@rafiki

19d

"Fresh from the bench it's Crosby"

The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs looking to do something that had not been done in nearly two decades: win back-to-back championships. After defeating the San Jose Sharks in the 2016 Final, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and the Penguins' core returned. The regular season was far from easy. Pittsburgh dealt with injuries throughout the year, including a significant absence from Letang, who missed the entirety of the playoffs with a herniated disc, but still finished with 50 wins and earned the second seed in the Metropolitan Division. Their toughest test up to that point came in the second round against the Washington Capitals. For the second straight postseason, the Penguins faced their longtime rival, who had won the Presidents' Trophy and entered the series as the favorite. Pittsburgh once again ended Washington's season, winning 2-0 in Game 7 on the road to eliminate the Capitals for the second consecutive year. The Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators was another battle. After the teams split the first six games, the series went to a deciding Game 7 in Pittsburgh. Chris Kunitz became the hero, scoring his second goal of the game in double overtime to send the Penguins back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year. I can still hear Lange's voice: "Fresh from the bench it's Crosby; Crosby onto Kunitz; Kunitz a shot; HE SCOOOOOOORES!!! PENGUINS WIN IT! AND THEY GO TO THE FINAL!" In the Stanley Cup Final, the teams traded home wins through the first four games before Pittsburgh took control with a 6-0 victory in Game 5, setting up a chance to close out the series in Nashville. Game 6 remained scoreless for most of the night until Patric Hornqvist, a former Predator, scored with just 1:35 remaining in the third period. Carl Hagelin added an empty-net goal, giving Pittsburgh a 2-0 victory and its fifth Stanley Cup in franchise history. With the win, the Penguins became the first team in the salary cap era and the first since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings to win consecutive Stanley Cups. Sidney Crosby also became just the third player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in back-to-back seasons, leading the Penguins' core of himself, Malkin, and Letang to their 3rd Stanley Cup. Looking back, after Crosby and Letang joined Malkin in the 2005 draft, I don't think anyone could've predicted that they would create one of the most successful and long-lasting cores of the modern NHL. After 20 years, these three managed to accumulate 3 Stanley Cups, 3 Harts, 3 Conn Smythes, 4 Art Rosses, 5 Ted Linsays, and 23 All-Star Selections, proving their greatness. Crosby is still performing at the highest level on his classic $8.7 million contract; Malkin signed a $5.5 million 1-year contract for the 2026-27 season; and Letang is also looking to return. They are not surrounded by the team that won those back-to-back cups, but they are still acting as the glue holding together a young and rising Pens Team.

Penguins

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Stanley Cup Heroes, Part 8: The unstoppable Mario Lemieux

There is only 1 player who touches Gretzky’s GOAT status: Mario Lemieux. Lemieux’s stats are ludicrous. In 1989, he finished the regular season with 114 assists and 85 goals for 199 points. He is the only player to even approach Gretzky’s 200-point mark. Next closest is Steve Yzerman with 155 in the same season. The only thing that could stop Lemieux were the whims of fate. Not even fate could stop him in the early 90s. Starting in 1990, Lemieux had back problems (eventually diagnosed as a herniated disc) that would keep him out of many games. During the subsequent 1990-91 season, Lemieux was only able to play in 26 games (put up 19 goals, 26 assists and 45 points). The Penguins managed to sneak into the playoffs without him. Lemieux came back for the 91 playoffs and went nuclear. In 23 games, Lemieux scored 16 goals and racked up 28 assists for 44 points. It is the 2nd most points in a playoff run ever (guess who is ahead of him). Only McDavid’s 2024 run has approached it since. Behind their superstar, the Penguins won their first ever Stanley Cup and Lemieux won the Connor Smythe as playoff MVP. Somehow, this is just the beginning. Next season, Lemieux managed to play 64 games, missing 16 games due to back problems. Still, he finished that season with 131 points, which led the entire NHL and earned him the Art Ross trophy. The rest of the NHL knew not to cast doubt on Mario so Adam Graves broke Lemieux’s hand in game 2 of the 2nd round series between Mario’s Penguins and Adam’s Rangers. He missed 5 games in that series, but it didn’t matter because the Rangers lost. Despite missing those 5 games, Lemieux led everyone in playoff points once again, this time with 34. He also led in playoff goals with 16 as the Penguins won their 2nd Stanley Cup. Lemieux once again won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP. The Hockey Gods clearly realized that back problems were too easy for Lemieux to overcome so they threw a new curveball. In January of 1993, Lemieux announced he had been diagnosed with cancer, specifically Hodgkin lymphoma. He underwent radiation treatment and missed 2 months of the season. He managed to return before the playoffs and was given a standing ovation by Philadelphia. By the way, did I mention that Lemieux WON THE HART, ART ROSS AND PEARSON?! Lemieux put up 160 points in 60 games. 69 goals and 91 assists in 60 games. Prior to the cancer diagnosis, Lemieux was putting up 104 points with an average of 2.6 points per game. Post-cancer treatment, Lemieux put up 56 points in 20 games for an average of 2.8 points per game. If not for cancer, he breaks Gretzky’s single season record. Lemieux carried that dominance into the playoffs as the Penguins pursued a 3-peat. Sadly, the Penguins were shockingly upset in round 2, by the New York Islanders, in 7 games. Don’t worry, Lemieux put up 18 points in 11 playoff games, good enough for 9th that year, only behind guys that played twice as many games. Lemieux would beat cancer, but he never got the Penguins to another Cup Final during his playing career. Along with being one of the GOATs of hockey, he also became one of the greatest Stanley Cup Heroes.

@nationalryanleague

Vegas joins the NHL!

On June 22, 2016, Las Vegas officially became an NHL city when the league awarded Bill Foley’s expansion group the franchise that would become the Vegas Golden Knights. A decade later, that announcement looks like one of the best decisions the NHL has ever made. The Golden Knights became the first major professional sports team in Las Vegas, helping change the city’s reputation as a sports market, and paving the way for the NFL’s Raiders, MLB’s Athletics, and continued NBA expansion talks. Nobody could have known just how quickly the franchise would take off, seeing a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in its debut season, playoff appearances in eight of the first nine years, and a Stanley Cup championship in 2023. Foley ended the announcement with a line that resonates in the heart of all who adore the team and have grown with them, “Las Vegas is hockey-ready. We’re convinced of it. We know it.” Go Vegas, baby!

@Bro

Biggest loser in Hockey?

This has been on my mind a lot lately and yes you can call me salty or whatever. On December 12th 2025 the Vancouver Canucks traded star player Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buimm, Liam Ohgren and a first round pick. Many Canucks like myself were very upset but saw it coming a 100 kilometres away. Buy as soon as Quinn Goes to the Wild he shows his true self. Before his first game against his former team he was asked about his former team and his response “honestly I don’t know any of there guys” Not a good look as*hat He was the Captain of the Canucks for two years and played there for almost 7 seasons. You know at least AT LEAST SIXTEEN OF THEM He also treated his tenure with the Canucks as a prison sentence always with one word answers but as soon as he goes to the Wild he’s all jolly. He never seemed happy even though his best years so far are with Vancouver. He never smiled and never did anything for this community he never cared to help people less fortunate in Vancouver especially going to B.C. Children’s Hospital where Canucks captains always have gone. No he’s done nothing. Sorry this was kinda a rant