If winning one Stanley Cup is the equivalent of hitting the Powerball, then winning twice in a row is like hitting the Powerball after getting struck by lightning.
And three times in a row?
The commonly called "hardest trophy in sports to win"?
There’s good reason why no team has lifted Lord Stanley’s chalice three consecutive years since the Islanders' four-term dynasty of 1980-83 with Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin and Bryan Trottier, among others. Since then, four more teams have set that stage and fallen short, including the David Volek-toppled Penguins of 1993.
These current Penguins are hoping to not become the fifth:
But it will be difficult in so many ways.
For one, this era of the NHL has seen unprecedented parity, in part because of a salary cap that's prevented anyone from spending excessively. Not many realized it at the time, but the 1991 and 1992 Penguins led the league in payroll both seasons. And until June 11 in Nashville, no team had even won back-to-back Cups since the 1997 and 1998 Red Wings, a half-decade before the cap.
For another, there is the toll that this game can take on one’s body and mind after having played more than 200 games the previous 30 months. Since their 2015-16 season opener Oct. 8, 2015, in Dallas, and running right through Tuesday night's 4-3 loss to the Rangers, they've now logged 193 regular-season games and 49 playoff games -- 242 total -- in the span of 790 days.
That's one game every 3.26 days including the offseasons!
“Three in a row is quite the challenge," as Sidney Crosby told me. "But we’ve put ourselves in the best position to have that opportunity.”
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