Bob Errey is a hockey guy, a lifer, not a mathematician. But the former player and current TV analyst has a simple equation that explains the Penguins' run of consecutive playoff appearances.
"87 and 71," he was telling me the other day, naturally referring to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. "They’ve had the two best players in the game. In my opinion, that’s what carried the team."
If you hadn't heard, the Penguins officially made it a dozen straight years in the postseason with their convincing 5-2 win over the Canadiens on Saturday night.
Nah, there was no champagne or ski goggles to be seen in the home locker room at PPG Paints Arena. No "2018 Postseason" hats or t-shirts to mark the occasion, either. For the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, success these days is marked only by rings and parades.
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEOBut sometimes it's worth appreciating the smaller achievements along the way.
When the streak began in 2006-07 -- Crosby's second season and Malkin's rookie year -- it was a far, far different time. The organization had been in dire straits, their future in the city still uncertain. Remember, there was a reason why they were able to draft Marc-Andre Fleury, then Crosby, Malkin and Jordan Staal in the top five.
To truly appreciate what the Penguins have accomplished the last dozen years takes some perspective. That's why I solicited the opinions of Errey and Paul Steigerwald. Both have been through the good and the bad in Pittsburgh.
"In light of where we came from -- we were basically irrelevant there for a couple years in the early 2000s -- is an amazing turnaround and something that no one should ever take for granted," said Steigerwald, who has worn several caps with the organization the last 30-plus years.
The run of 12 straight playoff seasons eclipses the organization's former record of 11, set from 1990-91 to 2000-01, and is currently the longest streak in the NHL by far.
Jake Guentzel, one of the heroes of last spring's run, was 11 years old the last time the Penguins didn't compete for the Cup. A whole generation of Pittsburgh fans have known nothing but playoff hockey, nothing but Crosby, Malkin and Kris Letang.
“It’s just the body of work that our leadership have put in and what they’ve meant to this organization has been huge,” Guentzel was telling me. “I think we’re pretty lucky to have them on our team.”
With the Blackhawks and Rangers' streaks coming to an end this year at nine and seven seasons, respectively, it makes what the Penguins have been able to accomplish, both on and off the ice, even more remarkable.
Over the past decade or so, the Penguins and Blackhawks have been the NHL's model franchises, winning three Cups each. But only the Penguins are still standing.
That, Steigerwald says, is testament to the organization's ability to find and develop cheaper complementary pieces, players like Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary and Guentzel, who have contributed mightily over the past two seasons.
Oh, and don't forget about Crosby. And it's not just the goals or assists.
"Don’t underestimate the sacrificial aspect of Sid taking more or less a hometown discount because if you look at Chicago, both (Patrick) Kane and (Jonathan) Toews are making over $10 million and it’s kind of hard to build your team when it's that top-heavy," Steigerwald said. "The Penguins have a top-heavy payroll but not to the extent that it undermines their ability to put a competitive team on the ice."
This, of course, begs the question: Is this the greatest era in Penguins history? Better than even the era of Mario Lemieux-Jaromir Jagr, the shepherds of the 1990-2001 run?
Tough call.
"That would be stealing my generation, the Mario Lemieux years when they were a pretty darn good team in the early 90s," Errey said. 'But I’d say it certainly matches it."
For Steigerwald, it's now. Three Cups to two.
"I call this the golden era of Penguins hockey, I really believe that it is," he said. "To have won three Cups in 11 years or whatever it was, to continue to look like a team that can win another one. To have the stars that we have right from day one, Crosby and Malkin staying here and not going anywhere and then adding guys like Phil Kessel ...
"Listen, in the '90s it was ridiculous. It was an embarrassment of riches, it was a ton of Hall of Famers and it was an amazing thing when you look back on it. But I think because of how much hockey has boomed during this era of Sidney Crosby and the growth in the interest in the game, all the people that have become Penguins fans young and old, this is the most amazing time in the history of hockey for Pittsburgh."
And the thing is, it's not over yet.
As long as they have Nos. 87 and 71, still just 30 and 31 years old, the Penguins should have a chance to extend that streak for quite a few more years. Knock on wood.
"Injuries played a role in the Lemieux era, and they certainly have in the Crosby era when he went through his issues," Errey said. "It’s tough to be successful when you’re without your franchise guy."
I asked Crosby earlier Saturday morning what the streak of 12 meant to him. Naturally, the captain deflected praise.
“I don’t know, I just think you try and go out there every year and compete and put yourself in a situation, good situations,” he said. “We’ve been able to do that. But I don’t think you think about that quite as much at the time. It says a lot about players and staff and everyone collectively.”
All true, but it says a little more about two guys -- Nos. 87 and 71 -- in particular.
• Connor McDavid should get Hart Trophy consideration. There, I said it. Shouldn't win it, but he should be a finalist. It would be hypocritical of some in Pittsburgh to dismiss the Oilers star because his team is out of playoff contention. Lemieux won the Hart in 1987-88 while his Penguins were in last place in the Patrick Division. Le Magnifique won the scoring title by 19 points over Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky that year. McDavid has just a six-point lead on the field, but this is a far, far different era than the run-and-gun '80s.
• Penguins fans in 2017: "We can't win the Cup without Kris Letang!" Penguins fans in 2018: "We can't win the Cup with Kris Letang!" Fickle bunch.
• Boston's win over Florida on Saturday effectively set the eight-team playoff field in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins are the one team, Penguins included, that everyone in the East should fear.
• This week the NHL's Board of Governors ratified the new goaltender interference rules that defer judgment to off-ice officials in Toronto. The new setup will be in place for the start of the playoffs. Somehow I don't think we've heard the last of this controversy.
• Congrats to Ray Shero and his Devils, who have all but clinched the playoffs. Shero and his staff, which includes assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald, coach John Hynes and top assistant Alain Nasredinne, deserve serious credit for turning the organization around so quickly. This should be the Devils' first postseason appearance since their surprising run to the Cup Final in 2012. Not many in the office pool had Shero's Devils reaching the playoffs before Jason Botterill's Sabres.
• On this Easter, prayers up to former NHLer Lyle Odelein, who is in a Pittsburgh hospital with what his family says is a serious medical issue. They are requesting privacy at this time. Many Penguins fans in the late '90s got a lot of mileage out of Matthew Barnaby's infamous dig at Odelein, calling him "Cornelius" in reference to a character from "Planet of the Apes." Doesn't seem so funny now.
