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Pittsburgh Penguins: Thoughts of a Repeat Championship Looming

By Matthew Rodrigopulle

Apr 27, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) celebrates with Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) after their game against the Washington Capitals in game one of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Penguins won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 27, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) celebrates with Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) after their game against the Washington Capitals in game one of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Penguins won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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With the Pittsburgh Penguins defeating the Washington Capitals 6-2 in Saturday night’s game two, there is quite a lot of confidence looming around this team.

Heading home with a 2-0 lead, it looks as if the Pittsburgh Penguins may just be able to take out these Capitals and move on in the playoffs.

We won it all last year, so why can’t we do it all again this year? Looking at the remaining teams, and who’d we have to face going forward, it really isn’t all that unlikely that we could have a decent shot at repeating.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins /

Pittsburgh Penguins

Ottawa/New York

If the Penguins defeat the Capitals and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals, we will meet with either the Ottawa Senators or the New York Rangers. As of right now, the Senators are up 2-0 in their second round series.

Well just taking a look at how we matched up against both teams during the season, we really should have some confidence about our chances. We faced New York three times during the regular season and beat them twice. One of these wins was a 7-2 blowout victory. The Rangers look shaky as ever right now. Henrik Lundqvist may be keeping them in it right now, but I’m not sure how he would do against Pittsburgh’s high-flying offence.

Our season series with the Senators might have went a little differently but the point still comes across. We won one out of three games against the Senators this season, but we still showed them up well. An 8-5 win with a hat trick from Bryan Rust showed us that our depth players can still dominate offensively.

Ottawa is looking very good, and they defeated us twice. But with a much healthier Penguins squad now, it looks like we’d match up very well against them in a playoff series. I’d place my bets on the Penguins if we were to face either of these teams.

Don’t Mind the West

OK, with Chicago out, let’s face it, we’re the favourites to win the Cup this year. Chicago was poised to win another cup this year, or at least compete with the Penguins or Capitals for it. Either way, people knew the Blackhawks were the most dangerous team in the West, and now they’ve been swept by the Nashville Predators in the first round.

There are still plenty of dangerous teams in the West though. The Predators took out the Blackhawks after all, they’re looking hot as ever. And the Edmonton Oilers. Wow. McDavid and Co. surprised many and may be looking to go farther.

Next: Time for Sidney Crosby to Dominate

But compared to who’s left, our Penguins should feel confident against them. Nashville and St. Louis don’t look like the type of team we’d fall to. Our offence is so good we can probably get past them. If it comes to the Edmonton Oilers, it’s easily a matchup of experience. Yes, they have Connor McDavid, but we have Sidney Crosby. It would be a matchup of the two best players in hockey, but I think the Penguins overall experience and skill would beat them out.

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