Why Pittsburgh Penguins will win the Stanley Cup Post-Lockout Season –NHL Special
Few teams are kept in the favorites spot whenever a National Hockey League (NHL) regular season is about to kick off and the Pittsburgh Penguins are definitely number one this time around.
While there may not be a 2012-2013 regular season, we will talk about how the Pittsburgh Penguins could be leading when hockey actually does get a kick start, either in early 2013 sometime or the next season.
Pittsburgh lost one of their leading forwards during the 2012 offseason as Jordan Staal chose to sign on with the Carolina Hurricanes and be reunited with brother Eric Staal, but the Penguins know how to rebound from that loss and certainly have things planned
to serve as a backup.
Despite losing Staal, they still made some top level acquisitions over the offseason, including the locking of Brandon Sutter and veteran goalie Tomas Vokoun, who might not be seen as someone to lead the club in the goaltending department, but could definitely
add depth where they lack.
Captain and NHL superstar, Sidney Crosby, was not available for most of the past two seasons due to his concussion related issues, but is now back in full strength and ready to get at it. He is probably one of the most anxious players to get back to hockey
and bring the lockout to an end and having him back fully will definitely benefit the Penguins is all departments.
They won the Stanley Cup back in 2009 with a powerful Crosby and Evegni Malkin duo and having them both back at full capacity next season will certainly have Pittsburgh leading the scene. Both players are elite level NHLers that have the ability to shoot
and score like no other, which will obviously be the main advantage the Penguins will have.
Despite missing Crosby and a number of issues with goaltending as Marc-Andre Fleury was the only one tackling the offence, having Vokoun to back him up seems like Penguins have now addressed those problems. They still managed to end fourth in the Eastern
Conference last time around, but failed against a hot headed Philadelphia Flyers team in the postseason.
In 67 games played, Fleury still registered a record of 42-17-4, making him one of the most reliable in the league along with finishing with a .913 save percentage and 2.36 goals-against average. He had a tough time in the playoffs as the goalie put up a
.834 save percentage and 4.63 goals-against average due to the lack of a strong number-two to take the scene, but this time with Vokoun, the game could be a whole lot different for the Penguins.
Whenever hockey does come back, Pittsburgh will surely be the team to beat, making all the fans even more anxious to get on with it.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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