Living in Pittsburgh, there are tons of fans. Football, baseball and maybe the most popular currently, hockey. The Pittsburgh Penguins played one of the hottest teams in the entire league, the Washington Capitals winning the series 4-2.
During the regular season, the Capitals were the leading team in the entire NHL, ending with a total of 120 points overall. During the second half of the season, the Penguins started to play better with their new coach, Mike Sullivan. He introduced new plays and helped the Penguins not only make it to the playoffs, but become one of the most feared teams for the playoffs. Not only did other teams have to worry about clinching a playoff spot, but they also had to worry about who they played.
Although, the Penguins were one of the most powerful teams by the end of the regular season with their star players such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, they had lost their goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Fans may recognize him from his well-known commercial that him, his wife and his daughter starred in for UPMC. Fleury hadn’t been playing until recently and missed the entire first round of playoffs against the New York Islanders.
He returned in game four on May 4. He didn’t play any of the game, but did serve as a backup for the newest star and goalie of the penguins, Matt Murray.
Although, it was unfortunate for Fleury, it was a great opportunity for Murray to show Sullivan, the team and the fans how good he really is. Winning four of the five games in the first round, and then four in the second round, Murray proved his worth.
Now in the second round, they fought for their fourth and final win in game six against the Capitals. The Capitals had two wins in the series, making them a contender for the Penguins.
Due to the Penguins beating the Capitals and making it to the third round, they will play the Tampa Bay Lightning. If they continue to beat the Lightning, they will either face the Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks or Nashville Predators. If it comes to this point, and they win four games in the final series, they will win the Stanley Cup.
To non-hockey fans, the Stanley Cup isn’t that important. They may not even know what it is. But to hockey fans, it’s everything to them. It’s the reason they watch every single game, keep up with the players.
With playoffs coming to an end soon, and the Stanley Cup series coming up, teams will be eliminated and only few will move forward. With the fans more interested in the team than ever, Pittsburgh will be cheering on their home team.