3 Cups and 4 appearances: The It’s All Gravy Thread

[Allie Kitsune]

I really want to feel like it's all fine, but if I'm being honest, I'm super-sensitive to hatred and mockery, heh.

In HF-land, that especially means WSH, CHI, and PHI fans.

I don't think I could handle WSH and OV repeating.

But I also feel spoiled knowing that if everything went exactly right, the 58/71/87 core could be looking at 5-6 cups instead of just 3.

I feel spoiled seeing the two players I most wanted to see as Penguins for YEARS (Iginla and Hagelin) end up wearing the Black and Gold.

I feel spoiled that even with 3 cups, Sid and Geno are still a "What Could Have Been" story.

 

[Turin]

I don’t think they are a “what if” story. I can almost guarantee that if they Sid and Geno’d their way to another Bylsma Cup that they wouldn’t have won in 16 or 17. The line between winning and losing is almost entirely luck. They were 5 bad puck bounces away from having no Cups this era. Kronwall hit the post, Osgood was off his angle, Fleury made that save on OV, Kunitz knuckled it, Hornqvist’s backhand out of no where, the offside challenges in game 6 vs Tampa and game 1 (?) vs Nashville. The most Cups anybody has won in the Cap era is 3 and the only other team (Chicago) was not even cap compliant for one of them.

 

[billybudd]

Man, Bonino was a freaking monster in that post-season. Came out of nowhere, too.

 

[Turin]

Man, Bonino was a freaking monster in that post-season. Came out of nowhere, too.

Kessel gets all the praise in that run but it was Hagelin and Bonino who did the yeomans work at ES. Wish those guys were still around.

 

[Gurglesons]

Bring it back.

We could be St. Louis the highlight of the past 20 years being a WCF.

We could be the Rangers looking back to the glory years of 1993 and 1994.

We could be the Flyers failing to win multiple SCFs since the early 70s.

Quit the bitching.

 

[Mario_is_BACK!!]

All of the feelings and emotions can be wrapped up to this:

I had an offer for Cup tickets to Game 2 against San Jose. I was able to work my schedule around (I was a freelancer at the time) and could drive up Monday, have a day Tuesday, go to the game Wednesday and come back to Charleston on Thursday. This is an 11 hour drive, by the way. My girlfriend was upset, she wanted to go. She had people cover her shifts. It worked out. We drove up Monday night, stayed with my grandmother (made it to her house in time for the Bonino goal).

Tuesday we wandered around the city. It wasn't her first time there but we went to some of our favorite places and showed her new parts of the city (Oakland, South Side, etc). Then we went to the incline. I'd taken her only to the top before but we took the incline up for a change. Once we got to the top I proposed. She said yes. The next day we went to the game. In front of our section Sheary won it in OT. I'd proposed to the love of my life and then got to see my favorite team, the team I loved, play in a Cup Final game. And they won in OT in front of me.

A week or so later they won it all. And I was there for part of it.

The next year we didn't make any games of that run. But we got married just as the playoffs were starting. Two rings in two years for my wife. Two rings in two years for the Penguins. I wore my Penguins socks during my wedding.

I followed this team for the first time when Mario came back in 2000. I was instantly hooked. I went through the X-Generation and the uncertainty of moving. I saw them win the Cup once but this time, each time, I had someone special to share it with. We all grew up together.

That's what this era means to me.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

No ridiculous health scares this season (that I recall)!

 

[K Fleur]

Maybe we witnessed the end of the Crosby/Malin era teams being contenders, maybe not. Either way here are some numbers to how amazing these guys have been from day one.

First- Dominance of Rivals

Against the Pens 4 biggest rivals Flyers/Caps/Islanders/Rangers Crosby & Malkin have combined to score:

236 goals, and 634 points.

They have beaten each one of those teams atleast once in a playoffs series:

Flyers- 3x Pens had never won a series against the Flyers in their history before Sid/Malkin
Rangers- 2x
Caps- 3x
Islanders- 1x Pens had never won a series against the Islander in their history before Sid/Malkin

*****

Second- The best playoff performers of their time

Since the 04-05 lockout No players have scored more points in the playoffs than Crosby and Malkin.

Crosby is 1st over this time frame and 10th all time.
Malkin is 2nd over this time frame and 20th all time.

The next closest player to them in points is Patrick Kane(Ovechkin is likely to pass him in the next couple days) who is 45 points behind Malkin, and 63 points behind Crosby.

3 Playoff MVP's between them.
4 finals appearances- Most in the salary cap era
3 Stanley Cup championships- No team with more in the salary cap era.

*****

Third- Trophy count

Hart Trophy- 3x
Art Ross Trophy- 3x
Conn Smythe Trophy- 3x
Richard Trophy- 2x

Mind you this is with Crosby missing out on his peak years due to injuries and an incompetent medical staff.

 

[SHOOTANDSCORE]

To be honest, I'm not all that disappointed about being eliminated. What really bothers me is how much just plain shitty hockey we watched from them this season. Really frustrating to watch. If they can clean up the mistakes, stop the no shows, and play more responsibly next season, I'll be a much happier fan.

 

[BHD]

To be honest, I'm not all that disappointed about being eliminated. What really bothers me is how much just plain ****ty hockey we watched from them this season. Really frustrating to watch. If they can clean up the mistakes, stop the no shows, and play more responsibly next season, I'll be a much happier fan.

Pretty much. You expect to see a drop in play from these guys as they get older. This season, though, was inexcusable.

 

[BHD]

Bring it back.

We could be St. Louis the highlight of the past 20 years being a WCF.

We could be the Rangers looking back to the glory years of 1993 and 1994.

We could be the Flyers failing to win multiple SCFs since the early 70s.

Quit the *****ing.

This though.

 

[StaalForOne]

Having a lazy Friday on the couch, and just read some "this day in Pens history" tweets. I didn't realize that both years in the B2B we beat the Caps on May 10th. Interesting tidbit.

For whatever reason it just brought me back. I was sitting the same way on this couch, in 2016 when I thought how lucky I was to see the Pens win another cup. Maybe it was the Bonino highlights, maybe it was the adult pops. Either way, this felt like the appropriate thread.

 

[66871]

2018-2019 Pens are the first team to get swept by a team that got swept by a team that got swept.

The achievements keep piling up.

 

[NMK11]

2018-2019 Pens are the first team to get swept by a team that got swept by a team that got swept.

The achievements keep piling up.

So the Sharks/Blues are going to sweep the B's? I could live with that.