Penguins win Stanley Cup: 5 reasons Pittsburgh will three-peat

Jun 11, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (left) and center Evgeni Malkin (right) celebrate with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Nashville Predators in game six of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dave Sandford/NHLI/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports /

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Jun 5, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Jake Guentzel (59) looks on against the Nashville Predators in the first period in game four of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

4. The team’s youth movement taking over

While keeping all of their star players together throughout their two Stanley Cup runs has obviously been impressive, the biggest part of their continued success is the ability to add in new pieces each year.

In their first run, Matt Murray’s emergence in goal for the Penguins was the biggest piece of their success, and he hadn’t even completed his rookie season for the team. Then, in his true rookie season, he took over in net for the Stanley Cup Final and led the team to their repeat.

Outside of performances in net, the Penguins also got a key spark from rookie Jake Guentzel, who provided an impressive scoring streak in the postseason that was actually historic. Guentzel led the team with 13 goals in the postseason and contributed 20 points, and was the first player to score in the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final since Steve Yzerman did it 20 years ago in 1997.

The biggest piece of creating a dynasty and perennial contender (or champion, in this case) is the ability to keep a veteran core of superstars, while also building for the future with young talent. The Penguins have proved the last two seasons that their young guns can compete with those that have been around for a while, and they’re only going to get better as Murray and Guentzel keep gaining experience.

To add onto that, with the sudden emergence of Guentzel in the postseason, you don’t know what new face could make a run next year, which makes it even more possible for a three-peat.

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