The Pittsburgh Penguins are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They will take on their in-state rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, in Round 1. Nobody 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 once again renewing their rivalry. Part of the reason 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 awesome it would be to see him in the Stanley Cup Playoffs again. Most felt it would be with another team. There was a ton of trade speculation even after he signed his two-year extension.
But with Mike Sullivan gone and new head coach Dan Muse, Crosby told his teammates to block out the outside noise about the Penguins being a rebuilding team and that they were going to 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 is a “us vs the world ” mentality as the Penguins embraced a new mindset and youthful energy to get them to this point.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Jake Hahn: “We love you joining us here, Jim and shedding a little light on the Devils. But I know you’re dialled into the entire league. I’ll stick in the Metro, because obviously, you’ve probably seen a lot of these themes all year long. How can you explain what’s happened in Pittsburgh this year with this Penguins roster, and now, all of a sudden, we’ve gone from “Oh, great story” to “they could win a round of playoff hockey”?
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Heck, maybe they could even challenge Carolina on that Metro side of the bracket. It’s been fun to watch because we all have so much respect for Sid and Gino and all the veteran players. Erik Karlsson, you want to throw in there, too. But how can you explain where we got to with this Penguins team, a team that was projected for 77 and a half points by oddsmakers before the season?”
Jim Biringer: “Yeah, I think Dan Muse has to have a lot of credit for this. I mean, how many people in Toronto want to give Kyle Dubas his love and flowers? I am. I think the addition of Ben Kindel has been great for this team, youthful energy as we saw on the Island. But I think Dan Muse really allowed these guys to play to their potential again. I think it was just time to move on from the Mike Sullivan era.
And you see it in Erik Karlsson’s game. You’re seeing these guys are having fun, but you never can discount a team that has Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, especially Crosby, I mean, this guy. I mean, what he’s doing 21 seasons, point per game, unbelievable. Still going strong, still he could play till he’s mid-40s, if he wanted 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 willingness. Anthony Mantha, again, great story for him, right? Career season coming off the injuries, back to the guy everybody expected him to be. There are a lot of career seasons, but can that carry over to next year?
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But again, the useful energy is there with the new coach; there’s a belief in the room. Hey, it’s us against the world. Nobody believed in us. Hey, why not go out there, win a round, maybe get to a Conference Final? Would it be that shocking, given that they’ve done it before?”
With the Pittsburgh Penguins having three-time Stanley Cup Winners in Crosby, Malkin, and Kris Letang, they have a shot to keep their run going. It will just come down to goaltending. Not to mention, can the Penguins get over the first-round demons, having not won a round since 2018?
But never discount any with the number 87 on it.
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