Despite an injury-riddled campaign, the Pittsburgh Penguins are your 2017 Stanley Cup champions!
The Pittsburgh Penguins captured their fifth Stanley Cup championship in franchise history after defeating the Nashville Predators 2-0 in game six.
Pittsburgh Penguins
An Intense Game 6
The game was scoreless for more than 58 minutes. The first two periods were an intense battle. Both teams got great chances, with nearly 30 shots apiece. The goaltending was outstanding. Matt Murray recorded his second shutout in a row and made 27 stops. Pekka Rinne bounced back well after being chased from the net in game 5 and also had 27 saves.
Patric Hornqvist got the Cup-winning goal with just 1:35 left in regulation. Justin Schultz took a shot from the point, and Hornqvist got the rebound, bouncing it off Rinne and in.
Carl Hagelin sealed the Pens’ victory with an empty-net goal just over a minute later.
The Stanley Cup, it’s often said, is the hardest trophy in sports to win. To win the Cup in back-to-back seasons is next to impossible. Before this year, it hadn’t been done since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. The Penguins are now the first team to win back-to-back Cups in the salary cap era.
Penguins Win Despite Injuries
The Penguins were without star players for long periods of time throughout the regular season and the playoffs. The Pens were without Kris Letang for the entire postseason. At various times, the Pens were without the services of Hornqvist, Hagelin, Murray, Sidney Crosby, Nick Bonino, Trevor Daley, Olli Maatta, Schultz, Chris Kunitz, Bryan Rust, and Conor Sheary. Despite this laundry list of injuries, the Penguins persevered under the excellent coaching of Mike Sullivan.
The Penguins were also fortunate to have two superb goaltenders. When Murray was injured before game 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Marc-Andre Fleury stepped up. In the 15 games he played, Fleury had a .924 save percentage and 2.56 GAA. Murray ended the postseason with a .937 save percentage and 1.70 GAA. Of the 16 wins the Penguins had, five were shutouts. Murray is the first goaltender in NHL history to lead a team to back-to-back Stanley Cups.
The question for the Penguins now is this: when was the last time a team won three Stanley Cups in a row?