna sit back, watch some highlights, and enjoy the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo1917 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 @nossagog @B21 and the rest of the Pens fans on this forum. Congratulations to your team, this particular group of Penguins is by far the most admirable team Pgh has iced and are deserving champions. The NHL is a copycat league and for me, I think the NHL will be better for trying to copy this team's formula. Speed, aggressiveness, high compete level paired with great hand-eye coordination, superior stick positioning...will make the game even more entertaining that it already is. I thought the games in the finals were exhilarating to watch. This is such a hard championship to win; there needs to be some good fortune, but at some point, the winners have to overcome some adversity, winning this year with Letang on the shelf and multiple injuries to key guys was the "thing" this group had to overcome. The next guy came in and played fast and was hard on the puck and the team kept chugging along. Congratulations, that is a really good hockey team in the picture, enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samifan Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Yes, congrats to all of the Pens fans on this forum. Back to Back championships is very impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B21 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 @mojo1917 Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B21 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 @nossagog Nice write up! Here's a few more fun facts... The Pens set the record for most playoff games played (49) over a 2 year period. By default, they have played more total games over that same 2 year stretch than any other team has over any other 2 year period (213). 1 player has played in all 213. "Ironman" Kessel. In what could be the final game of a long career, 40 year old Matt Cullen led the Pens' forwards in TOI in Game 6 at 19:42 - a full 2:25 ahead of Crosby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murraycraven Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Congrats to all the Pens fans!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nossagog Posted June 12, 2017 Author Share Posted June 12, 2017 43 minutes ago, B21 said: @nossagog Nice write up! Here's a few more fun facts... The Pens set the record for most playoff games played (49) over a 2 year period. By default, they have played more total games over that same 2 year stretch than any other team has over any other 2 year period (213). 1 player has played in all 213. "Ironman" Kessel. In what could be the final game of a long career, 40 year old Matt Cullen led the Pens' forwards in TOI in Game 6 at 19:42 - a full 2:25 ahead of Crosby. You know, people give Phil the Thrill a lot of grief, a lot of it in a kidding manner, about his workout and dietary regimen. But if it works . . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindbergh31 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 55 minutes ago, nossagog said: You know, people give Phil the Thrill a lot of grief, a lot of it in a kidding manner, about his workout and dietary regimen. But if it works . . . . . Congrats to the Pens fans on this forum, as much as I hate to say it the Pens deserved to win the cup. They got great goaltending from Murray (who hopefully doesn't have to be exposed in the expansion draft as long as Fleury cooperates), great leadership and play from Crosby and a no-name defense who got the job done. So the Pens have the back to back titles, and 3 titles in 9 years, the Blackhawks have 3 championship in 6 years, so the debate starts as to which team is the dynasty in the salary cap era. I think the only way it can be decided is hopefully these two teams meet in the finals in the next couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B21 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 1 hour ago, Lindbergh31 said: Congrats to the Pens fans on this forum, as much as I hate to say it the Pens deserved to win the cup. They got great goaltending from Murray (who hopefully doesn't have to be exposed in the expansion draft as long as Fleury cooperates), great leadership and play from Crosby and a no-name defense who got the job done. So the Pens have the back to back titles, and 3 titles in 9 years, the Blackhawks have 3 championship in 6 years, so the debate starts as to which team is the dynasty in the salary cap era. I think the only way it can be decided is hopefully these two teams meet in the finals in the next couple of years. Good idea for a thread topic. Allow me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 I won't say congrats to the Pens...but i will say congrats to the Pens fans on this board...you're a great group of guys! Cheers! Now f#*% off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B21 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 3 minutes ago, flyercanuck said: I won't say congrats to the Pens...but i will say congrats to the Pens fans on this board...you're a great group of guys! Cheers! Now f#*% off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kings Redeem LA Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 3 hours ago, flyercanuck said: I won't say congrats to the Pens...but i will say congrats to the Pens fans on this board...you're a great group of guys! Cheers! Now f#*% off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kings Redeem LA Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 3 hours ago, B21 said: 3 hours ago, flyercanuck said: I won't say congrats to the Pens...but i will say congrats to the Pens fans on this board...you're a great group of guys! Cheers! Now f#*% off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Congrats to B21 and nossagog on your team's Cup win. That team still sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlaskaFlyerFan Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Congrats, Pens fans! If any of you talk to Polaris, please pass along my congrats to him, also. It was a very entertaining series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 13 hours ago, nossagog said: I don't necessarily consider myself a typical Penguins fan, a typical hockey fan or a typical fan of any team in general. Yes, I love my team, just as much as any fan of any team. But I'm also pretty much a realist. I see things the way that they really are, and try not to wear homer goggles when I watch the Penguins play. So yes, I hoped with my fans heart that the Penguins would win the Stanley Cup. But if you'd have asked me