The Pittsburgh Penguins are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They will face their in-house rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, in Round 1. No one expected either team to be in this position. Most pegged the Penguins and Flyers to finish near the bottom of the Metro Division, but here they are rekindling their rivalry. Another reason why the Penguins are in this position is because of their captain, Sidney Crosby.
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The Penguins missed the playoffs the last three seasons in 2023, 2024, and 2025. All the talk was about Sidney Crosby and how great it would be to see him in the Stanley Cup Playoffs again. Most felt that there would be another group. There was a ton of trade speculation even after signing his two-year extension.
But with Mike Sullivan gone and new coach Dan Muse, Crosby told his teammates to shut down outside noise about the Penguins being a rebuilding team and that they would get Gavin McKenna in the 2026 NHL Draft.
As Jim Biringer of NHLRumors.com and Full Press Media explained on “The Point” on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio with Jake Hahn and Victoria Matiash, Sidney Crosby told his teammates it was an “us against the world” mentality as the Penguins embraced a new mindset and new energy to get to this point.
Writing for NHLRumors.com
Jake Hahn: “We love having you here with us, Jim and you shed some light on the Devils. But I know you’ve been called up all over the league. I’m going to stick with Metro, because obviously, you’ve probably seen a lot of these headlines all year. can he win a playoff hockey round”?
Evgeni Malkin is Expected to Return Next Season
Heck, maybe they can even challenge Carolina on that Metro side of the bracket. It was fun to watch because we all have a lot of respect for Sid and Gino and all the veteran players. Erik Karlsson, he wants to throw in there, too. But how do you explain where we got to with this Penguins team, a team that was rated 77 and a half points by teammates before the season?”
Jim Biringer: “Yeah, I think Dan Muse should get a lot of credit for this. I mean, how many people in Toronto want to give Kyle Dubas their love and flowers? I think the addition of Ben Kindel has been great for this team, the energy of youth as we’ve seen on the island. But I think Dan Muse really allowed these guys to play to their strengths again. I think it was Mike Sullivan’s time.
And you see it in Erik Karlsson’s game. You see these guys were having fun, but you never discount a team with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, especially Crosby, I mean, this guy. I mean, what he’s doing for 21 seasons, a point per game, it’s unbelievable. He’s still going strong, he can still play into his mid-40s, if he wants to. I mean, the way he’s playing right now, another Olympics wouldn’t be out of the question for me. I mean, that’s just my opinion looking at it right now.
But I mean, Crosby’s determination. Anthony Mantha, again, good story for him, right? Career season goes from injury, back to the guy everyone expected him to be. There are many seasons of work, but will that carry over into next year?
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But again, a useful force exists with the new coach; there is a belief in the room. Hey, it’s us against the world. No one believed in us. Hey, why don’t you go out there, win a round, maybe make it to the Conference Finals? Would that be shocking, like they have done before?”
With the Pittsburgh Penguins having three-time Stanley Cup winners in Crosby, Malkin, and Kris Letang, they have a shot to continue their run. It will just come down to the goal. Not to mention, can the Penguins overcome their first round demons, having not won a round since 2018?
But never drop any number 87 in it.
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