Mayor promises Stanley Cup parade, but plans unclear so far

Highlights of the Pittsburgh Penguins vs Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Final, Game 6, Sunday night in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Penguins flew home to Pittsburgh on Monday with the Cup in their possession for the third time in nine years. Carl Hagelin added an empty-net goal. So even before Sunday night’s controversial 2-0 Game 6 victory over the Predators clinched the fifth title in Penguins franchise history, and even before Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for the second consecutive year, his status as the best player of his generation and someone on track to be one of the best ever was pretty indisputable.

In becoming the first team since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings to repeat as Cup champs, the Penguins did it with excellent defense and the occasional dollop of luck every title team needs.

The Pittsburgh captain led the Cup final in scoring with a goal and seven points in six games and finished second in scoring during the post-season with eight goals and 27 points in 25 games.

Those numbers aren’t direct comparisons, though, because the two played in different eras when the game was played differently. When you have Crosby and Malkin supplemented by Phil Kessel and complimented by the likes of Conor Sheary and Jake Guentzel, that becomes the strength.

The win made the Penguins the first team in almost two decades to repeat as champions while Crosby became just the third player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in consecutive years as Stanley Cup MVP.

And so it did for Hornqvist and the now back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.

Penguins’ owner Mario Lemieux to McGuire: “It never gets old to win the Cup, but this one was a tough one”.

Both players remain dominating talents, and they are going to give the Penguins a chance most nights.

Congrats, Penguins (and Flyers) fans.

“I don’t think (it means) a whole lot”.

“It’s a tough feeling to watch their dream come true when you were so close to it yourself”, Nashville forward Filip Forsberg said. You think about that your whole life. “To do it in front of my parents it’s something I’ll never forget”. They have elite forwards and a defence that had enough good players that they could have won the Cup. This marked the 11th consecutive year Emrick, Olczyk and McGuire combined to call the Stanley Cup Final for NBC Sports Group.

But before the schedule is released, the city is hoping to hold a celebration for the team so the fans can show their appreciation.

It feels nearly surprising that the Stanley Cup was awarded on Sunday evening in Nashville.

The cap has proven to be more of a speed bump than a road block for the Penguins. Penguins goaltender Matt Murray made 27 saves for his second straight shutout. [Image by Patrick Smith/Getty Images]”He’s been a really important mentor for me. There’s no way I’m able to play as freely as I have been without Flower being there to support me”.

The 2017 Stanley Cup Final averaged a 32.0 rating in Pittsburgh on NBC/NBCSN, up from the market’s 31.7 average during the 2016 Penguins-Sharks Stanley Cup Final.