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June 13, 2017

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Penguins power past Predators for second straight Stanley Cup

EVEN Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to be challenged trying to top this.

Crosby was awarded his second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and goalie Matt Murray made 27 saves for his second straight shutout as the Penguins became the first team to repeat as National Hockey League champions in nearly two decades with a 2-0 win over the Nashville Predators in Game 6.

That doesn’t include Crosby also winning the World Cup of Hockey title before this season started, along with tournament MVP. He followed that up by leading the NHL with 44 goals, and Crosby was at his best in this Cup Final leading all scorers with seven points — one goal and six assists, including three in a 6-0 win in Game 5 that put the Penguins on the verge of their latest title.

Crosby also became only the third man to win back-to-back Conn Smythe trophies. All within a calendar year. “You have a small window to play and to have a career, and I feel fortunate, but I also understand how difficult it is, so you just want to try to make the best of it.”

The Penguins won their fifth title — all of them clinched on the road — to tie the Wayne Gretzky-Mark Messier-era Edmonton Oilers for sixth on the all-time list and the most by any non-Original Six franchise. The Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and ‘98 were the last champions to defend their title. The Penguins are the first to do it in the salary-cap era.

“It starts with Sid, our captain,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s just such a terrific person and has such an appetite to win, and I think it’s really contagious amongst our group.”

Crosby did have some help. Murray is the first goaltender in NHL history to win the clinching game for the Stanley Cup in each of his first two seasons. He also set a rookie record with two shutouts in a Cup Final.

The Penguins also needed the second-latest clinching goal in regulation to finish off the Predators, who had played their way to their first Stanley Cup Final after being the last team into the playoffs. Patric Hornqvist, the last pick of the 2005 draft (by the Predators), scored the game-winner for Pittsburgh with 1:35 left by banking the puck off Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne’s left elbow. Carl Hagelin added an empty-net goal.

The celebration on the ice lasted a long time. Crosby took the Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman before handing the trophy off to veteran defenseman Ron Hainsey who passed it to veteran forward Matt Cullen, who may have played his final game at the age of 40.

Nashville lost for just the first time in regulation on home ice this postseason, and this one had some hard luck. Colton Sissons had a goal erased by a whistle 67 seconds into the second period. The Predators went 0 of 4 with the man advantage, including 32 seconds of a 5-on-3 in the third. Sissons and Filip Forsberg each hit the post in the third period.

“It’s going to sting, it’s going to hurt for a while,” said Nashville defenseman PK Subban, who made the Predators a contender when he joined nearly a year ago.

The Penguins capped their 50th season in the NHL’s centennial year with the third title for Crosby and a handful of teammates from the 2009 title team, surpassing the two won by the Penguins teams led by current owner Mario Lemieux in the 1990s.




 

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