The Penguins are Stanley Cup Champions

As much as I dislike the Penguins for the obvious reasons of the Ovie-Cindy rivalry, I have to give them the credit they are due. They are the champions of this season. And who said that the winner of the Caps-Pens series would win it all? That's right, this kid.

But in all seriousness, their accomplishment can't be belittled. They did the same thing to the Red Wings that they did to the Caps. They were outplayed, badly, in the first two games that were away, and then took the next two at home. They kept every game close and won each game at home, and the one game away that counted: Game 7.

Enough can't be said about the job Dan Bylsma did in turning this club around. At mid-season, the Pens were actually on the outside looking in at the playoffs. When Bylsma came in, the Pens turned their fortunes around, but still had a bit of a battle to make their way into the playoffs. They were one of the hottest teams at the end of the season, just like the Caps of '08. Unlike the Caps though, they managed to keep their momentum and didn't give up, even when things were looking grim, against the Flyers, Caps, and the Wings. In fact, the only team that they handled decisively was the Hurricanes.

In all, this season's Stanley Cup playoffs were great to watch, full of drama and good storylines: The best team in the NHL got booted in the first round of the playoffs; the Rangers gave a Caps a run for their money and got them down 3-1, and the Caps rallied from down 3-1 to take the series; and the instate rivalry series, Pittsburgh and Phillidelphia went to six, with a couple dramatic OTs. And that was just round 1. Round 2 featured 3 of the 4 matchups going to game 7, and the NHL's dream matchup of Washington and Pittsburgh, Crosby vs. Ovechkin.

By comparison to the previous two rounds, the division finals were pretty boring and one sided.

And then the drama was back with the finals going to 7 and the Penguins winning in the end despite only getting one goal from Crosby all series long.

And now that it's over we get to look forward to free agency in a month or two, and then the new season in October.

Until next time,

-TES