Before we leave the good people of Pittsburgh to their parades and their Yuengling (perhaps not in that order), a fantastically entertaining Stanley Cup finals, capped off by a terrific Game 7, deserves one last look.
For starters, consider just how turbulent the season was for a team that ended up making back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup finals, based on SportsNation's NHL Power Rankings.
As the start of the season loomed way back in October, voters pegged the Penguins No. 5 in the preseason rankings. By Feb. 16, they had sunk all the way to No. 19, 16 spots behind the Red Wings. But after a coaching change and a late rally, they climbed back to No. 6 by the second week of March.
- Sidney Crosby is taking some heat over the suggestion that he stiffed a few of the Red Wings on handshakes after Game 7, but Cindy Brunson of "SportsCenter" has another hockey rite in mind when she credits him for breaking with tradition (bonus: "The Hangover" reviewed).
- SportsNation blogger Handyman5454 isn't wringing his hands about handshakes, either, opting to look at the positives both the Red Wings and Michigan State basketball brought the state in their postseason runs.
- It's never too early for the rest of the league to start thinking about winning the Stanley Cup next season (especially because training camps open, roughly, Thursday). Thrashers fan casmith12 looks at his team's draft options.
“I hope we get rid of some of the older veteran players. I've enjoyed watching Chelios, Holmstrom, Draper and Maltby over the years, but this finals proved we've got younger players who can play too and deserve some ice time. It's time to give them a more serious role on the team and see what they can do over the entire season. We still have a great nucleus and will be back near the top of the West again next year so I don't worry. I know Pitt will be there too... so I'd love to see them battle once more in the finals.
” -- Perk224
“Seriously, this talk about Crosby disappearing in the Finals is stupid. Give the Wings some credit. He was going against possibly the best defensive line (including forwards and dmen) in all of the NHL. It would have taken an absolutely incredible performance to put up huge numbers. He may not have put the numbers up, but to say he disappeared is ludicrous. He had many chances, particularly in the first few games, and made a lot of good passes that Guerin or Kunitz could not finish.
” -- poneil2005
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