Faceoff Factor

Part 2: Stanley Cup Refill?

Alex Kirshner | Pittsburgh Penguins

Sep 10, 10:12 PM | Hype this story!

With the Pens’ Stanley Cup championship won this past June comes a jumbo-sized target on their backs that can be seen from a mile away. Not only are the Penguins now “the team to beat,” but there are several other variables that will make things particularly difficult in order to repeat.

First of all, the Penguins have played well into the month of June for two consecutive seasons now. While I don’t believe a “Cup hangover” will be any problem for a team emotionally led by Dan Bylsma, Bill Guerin, and others, there is a distinct possibility that the Penguins, young legs and all, will be a bit burned out when the start of the new campaign gets here.

Secondly, the Penguins have carried with them a certain allure to be beaten by opposing teams ever since Sidney Crosby came onboard in 2005. Not only do teams want to beat the Penguins, but also Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and a few of the Penguins other high-profile players. We’ve seen it in Philadelphia and Detroit, among other players, where the crowd takes just as much pleasure in a body check on Crosby as it does a goal by Simon Gagne or Johan Franzen.

Speaking of Philadelphia, the Penguins have terminated them in each of the last two postseasons. This summer, the Flyers finally decided to do something about it. GM Paul Holmgren sent two first round draft picks, former first rounder Luca Sbisa, and inconsistent winger Joffrey Lupul to Anaheim for the beastly Chris Pronger (and relatively irrelevant forward Ryan Dingle). While it’s an incredible mortgage on the future, Pronger is still one of the top three defensemen in the NHL, and he immediately becomes the best blueliner the Pens will face in the Atlantic Division this season. He’s also the kind of mean, intimidating presence that could potentially stick up to Crosby and Malkin, maybe keeping them to a slightly lesser offensive output in games between the Flyers and Penguins.

Pronger makes the Flyers better. A lot better.

On top of that, the New York Islanders and Rangers have improved themselves. The Isles have added wunderkind John Tavares via the first overall pick in the NHL Draft, and they solidified their goaltending by adding Dwayne Rolson. The Rangers have dumped semi-dead weight like Scott Gomez and acquired a game breaking talent (when healthy) in Marian Gaborik.

The only team in the division that has gotten worse is New Jersey, while the Penguins figure to have stayed relatively the same on paper.

Lastly, the odds of cruising through the Eastern Conference for a third straight playoffs are not exactly strong, regardless of who you are. One injury, one bad bounce, one ugly effort from a goaltender can turn a promising season upside down.

The Penguins will be right in the thick of things come spring, but they are by no means looking at a cakewalk back to the Stanley Cup Finals.