YOUNG STARS POINT PENGUINS TO TITLE
PITTSBURGH — Oh, those kids.
Jordan Staal is 20, Sidney Crosby is 21, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin are 22, Marc-Andre Fleury is 24. In another sport, they would be called prospects. In the NHL, they are called champions.
“In a very short time period early in their career, they got a Cup,” Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said.
How many more titles can this team with the kid captain and its roster of 20-somethings pull off? The Penguins won the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 1992 by beating the NHL’s most experienced and accomplished collection of winners, the Detroit Red Wings, so it’s only natural for them to assume they will win more in a hurry.
If the Red Wings were the NHL’s showcase franchise the past dozen seasons, the Penguins look to be next in line after becoming the first road team in 38 years to win Game 7 in a Stanley Cup Finals.
Ten months ago, Bylsma got his first American Hockey League head coaching job at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He ended the season by lifting the Stanley Cup, only the second rookie head coach to win it after taking over a team during the season.
“They just don’t hand you a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals again the second year,” Bylsma said. “So we’re going to enjoy this one.”
Wings have bitter taste.
The Red Wings can accept that Pittsburgh is the Stanley Cup champion. Getting snubbed by Crosby is another matter.
After watching Pittsburgh hoist the Cup on Detroit’s ice, the Red Wings lined up to shake hands with the Penguins as is custom in the NHL playoffs.
Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom was up front, followed by Kris Draper, congratulating many of the new champions while waiting for Pittsburgh’s captain.
“That’s ridiculous, especially as their captain, and make sure you write that I said that!” Draper said a couple hours later as he was leaving Joe Louis Arena.
Crosby eventually skated over to shake hands with the Red Wings, but many had already headed for their dressing room.
The Penguins were unhappy with the accusation, especially since Crosby was photographed going through the line.
“Nobody respects the traditions of hockey more than Sidney Crosby,” team vice president Tom McMillan said.
The Associated Press
