Can't ever cheer for a conference rival let alone a divisional rival, so go Penguins.
Plus it's been awesome to watch the Penguins switch to a third line of skill after years of wasting their top-end talent trying to fill the bottom six with grit! size! toughness! black and blue! intimidation! only to watch them get crushed come playoff time. Gone are the days of Lapierre, Cooke, Glass, Sill, Pyatt, Asham, and whatever other plugs they rolled out over the years.
Also notable is Mike Sullivan transitioning them from a North-South "off the glass and out", "dump and chase", "shoot from everywhere" team to a fast-paced transition team which places an emphasis on clean five-man breakouts, possession, and fluid creativity in the offensive zone.
__________________
"I think the eye test is still good, but analytics can sure give you confirmation: what you see...is that what you really believe?"
Scotty Bowman, 0 NHL games played
|