Penguins Perspectives: Enjoy the ride while it lasts
Welcome to Penguins Perspectives, a weekly column by KDKA-TV Digital Producer Patrick Damp. Each Monday, Patrick will talk about the week that was, the week to come, what to watch for, and more.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The Penguins are off to a hot start, winning their first two games against Tampa Bay and Arizona by a combined score of 12-4.
In those two games, Sidney Crosby has six points, Jake Guentzel has four points, and the Pens have fired 98 shots on goal in the process.
For a team with an aging core, any potential signs of slowing down aren't evident just yet.
However, with only two games played and 80 more to go, I wanted to really kick this new column off by its namesake: perspectives.
Now, so long as Sidney Patrick Crosby is the Penguins' captain, this team is, will, and always should be going for a Stanley Cup championship. So long as they are doing that, I will be critiquing them thusly.
With that said, it is time for a little "perspective," if you will.
As I write this column, I am 32 years old. By everyday life's standards, I still have a whole lot of living, hopefully, ahead of me. By professional sports standards, I'm just a few short years from being put out to pasture.
The Penguins' core three are 35, 35, and 36 – Crosby, Letang, and Malkin. Bryan Rust is 30. Jeff Carter is 38.
Their youngest players that will make serious contributions are a tie between Marcus Pettersson and Kasperi Kapanen, both of whom are 26.
Ty Smith figures to be an infusion of youth on the blue line at 22, but only if he sticks with the big club, which may not happen simply because he's a bit rough around the edges.
I said I'm 32. When Sidney Crosby played his first season in the National Hockey League, I was a freshman in high school – curly-haired wearing, 15-year-old in Penn Hills thinking about all the championships I was about to see thanks to this 18-year-old from Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia. I'd lived through the lean years when players were being sold off and the team was bad, and still, the team that played in Mellon Arena was my first love.
Since then, we've seen them: win three Stanley Cups, get to the conference final five times, reach the Stanley Cup Final four times, win the first back-to-back championship in the NHL's salary cap era, move into a new arena, play in multiple Winter Classics and outdoor games, and so, so much more.
I played hockey competitively through college, so I know that the fire burns until, and often long after, the time you hang up the skates. So, this isn't to say you should just sit back, relax, and not care and not want more – lord knows Sidney Crosby can't handle losing when it comes to simply tossing tape balls into a locker room trash can – but what I am saying is: have perspective.
As Penguins fans and media, we've been objectively spoiled since…well…since George W. was POTUS.
Barring Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, etc…falling off of a cliff (figuratively) this season, a 17th playoff berth is most certainly on the horizon. Can they get a fourth cup? Impossible to predict because the Stanley Cup Playoffs are the ultimate test of a team's will. Everything has to go right and so much can go wrong.
If I can keep the pained metaphors going, this era of Penguins hockey is very much approaching the 18th hole and when it does end, it may be quite a while before we come even close to this anything resembling the last 17 years.
Enjoy it.
Now, each week, I will be more critical, I will be diving into stats, and analytics, and giving perspective on what the Penguins are doing well, doing poorly, what gives them an edge, and so on.
To start the season, though, I wanted to make sure we're clear: These are the good old days, so take a look around before they're gone.
