Pittsburgh Penguins: Stars of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are over and the Pittsburgh Penguins are your 2017 champions.
We did it. We won the Stanley Cup. Back-to-back champions. Your 2016-17 Pittsburgh Penguins have won the franchise’s fifth championship.
Pittsburgh Penguins
It may not seem like a very big deal, but our team has gone through many ups and downs throughout the season. Injuries and all, we stuck through it and played exceptionally well. Many of our players stepped up in huge ways, especially in the playoffs when it mattered.
So let’s take a look at some of the best Penguins in these playoffs and give them the credit they deserve.
Sidney Crosby
Our captain. Our superstar. Now the back-to-back Conn Smythe Trophy winner. What can’t Sidney Crosby do?
He finished the playoffs with eight goals and 19 assists for a total of 27 points in 24 games. He led our team throughout the playoffs and was easily our best player during the regular season. He will always be our best player and we wouldn’t have gotten this far without him.
Evgeni Malkin
Malkin and Crosby have formed a duo that is unchallenged on other teams. Malkin was our leading point scorer in these playoffs, putting up 10 goals and 18 assists for a total of 28 points in 25 games.
He was our most consistent player, and many may even argue he deserved the Conn Smythe Trophy over Crosby. Nevertheless, his strong play boosted us to this championship.
Jake Guentzel
The rookie played amazingly this season, surprising everyone in his journey to the NHL.
In these playoffs, he finished as the leading goal scorer in the entire league. Scoring 13 goals, he also put up eight assists to give him 21 points, fourth on the Penguins.
What can we expect from Jake Guentzel next season? The rookie has already made a name for himself as an elite player, let’s see if he can keep up the consistency and become a mainstay on Pittsburgh’s top line.
Marc-Andre Fleury
If it wasn’t for Fleury, we simply wouldn’t be here.
Matt Murray, who was the presumed starter for the playoffs, unfortunately got injured before game one of round one against Columbus. As a result, Fleury had to come in cold in relief of Murray.
Well Fleury played great, backstopping us through the first two rounds. He may have not been the number one goalie in the second half of the playoffs with Matt Murray’s return, but his efforts should not go unnoticed.
In 15 games played, Fleury put up a 9-6 record with a 2.56 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
Matt Murray
With Murray’s return in round three against the Ottawa Senators, we knew we had something special.
Murray immediately showed off his strong goaltending skills, helping us advance to the Finals.
Murray put up a 7-3 record with a 1.70 GAA and a .937 save percentage. He also led the entire league with three shutouts. He is an elite goalie and will be the goalie of our future.
Justin Schultz
With number one defenceman Kris Letang out for most of the regular season and playoffs, Justin Schultz had to assume that role on the top line.
Given all that pressure, what did he do? He executed perfectly.
Schultz has held our blue line down. He played great both defensively and offensively, scoring 13 points in these playoffs, leading all Penguins defencemen.
Schultz is top pairing material and he really showed it this year.