at the beginning of the season if the Penguins could repeat, my fan brain would say YES, but the realist in me would say I have my hopes. Hockey is just such a hard sport to win a championship, for a single season, let alone win it in two consecutive seasons. Sure they have some star power to help them on this team, but it not all about the star power. Its about the grinders. Its about the secondary scoring. Its about the young guns. Its about the goaltending. Its the team coming together at the right time. It about sacrificing the body. Its about puck luck. Its about overcoming injuries. Its about . . . . . Let's just say there's a lot. It has to take a lot out of you. And to do it two years in a row is beyond what a reasonable person could hope for in this day and age. This Penguins team had to run a pretty tough gauntlet in the post season to win the Cup. Round one against the Columbus Bluejackets with a physical team and a Vezina quality goaltender. A physical team that tries to wear down teams with an ultra physical style of play. Round two against the Washington Capitals. A team built to win the cup now with just as many stars and another Vezina quality goaltender. Round three against the Ottawa Senators and another extremely physical team. And the Stanley Cup Final against a team with perhaps the best top for defenders in the league and yet another Vezina quality goaltender. It was not an easy path, and they did it without one of their key components on moving the puck out of the defensive zone in Chris Letang. The realist in my just can see how they manage to win those four series with the defense that was fielded. I mean really, which of these names scares you from the blue line. Ollie Maatta, Ron Hainsey, Ian Cole, Trevor Daley, Brian Doumolin and Justin Shultz. They're not stars by any means, most considered average at best, but as a whole they did enough. Any of those players could go in the expansion or free agency, and they probably would not be missed as they could easily be replaced. But they were all invaluable as a whole for the playoffs. So as a fan, I'm sitting here this morning extremely happy, but also in a slightly depressed. First of all its over, and I have this sinking feeling at the end of each season as there is so much invested in time with watching and rooting for this team. Now there is no more hockey for several months. And once again there is the realist in me the looks forward and has to do the calculation of odds of their making it to this point again. It just seems to be too high a climb to do it, again. So I think I'll just sit back and enjoy this for a while. I'll start to embrace the hate come some time in August. A few notes, stats and fun facts to top things off this morning. Last night was the 87th game of these Stanley Cup Playoffs. 87, how did Uncle Gary fix that. Matt Murray has won his second Stanley Cup as the starting goaltender, as a rookie(NHL first). Jake Guentzel led the Stanley Cup Playoffs in goal scoring this season as a rookie. Jake Guentzel ties the all time record for points by a rookie in single playoff season. The Penguins have won five Stanley Cups, with all clinching games being on the road. Crosby is the third player to win the Conn Smythe in back to back seasons. Pens won with the first and last picks in the 2005 NHL entry draft. 1st Crosby(Conn Smythe winner) and last Hornqvist(Cup clinching goal). If you haven't heard it enough on the broadcasts, Pens are the first back to back champions in the salary cap era. Mike Sullivan is the second coach in NHL history to win Stanley Cups in his first two seasons. Mike Sullivan is the first American born coach to win two Stanley Cups. Chris Kunitz now has the most Stanley Cup championships for current active players. Chris friggin Kunitz. The Pittsburgh Penguins tie the Edmonton Oilers for the most Stanley Cups by a non original six team. 5 And NO, there is no truth to the rumor that Regis slept with Sid and the cup last night. Gonna sit back, watch some highlights, and enjoy the moment. Mike Sullivan is the first Penguin coach to go to two Stanley Cup finals appearances! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 6 hours ago, flyercanuck said: I won't say congrats to the Pens...but i will say congrats to the Pens fans on this board...you're a great group of guys! Cheers! Now f#*% off! I love you also! Stick it were the sun don't shine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 10 hours ago, nossagog said: You know, people give Phil the Thrill a lot of grief, a lot of it in a kidding manner, about his workout and dietary regimen. But if it works . . . . . All I have to say is THANK YOU TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS ORGANIZATION! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 2 hours ago, FD19372 said: Congrats to B21 and nossagog on your team's Cup win. That team still sucks. Couldn't do it without you! Good luck to you next season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Congrats Pens fans, you guys deserved it. First time ever I did not watch the Stanley Cup presented, I'm still mentally scarred by the last time I saw Crosby hoist the Cup. Painful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 Late to the party ...but Congrats to the Pens and Pens fans on this forum. Winning back to back is hard nowadays in the NHL. I don't care what anyone says...MAF is your MVP (he saved you guys in the series vs. the Caps) Enjoy "The Cup" for another year and another year of bragging rights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B21 Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 3 hours ago, jammer2 said: Congrats Pens fans, you guys deserved it. First time ever I did not watch the Stanley Cup presented, I'm still mentally scarred by the last time I saw Crosby hoist the Cup. Painful. You didn't miss anything. Aside from the uniforms it looked just like last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 16 hours ago, FD19372 said: Congrats to B21 and nossagog on your team's Cup win. That team still sucks. Oh, and I left out notfondajane. Congrats to you as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musky Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 crosby mpv what a joke,malkin or murry were way better but i guess the goden boy plays with his on set of rules like the water bottle throwing shows us all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 4 hours ago, FD19372 said: Oh, and I left out notfondajane. Congrats to you as well. Thanks FD19372! Good luck to you next season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.