How realistic is a potential Pittsburgh-Nashville Cup Rematch?

NeonKnight

Registered User
Nov 14, 2008
87
95
Pens have far too many perpetual defensive lapses to make this matchup anything other than a long shot. Those lapses likely cannot be fixed without offseason personnel changes.

They are beginning to synchronize better offensively, which should be scary for anyone. But all opponents have to do is go back and score on the Pens, which has been laughably easy this season.
 

Tomas W

Registered User
Oct 23, 2007
7,097
489
Sweden
Murray has not been good this season. I would say that he will no doubt have been affected by his fathers passing and the concussion (s'?) he received. But, he needs to step up and be good again.

Ok, so a tough year for him, not ideal for Pittsburgh if he is affected (understandable) by that of course.
 

High Flying Birds

Registered User
Aug 29, 2009
4,847
74
Victoria, B.C
Murray needs to channel his inner God mode for the Pens to get back to the Finals. Team defense has been appalling all season long. And Murray himself has had a rollercoaster year with the injuries and the unfortunate passing of his dad.

The Preds I could see but as a Pens fan, I don't see another Finals appearance this season.
 

Luigi Lemieux

Registered User
Sep 26, 2003
21,437
9,057
Murray needs to channel his inner God mode for the Pens to get back to the Finals. Team defense has been appalling all season long. And Murray himself has had a rollercoaster year with the injuries and the unfortunate passing of his dad.

The Preds I could see but as a Pens fan, I don't see another Finals appearance this season.
So much of the pens issues are fixed simply through effort though. We saw it in Jan/Feb when they needed to turn it on to make sure they made the playoffs. That's why i think we'll see a switch flipping. I'm still very confident in the pens - unless they play Boston.
 

lwvs84

Registered User
Jan 25, 2003
4,049
2,757
Los Angeles, CA
Preds are easily the favorites in the west. East is more interesting. There are a few teams that I could see make it. But as 2x defending champs, it's hard to count out the Pens. Until someone beats them, they're still the defending champions
 
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Kamiccolo

Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.
Aug 30, 2011
26,828
16,944
Undisclosed research facility
Every year we get favorites and most of the time they are out in the first few rounds. I personally think Nashville gets bounced by the Jets in the 2nd round, and the Pens are gone in the first vs the Jackets. Their defense is suspect and goaltending has been shaky (we'll see in the playoffs, we have to give Murray the benefit of the doubt) but the Jackets play bigger and I think the Pens are kind of soft, especially on defense.

Not to pick on the pens either, but I would say that about a few different teams in the east (Toronto and NJ come to mind here as well).
 

RSPens

Registered User
May 25, 2015
1,888
939
Not that its not possible, but I find it very interesting that a number of people are picking Columbus over the Pens. The Pens haven't lost to Columbus since Game 4 of the first round last year. I am not going to say that Pittsburgh definitely has another gear, but I would bet they more likely do then the Blue Jackets. I think Columbus will do better this year (Likely 4-2), but the result will be the same.
 

Tage2Tuch

Because TheJackAttack is in Black
May 10, 2004
9,048
2,658
CAN
It's EXTREMELY realistic.

Pens haven't lost a series in over 3 years, Preds just won the P Trophy.

That being said the P Trophy team doesen't go to the finals too often.
 

OVO16

#WeTheNorth
Apr 16, 2017
9,703
9,222
Yeah its a high possibility. But I'm gonna go off the charts a bit.

My prediction is Kings-Penguins
 

JimmyTwoTimes

Registered User
Apr 13, 2010
19,958
5,281
Yeah its a high possibility. But I'm gonna go off the charts a bit.

My prediction is Kings-Penguins

We should have seen that in 93. Gretzky vs Lemieux. Pens back to back champs, losing in 2nd round.

So you might be on to something
 

MartyOwns

thank you shero
Apr 1, 2007
24,126
17,822
I’ve been watching hockey for a long time, so please give my post your undivided attention and consider it the authority on the matter. (and no, I’m not going to divulge my sources on this, you’ll just have to trust me.) while it IS possible that it could happen, it is also possible that it doesn’t. I’ll gladly eat crow if I’m wrong.
 

chethejet

Registered User
Feb 4, 2012
8,291
1,790
Last year pens were not as healthy as they are this year. Pens are healthy as they have been since 2016. Kessel is a little banged up but Sid and Geno, Letang, Hornqvist and Hags are as healthy as can be after a long season. Pens can go either way here, but yes Pens can get back to the finals and the Preds look like they can as well. I do think the Ducks will be the western team and really not sold on anyone in the east.
 

Luongos Knob

PDO Kings
Jan 20, 2009
4,235
456
How boring would that be? Ugh
The only thing worse would be a kings-bruins/kings-pens finals... get some new teams in here stat
 

fragmag

Registered User
Mar 4, 2011
2,398
783
Pittsburgh
That would be pretty awesome, but I don't think the Pens have the gas for a 3peat. I hope I'm wrong though. And they absolutely proved a LOT of naysayers wrong last year, so it's tough to count them out, especially when they need a win.
 

Rorschach

Who the f*** is Trevor Moore?
Oct 9, 2006
11,239
1,815
Los Angeles
Both conferences are much stronger this year. Less than 10% for the matchup but >10% one makes it without the other.
 

Zippy316

aka Zippo
Aug 17, 2012
19,485
4,473
New Jersey
Not with our defence. We could get past the first round but if we're facing Tampa or Boston I don't see it going well.

Penguins team speed from their forwards is more than enough to compensate for that.

Just seems like the forwards pick and choose when to play defense during the regular season. But during the playoffs, they're relentless defensively and transition a lot of that to offense.
 

Legionnaire11

Registered User
Jul 12, 2007
14,101
8,151
Murfreesboro
atlantichockeyleague.com
Pens defense was terrible the last two years also, I don't see it as that big of an issue. I'd be more concerned with goaltending at the moment, but Murray is a big game player if he's healthy. And really that offense negates pretty much any other deficiencies. I think that until they lose, the back-to-back champs have to be the favorite.
 

Cashville

RIP Lindback
Apr 12, 2011
6,933
622
Denver
There's a chance, but this is your standard "favorite vs. the field" probability scenario; the cumulative probability of the field is much higher than even a very good favorite. This dynamic varies by sport, but it's the same reason why the President's Trophy curse is poppycock (and I have said that for years; has nothing to do with los perds taking it this year).
 

Zalos

Berktwad
Feb 2, 2009
1,804
1,182
Quebec
The Preds are by far the favorites to win the Cup this year. I'm not sure the Pens can get through the Metro then through Boston/Tampa/Toronto. But then Kessel is a god in the playoffs lately.
 

Habs10025

Registered User
Sep 28, 2017
3,605
968
It's not likely to happen. Pittsburgh might get to the 3rd rd then lose to either Tampa or Boston
Nashville may not even get to the 3rd rd losing to Winnipeg in the 2nd rd could easily happen.
 

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