Pittsburgh Penguins players and coaches celebrate after defeating the Nashville Predators 2-0 in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final, Sunday, June 11, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. AP WIREPHOTO/Mark Humphrey
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for a second consecutive year following a 2-0 win over Nashville in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Though held without a point on Sunday night, Crosby finished second on the team with 27 points (eight goals and 19 assists). He entered the game with a three-game point streak, including three assists in a 6-0 win in Game 5 on Thursday.
Patric Hornqvist scored the go-ahead goal on a bad-angle shot with 95 seconds left and Carl Hagelin sealed the win by scoring into an empty net with 14 seconds left in leading the Penguins to become the first NHL team in nearly two decades to win consecutive championships. Penguins goalie Matt Murray stopped 27 shots to register back-to-back shutouts following a 24-save outing in a 6-0 win in Game 5.
The Penguins won their fifth title – all of which have been clinched on the road – to tie the Wayne Gretzky-Mark Messier-era Edmonton Oilers for sixth on the all-time list. The Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and ’98 were the last champion to defend their title.
The loss ended the upstart Predators’ deepest playoff run in the franchise’s 19-year history. Having won just three of 12 playoff series before this year, Nashville opened this postseason by eliminating the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in four games. In doing so, the Predators became the first eighth-seeded team to sweep a first-round series since the current playoff format was introduced in 1994.
Pittsburgh defemseman Brian Dumoulin of Biddeford captured his second straight Stanley Cup.
Dumoulin, 25, appeared in 70 regular-season games for Pittsburgh this year, scoring 15 points on a goal and 14 assists.
In a total of 163 games since making his debut for Pittsburgh during the 2013-2014 season, Dumoulin has 2 goals and 31 assists and is averaging 19.27 minutes of ice time during his NHL career.
He played hockey for Biddeford High School and then attended Boston College, where he helped the Eagles capture the NCAA’s Division I Championship.
The Carolina Hurricanes drafted Dumoulin and then traded him to the Penguins in 2012.
Last season, Dumoulin became the first Maine-born NHL player to hoist the Stanley Cup when he played for the Stanley Cup champion Penguins.
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