Written by Dave Molinari at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.com
Sure, talent matters.
More than just about anything, probably.
So a team whose payroll is studded with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Kris Letang, among others, almost has an almost unfair advantage.
But it takes commitment to forge a champion, as the Penguins proved again in the third period of their 3-1 victory against San Jose in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final Sunday night at SAP Center.
The victory secured the team’s fourth championship and, in the process, etched June 12, 2016, alongside the most celebrated dates in franchise history.
Right next to May 25, 1991, June 1, 1992, and June 12, 2009, when they won their first three Cups.
Just as Crosby scrawled his name beside that of Mario Lemieux (1991, 1992) and Malkin (2009) as the Penguins’ winners of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
But Crosby’s receipt of the Smythe — to say nothing of the outcome of Game 6 —was far from certain after 40 minutes.
The Penguins had a 2-1 lead on goals by Brian Dumoulin (yes, that Brian Dumoulin) and Letang, but they knew the Sharks were just one shot from tying the score.
And San Jose got that shot.
Singular.
Unfortunately for the Sharks, Penguins goalie Matt Murray stopped it.
They did not get another until the final minute of regulation, and only after Patric Hornqvist had scored into an empty net at 18:58 to purge any lingering suspense about the outcome.
The commitment the Penguins made to winning a championship couldn’t have been more obvious during those first 19 minutes of the third. They blocked shots with every available body part, broke up potential scoring plays by any means necessary.
“That’s the type of team we are,” left winger Carl Hagelin said. “No one cares about individual stats. We want to get the puck out [of the defensive zone] and do our job.”
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