Pittsburgh Penguins: 3 teams fans can cheer for in Stanley Cup playoffs

It’s hard but for Pittsburgh Penguins fans, there are some teams worth cheering for

Hello, everyone, my name is Richard Blosser, a hack that loves hockey and the team in Black and Gold, 5x Stanley Cup Champions, Pittsburgh Penguins. I have recently joined this Pens Labyrinth to blog and discuss this hockey club.

Now before we start, I want to tell everyone, that I am NOT a college graduate starting my way in the world, I am NOT a wordsmith that can paint a pretty picture, I am NOT a guy with connection to the inter-workings of the Penguins. No sir, I am a superfan with a keyboard and a big imagination, when I do these article or posts, this isn’t me dispensing perils of wisdom. It’s just you and me sitting at a bar or wing joint, talking hockey, and having a laugh or cry depending on the mood.

With all that said, the Penguins were eliminated from the qualifying Round 2 weeks ago, the 1st round wrapped up, you are ready to watch hockey. However, not as a neutral party, but maybe get investing in a team not named the Penguins, so here I am with 3 teams that might tickle your fancy. If you find a team that you like that isn’t here, God Bless ya!

Team #1: Vegas Golden Knights

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Reason: Marc-Andre Fleury

Obviously, a key reason for any Pens fan for rooting for Vegas is the great MAF, whom until the time of this article was the #2 Goalie for the Knights behind Lehner.

However, when you look beyond the flash and pre-game ceremonies, you see a team with a bunch of parts with no real leader, a plucky young team, eager to make its mark in the NHL.

They got some stars: Patches, Mark Stone, Paul Stastny, and even some AHL castoffs that have blossomed into solid bottom 6 forwards (Stephenson and Nicolas Roy).

Throw in some blue line blasters in Nate Schmidt, Shea Theodore, even former WBS Penguin and Hershey Bear Deryk Engelland and you can see this team has what it takes to win. Plus you can sound really smart and say you were a Zach Whitecloud fan before it was cool!

Bandwagon Potential: HIGH

Team #2: Colorado Avalanche

Reason: The Popular Kid

Besides the Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado is the top pick to win it all since what is there not to love? Young scoring forwards in Mikko Rantanen, MacKinnon, Landeskog are a deadly trio that will bring back memories of the Crosby, Malkin, Kessel years. Need more you say; how about some Joonas Donskoi, you might remember him from the Sharks squad from 2015, or Namestnikov a Toronto prospect or Andre Burakovsky on a contract year?

If that doesn’t sell ya, some defense will, former Penguin Ian Cole, Calder contender Cale Makar, and another Toronto prospect in Nitka Zadorov arms this deadly blue line. Goalies in Phillip Grubauer and Micheal Hutchenson are a decent 1.2 in the crease, but this bandwagon is getting full quickly with other West teams falling.

Bandwagon Potential: Almost at Capacity

Team #3: Vancouver Canucks

Reason: The Hipster Pick

Are the other two teams too popular for your tastes? You want a team that no one saw coming, a team you can root for and feel smart for doing it? Well then, meet the Canucks. Like Colorado, they are loaded with young talent on top of their established stars. Plus, not to mention, they have a budding star in Tyler Motte that wears my favorite number, 64.

Also on Canucks, they have a solid defense thanks to veteran Chris Tanev and a young Quinn Hughes who is coming into his own this postseason. This team has rising stars as opposed to established stars, so the Canucks could strike midnight at any moment, but if they make a deep run, you can say, you knew them before they were cool.

Bandwagon potential: Filling up slowly

So there you have it, three teams as Penguins fans you can root for and not feel guilty about, because, well, they are not the Philadelphia Flyers. Just saying.