Rick Buker - The Rise of the Pittsburgh Penguins 2009-2018: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the Greatest Dynasty in Hockey

Copyright 2019 by Rick Buker

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Qualcom Designs

Cover photo credit Associated Press

ISBN: 978-1-68358-269-4

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68358-271-7

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

This book is dedicated with love to Dan Buker, Linda Buker, and Karen Buker three of the finest people I know. Im truly blessed to call you my brother and sisters.

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank our Heavenly Father and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for providing the inspiration for this book and for sustaining me through the creative process. He is ever faithful, full of love, mercy, goodness, and grace.

Id also like to thank Tom Blanciak, Laurie Buker, Ron Cepek, Roger Costello, Rick Cygnarowicz, Ken Griffin, Amber Grimm, Parker Johnston, Dave Karpinski, Ben Kendrew, Kathryn Kluk, Phil Krundle, Bill Ogden, Staci Pawlak, Ray Pietrangeli, Dorien Ptomey, Jim Rankine, Josh Shanholtzer, Jim Staas, and Dave Wright, along with Kevin Anton, Jeff and Gina Datres, George Sago, Kevin Solecki, Dave Yelich, and the rest of the gang at the Pennsbury Pub & Grille for their kindness, friendship, and support.

I owe a special note of gratitude to Shoham Zober, who provided divine encouragement through a difficult final stretch, and to Skyhorse Publishing and my editor Julie Ganz for her patience, guidance, and tireless effort on my behalf.

Last and certainly not least, I offer heartfelt thanks to my adopted mom, Sylvia Wyatt, for her love and faithful support, and to Kimi Milos, who has blessed me more than she could know.

Introduction

Winter 2010

T hats the famous dryer you used to shoot at all the time? Max Talbot asked.

He and Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Sidney Crosby were filming a commercial for Reeboks Speedwick Performance Tees in the basement of Sids Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia home. Before them sat arguably the worlds most famous appliancethe Whirlpool dryer that helped Crosby hone his shot as a kid.

Contrary to popular myth, Sid wasnt actually trying to shoot pucks into the dryer. Rather, he was aiming for a net that, due to logistics, was situated in front of the dryer, albeit slightly off to the side. The appliance merely served as a type of end boards when shots went awry, which they often did.

In this case, it wasnt Crosbys real basement, either, but an exact replica constructed by Reebok expressly for the commercial. Nor was it the actual dryer. The appliancereplete with dents, smudges, pockmarks, and dingsresides at the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in Halifax as part of the Sidney Crosby exhibit.

Still, the recreation was most convincing.

I felt like I was back home for four hours, Sid told Kevin Allen of USA Today .

Cue the commercial. In Sid vs. Max Round Iwhich aired during the Winter Classic on New Years Day 2010Crosby challenged Talbot to a shootout.

First to nine? Sid suggested.

Youre goin down, Max chirped.

Pucks began to fly. Talbot grabbed a quick 31 lead. Then Sid found the range. Hazel eyes gleaming with the intensity that spooked rival goalies, Crosby pumped shot after shot into the belly of the dryer to best his voluble buddy, 94.

Talbot couldnt resist a good-natured poke.

How many goals you got in Game 7? he teased, referring to the 2009 Stanley Cup Final.

Before Sid could reply, Max pointed proudly to his chest and gloated, I got two.

Youre in my basement now, Crosby countered.

***

Following years of mediocrity, heartbreak, financial collapse, and failure, the Pittsburgh Penguins rose from the ashes on the wings of the incomparable Mario Lemieux to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992.

Thanks to the bold moves of Hall of Fame general manager Craig Patrick and his immediate predecessors, the Penguins roster read like a hockey version of Whos Who . Indeed, the black and gold boasted no fewer than seven Hall of Famers, including Paul Coffey, Ron Francis, Joe Mullen, Larry Murphy, Mark Recchi, Bryan Trottier, and, of course, nombre soixante-six . Not to mention megastars Jaromir Jagr and Kevin Stevens, arguably the premier power forward of his day.

Even the grinders were special. Bob Errey and Troy Loney later served as captains for San Jose and Anaheim. Swashbuckling Phil Bourque was a two-time 20-goal man.

Stacked with quality players, the 1992 champions were especially dominant, closing out their run to the Cup with 11 straight postseason wins.

As great as our teams were in Montreal we never won 11 straight, noted Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman.

In 199293, Bowmans Pens piled up 56 wins and 119 pointsstill franchise recordsto capture the Presidents Trophy, spurring talk of a dynasty, one that might rival the great Islanders and Oilers teams of the 1980s.

Stevens was a believer.

This is by far the best team weve had in Pittsburgh, offered the burly winger in his trademark Boston brogue. Its a confident team, its got great leaders, and its got 25 guys pretty much on the same page. Its just a great team to play for. I dont know how we got this good.

Lemieux echoed his friends sentiments.

This is the best team I ever played with, he said. We have three lines that can score a lot of goals, a lot of guys who can put the puck in the net. Its pretty tough to find, guys who score 30, 40, 50 goals, which we have on every line.

Mario wasnt exaggerating. The Pens captain scored 69 goalssandwiched around a two-month layoff due to radiation treatment for Hodgkins disease. Stevens notched 55 goals, seven more than linemate Rick Tocchet. Jagr and Mullen each topped 30 goals. Speedy rookie Shawn McEachern scored 28. Francis and Murphy tallied 20-plus.

Toss in Tom Barrasso, a tower of strength in goal, and an underrated defense led by Murphy and the unsweetened Swedes, Ulf and Kjell Samuelsson, and you had a juggernaut.

Who would stop them? Certainly not New Jersey, their first-round playoff opponent. The Pens throttled the poor Devils by a combined score of 133 in Games 1 and 2 en route to a leisurely five-game conquest. Along the way, they won their 14th consecutive playoff game, an NHL record that still stands.

Then the Islanders rolled into town. Playing David to the Penguins Goliath, Al Arbours crew split the first six games of the series. Powered by young legs, an unshakable spirit, and a heroic 42-save effort by Glenn Healy, the upstarts from Long Island withstood a furious black-and-gold rally at the Civic Arena in Game 7 to prevail on David Voleks crushing overtime tally.

Shocking as the defeat was, it was viewed as a temporary setback. Featuring essentially the same All-Star castplus heavyweight defenseman Marty McSorleythe 199394 Pens were a cinch to bounce back.

After a one-year interruption, the Pittsburgh Penguins figure to hoist the Stanley Cup again, predicted Jon Scher in his preseason review in Sports Illustrated . Most experts agreed.