NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Patric Hornqvist held it high.
Then, he held it higher. Maybe no more than a millimeter, but definitely higher:
It certainly wasn't because he was surprised, as with so many fledglings to the process, that the Stanley Cup weighs 35 pounds. He knew how heavy it was well before Phil Kessel handed it his way.
No, this extra oomph was needed because that man is raising that trophy with a broken right hand. Specifically, a finger that's completely cracked. It's not some vague 'upper-body injury,' not something that could be casually cortisoned away. It's caused so much pain in the past month, continually dented and displaced every other game, that he's found it excruciating to twist a door knob or turn on a water faucet.
Never mind, oh, you know, scoring the clinching goal of the Stanley Cup Final and securing forever a spot in our city's sporting lore:
Yeah, that really happened, my friends. It did. And as one Hall of Famer within this little circle of life is fond of saying, you had to be here, on this steamy Sunday night inside Bridgestone Arena, to believe it.
Penguins 2, Predators 0.
Champions.
Again.
Second year in a row, fifth time in the franchise's 50 years.
The first to repeat in the NHL since the 1997 Red Wings.
The third for the genuinely generational duo of the great Sidney Crosby and the great Evgeni Malkin.
And yet, it's like never before.
"I feel it. It's there. It's always there," Hornqvist would tell me a lot later, this with an almost disdainful glance down at that finger. "But it's fine. It's OK."
No, it isn't. A member of the coaching staff and another team official would divulge that Hornqvist had to tape that finger to the one next to it when playing or practicing and, because he didn't want to lose touch on his shooting hand, he refused to use a protective splint.
That's what it took, collectively and cohesively, for all this to take place.
And a whole lot of this, as well:
Because all the superstars, all the skill and all the speed in the world might add up to nothing more than a meek Tuukka Rask sweep without that throbbing Swede up there in the heart of it all.
Not to mention all those valves around him.
"This is special," Hornqvist said. "It's the greatest moment of my career. But it means so much more to me that I'm here with these teammates and sharing it with them."
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I'll ask again: How special?
"This was the toughest one," Rutherford said. "We had so many guys banged up. They had the will to win. They're just gutsy, determined, talented guys. Our opponents were so tough. Columbus was physical. Of course, Washington is so good. We had to win Game 7 in Washington. Fleury won the game for us. Ottawa was a really tough opponent. Nashville has a very, very good team. My hat's off to them."
